I woke up in my own personal nightmare today.
Sick.
Might I remind you that I never get sick. That is, until I venture out on vacation, that is... I had to PRY my left eye open today because... and I apologize now for being disgusting... the pus exuding from it had locked my eyelashes together as it dried overnight.
See?
This is what happens to me when I'm sick... I stayed in bed until 11:30AM... granted, I did do some work... and some writing... but mostly I was just sick and lazy. And coughing. I finally pried myself out of bed and had a shower... then hit the coastal trail to head in to the city again. Take it easy day. I had originally booked a scenic hiking tour for today, but at 10:30PM on Tuesday night, (the night before I was scheduled to depart for Alaska) they sent me a text telling me that the tour was full and they were refunding me my money.
I was pissed off... to say the least... as I had booked 2 weeks in advance... and they had taken my money and confirmed at the time. My suspicions tell me that they overbooked at the last minute, and who better to discard than the solo traveler? Ahhh.... the life of being single. Turns out- I'm sick and wouldn't have had fun on their dumb tour anyway. Blessing. I walked in to town... walked around town... took some pictures... brought some crap... Sunnier than yesterday, but still a lovely degree of freezing... I tried to go in to a museum, but it was like going through airport security, and I found it too annoying to endure, so I retreated from the lineup and continued my walk about town.
Then... right on point with trying to feel better... I forced myself in to a local pub to have a glass of wine. The F Street Station. As I sat down, I noticed that there was a huge chunk of cheese, some napkins and a container of Saltine crackers beside me... I was curious as to why it was there... and could I have some? My quick glass of wine in the pub time became obsessed with this CHEESE! People kept coming up to it and slicing some off on to the napkins provided, grabbing a pack of crackers and replacing the cellophane.
A couple ladies were sitting beside me, when this older gentleman walked up and started slicing off some strips to take back to his table. He turned to me, "Want some?"
"Sure... yes! Thank you."
I looked at the ladies and said, "Why is everyone eating it? The sign says DO NOT EAT!"
"Oh honey, that's just to make the Health Inspector happy!"
No shit. The Health Inspector at home would have an absolute fit! They must just turn a blind eye. WHO puts an enormous block of cheese out for display?
With a cheese slicer... ? And some crackers?
Anyway... it was Tillamook cheddar and it was delicious. Probably more of everyone in the bar's DNA than cheese... but still delish. At 2:30pm, I caught the Anchorage Trolley. I'm not normally a trolley/bus tour person, but it was enticing to me because I was low energy (sick) and it boasted heat... which appealed to me more than anything else. Turns out that it was too much heat and my entire journey, I felt clammy... but I managed to endure the pain and survive. The driver was young and actually quite knowledgeable and funny. Interesting facts about Anchorage that I learned from being on my little Mr. Rogers trolley today! (of course, I had to look stuff up because I don't remember...)
1. Captain James Cook is credited with first exploding and describing Anchorage in 1778. He was bound and determined to find the great Northern passage... which actually doesn't exist. He thought it was here in Anchorage though... and off he went! Five miles up, had to turn around. Recorded in his notes, "Seems I must turn again my ship..." - ending the the straight becoming Turnagain Arm in Anchorage! 2. The city of Anchorage got its start in 1914 because of the railroad construction. The men living up here were given a vote on which name they wanted for the town and they were given 3 options-
Headed out in a float plane in Alaska... famous last words? Time will tell... Did more wandering and shopping and picture taking and then decided to head back to the bed and breakfast along the Coastal Trail.
On the way home, one of the other companies called me and said they had an opening for a 4 hour tour at exactly the same time as I had booked my other tour for. Unfortunate... but I guess I saved a bit of money. I think my tour will suffice... short as it is... my bank account will like me more! What I should be spending my hard earned money on, is clothing! I was ill prepared for this journey... and looking back on my recent adventures, it seems to be a pattern for me. I brought one pair of leggings... nothing else for my legs. So basically, what I'm saying is that I've worn the exact same outfit for 3 days. Hope you like it... cuz you're going to see it again tomorrow. If the stupid sun would come out...
Once home, I realized that I was missing the important things... that I don't normally forget... wine & dinner! UBER!! I love Uber... British Columbia, smarten up! My new friend, Richard, was there within moments and whipped me over to the closest Supermarket to get my provisions. I don't want to brag... but I got ID'd. I got told that everyone gets ID's, but I don't care. I think I did because of my youthful and flawless complexion. I actually panicked for a minute because I didn't think I'd brought my ID in the little change purse I'd grabbed, but alas, there it was! In our little there and back conversation, Richard told me that he's "been everywhere and done everything."
Curious...
Sounds extremely well travelled... Of course, I had to ask Stompin' Tom where he'd been. Expecting him to break out in to song, his response was...
... wait for it...
... wait for it...
Salt Lake City. WHERE he married a Mormon lady... but it didn't work out... and he didn't like his job... so he came back to Alaska... Now I definitely need the wine.