Mile 0.0- It’s funny to consider the hastily scribbled itineraries of 2019. My travel process usually goes like this. I return from an installation of “See the Nation by Graduation”, pig out at La Parilla, sleep for a day, unpack and do 18 loads of laundry, go to the grocery store, pour a glass of wine and plan the trip for the next year. It drives Mr. Bullington crazy because his eye twitch has barely had a chance to subside before I begin pebbling him with questions/fun facts/potent potables about the next year’s destination. “How should we see Alaska?”, I probably asked. I had immediately crossed out cruises as:
#1- I’m just not that into you, Cruises.
#2- We have 5 people and that would cost a fortune.
Or maybe, my Ouija board told me that cruises wouldn’t be a thing in 2020 and now I’m a palm reader. Anyhoo, we settled on the concept of RVing because it was a goal for at least one of our trips to involve an RV situation of some sort as Mr. Bullington likes camping and I like walls and microwaves. The RV was picked and the deposit laid down 11 months in advance! Oh, the Naiveté! Version 2019 Sarah exclaimed, “What fun it will be next summer to settle in for an extended amount of time in a confined space with our two middle school daughters and feral son, who, by summer, will be exhausted from their busy school/sports/social lives and will be just craving a little family time! With an RV, I can cook dinner every night!.” 2019 Sarah was so hilarious! To read the itinerary that she penned a year ago …I mean, what a gas! She actually planned to check out a taxidermied critter from the Alaska Resources Library (because you could do that pre-StupidCovid). She’d set her sights on a Honey Badger that she was going to name Roger and dress in hilarious outfits and photograph at all the destinations. 2019 Sarah is so 2019….Now, 2019 Sarah has been replaced by Super-Anxious-Stress-Bot-Sarah who spent 2-hours hitting refresh on her computer so that she might secure an appointment to get a rod shoved up her snout and the snouts of her loved ones so that they would hopefully test negative for StupidCovid and have the opportunity to board a flight, bathed in hand sanitizer, adorned in hazmat suits, with a day’s worth of food for each person crammed into carry-ons and NO DRINK SERVICE. Whew, that was a long sentence. But, there are a lot of feelings these days.
Alaska travel restrictions dictated that, in order to enter the 49th state and move about unencumbered, one must test negative for StupidCovid 72-hours prior to departure. I secured appointments for everyone a couple of weeks ago for Wednesday morning that would’ve had test results back to us in 48 hours. This was right before the numbers spiked, labs became overwhelmed, and results began taking 5-10 days. Because I couldn’t guarantee that the results would be back in time, we opted to take a second test on Wednesday at a rapid results sight. Thanks to Mr. Bullington’s stealthy computer skills we scored appointments for the rapid test. That’s two nasal violations in one day. Not fun, but Praise hands UP! Errybody tested negative! I had erroneously assumed that we had a little Typhoid Mary in our midst, but alas, we checked out and now we can check out! The travel prep commenced as I set to remembering all the things. Because of Stupid Covid, the camp director (me) had to re-work and reschedule essentially our entire trip, and then rework things again, then completely reverse our trajectory and rebook everything. But, I love lots of things, most of all a challenge! Builds character!
Our first day’s journey was divided into two parts, Atlanta to Minneapolis, layover, Minneapolis to Anchorage. All in all, we spent about 12 hours traveling completely masked. I switched to a gaiter a few hours in and was much more comfortable. Honestly, after the last few months cooped up, it was an absolute pleasure to travel. Delta is at the top of their game and provided a safe and comfortable journey. Also, Mr. Bullington and I were upgraded for the second leg, therefore we were privy to the limited beer and wine selection not offered in coach, which is where we left the children. They’re fine. It’s fine. Everything’s fine. And in the current polarizing climate, you either think I’m a genius or the world’s worst parent. I’m probably a little bit of both on most days.
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| Plastic cup wine in the time of Covid |
Mile 4310- We landed at 11:00pm (3am our time) and it was still daylight. Fun fact, It never gets dark in the summer in Alaska. And the airport was full of taxidermy. We tired. Nighty-Night.
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