Friday, February 2, 2018: Fairbanks, Alaska

Last night when we landed it was cold but beautiful even in the dark.  About a week ago, this area had temperatures warm enough for rain.  However, the temperatures dropped, so there was ice everywhere.  The moisture turned to snow, accumulating to at least 10 inches.  This whole storm produced beautiful effects on the trees, shrubs and roofs.  They have also had hoar frost – which is fog at freezing temperatures and the moisture sticks to the landscape. As we drove to the hotel in the shuttle we could see the beautiful snow accumulation on the trees. 

We made arrangements for a taxi to be at the hotel at 6:30 this morning to take us to the breakfast Rotary Club.  It was a great Club, and well attended.  I really wasn’t ready to get up, but then again by now it was 9:00 in Iowa, and we are always up by then, so why not attend a breakfast meeting. 

The Club Secretary offered to take us to the airport, which was great.  We picked up a Silver, Rav 4 Toyota.  It has 4-wheel drive, and the winter package – which includes a heater cord.  If the vehicle is allowed to cool down more than 4 hours, it is advisable to plus in the engine.  This allows the engine to start easier, plus it warms the interior much quicker – which is a blessing!           

Back at the hotel we saw Yukon Quest (YQ) personnel gathered – some in groups, some having meetings, and the YQ 300 Mushers were registering.   Veterinarians were also gathering – Cal talked to a group that had Vets from S Dakota, British Colombia and Australia.  The YQ300 Mushers were also registering at this time.

Snow Ladened Trees 

Sun Rise - 9:30 am

Veterinarians checking dogs

We packed our stuff in the hotel room and found Cal’s brother Wilbur, who was ready to go. We went downtown Fairbanks to check-out the start location, and the gift shop.  Wilbur wanted to buy something before it was picked-over tomorrow by those attending the race. 

We found a cute coffee/sandwich shop called the Fudge Pot, where we had a cup of soup and sandwich.  In the afternoon we drove to the University of Alaska which overlooks the valley.  We visited their museum on Alaska.  By 3:15 we drove to north of Fairbanks to the home of our PEO B&B. Jean & Bob are our host.  Jean had told me how to get into the house, as she was working late, after which she had to pick up a granddaughter.  Jean is a Family Practice Doctor and Bob is an Civil Engineer, specializing in Artic Sewer Systems.  Bob has patents on several of his designs. They have 5 children – 2 boys and 3 girls. The oldest son is a Surgeon, his wife is also a doctor.  Two of the daughters will be doctors, one is finishing residency and the other is still in Med School.  The other daughter is in early childhood education. The youngest son is a senior Engineering student.  Four of the children happen to be here this weekend, and the girls are going to be making a wedding dress for the daughter who is getting married in May.   It is an extremely active busy household. 

Immaculate  Conception Catholic Church

Rachel in Ice Sculpture

Soon after they arrived home from work, they invited us to go with Bob to the Community Theater production tonight. We first stopped for a bite to eat at a busy restaurant, so by the time we arrived for the show, it was one-minute till show time.  It was about a trip across the Antarctic.

Alaska 2018 – Yukon Quest Feb 1 – Feb 13, 2018

Introduction

This trip began with a phone call from Cal’s brother, Wilbur, in the summer of 2017.  During the summer of 2015, Wilbur went to the village of Eagle, Alaska to build homes for Native Americans whose homes had been flooded by the Yukon River after an ice dam formed on the river.  While in Eagle, Wilbur became aquainted with Burr and Sandy Lidic who live in Eagle.  They told him about the Yukon Quest dog sled race and invited him to return in February of 2016 to watch the dog teams as they come through Eagle, which is one of the check points for the Quest.  Wilbur decided to accept their invitation. At that point Wilbur asked Cal if he would like to join him.  Cal decided to decline the invitation.

Now fast forward to the summer of 2017.  Wilbur decided to return to Alaska to watch the Yukon Quest and return to Eagle.  He again invited Cal to join him on the trip.  This time Cal was ready to go with him.  During September 2017, while Cal and Rachel were in Alaska, we drove 65 miles one way, on gravel, to the village of Eagle and had coffee with the Lidic’s. This gave us a preview of Eagle, AK.

Here we are, on February 1, 2018, on our way to Alaska.  Our plans are to fly into Fairbanks on Thurs. Feb. 1, and watch the start of the Yukon Quest Dog Sled race in downtown Fairbanks on Saturday.  On Monday, Feb. 5, Wilbur and Cal will fly on the mail plane to Eagle, so they are there when the first dog sled teams come through early Tuesday morning (in the dark).  During the time the guys are in Eagle, Rachel will stay in Fairbanks and see the sights of Fairbanks.  Rachel made arrangements for us to stay at a PEO B & B in Fairbanks. She will continue to stay there while Cal and Wilbur are in Eagle.  On Thursday, Feb 8, Cal will return to Fairbanks.  Wilbur will stay in Eagle a week.  After Cal returns we will drive the rental car around Alaska for 5 days.  On Feb 13 the 3 of us will return to Iowa.

In addition to watching the Dog Sled race we are looking forward to seeing Denali - our third try, the Northern Lights and Alaska during the winter.  During the night of January 31, the temperature in Eagle was -39 F, so we are taking all our warmest winter clothing with us.  The forcast calls for the temperature to moderate slightly, so that the lows are to be in the negative single digits, which will still be cold!  It is supposed to be -19 F in Fairbanks when we arrive on Thursday night, Feb 1.

According to the weather map, on Feb 1, the sun comes up at 9:42 and goes down at 4:23.   This trip is about experiencing Alaska in winter!

Our flights today are from Cedar Rapids, IA to Chicago, to Seattle, and on to Fairbanks.  

Monday, January 1, 2018: New Year’s Day in Philadelphia

We were in bed before the New Year – too tired to stay awake.  Jet-lag definitely affects you!  For breakfast, we met Tony at the Marathon restaurant, as his first choice was closed today. Yes, we ate there yesterday, but that is ok, as it is a good spot. 

It is COLD this morning.  10 degrees!!  We are bundled up, so we cannot spend much time inside, with all these clothes. In other words, as soon as you put on your coat, hat and scarf, you want to go outside.  However, staying warm today, will require us to go inside every-so-often.  

After breakfast Tony wanted to go to his apartment to run some errands, such as grocery shopping, while Cal wanted to go to the parade route, to see what was happening.  

Our hotel, the Westin, is in perfect position.  We are in the block south of Market Street where the String Brigades stage.  Also, two blocks from City Hall, where the Wench Brigades stage. And two blocks from Broad Streets, where all the Brigades march south to Washington Street, before they return to the Pennsylvania Convention Center for final performances and final judging.

History: Mummery is unique to Philadelphia as Mardi Gras is to New Orleans. The first settlers to Philadelphia welcomed the New Years by dressing up in masks and costumes, then going house to house, singing and dancing.   

We watched parade activity, walking to different locations to see different groups. There are different divisions – Fancy, Wench, Comic and String Bands.

Parading Groups

Old and Young

Keeping Warm

After about 45 minutes, we went inside a Starbucks for a cup of coffee, toilet – and of course to warm-up.  Staying warm is going to be a real challenge!  At the Starbucks I inserted my foot-warmers, as my toes were not as toasty as I wanted them to be.  The other part of my body, not warm, was my thighs – my coat is not long enough, or actually, I need to be wearing ski pants. After warming up, we can handle another 45 minutes! One of the performers who stopped at the Starbucks had bleeding fingers, due to the cold. And this was early in the day!

Tony joined us about 12:15. Walking helps to stay warm, plus when standing, if you can be in the sun, it is a big help too. We watched groups practice their performance, on their way to the performance area in front of City Hall. At another point to warm up, we stepped inside the lobby of a Bank of America building – we have a credit card with Bank of America, so why not access this area.  

The crowds were very small today – understandable.  We had no problem moving around and standing where we wanted to watch a performance. The performers had buses in which they could wait to stay warm. Several of the String Band groups did not use their instruments when practicing - keeping instruments warm was an issue today. Can you imagine playing any instrument today?  Freezing fingers or lips!  Some of the costumes allowed for layers of clothes to be worn under them, while other did not.  Some of the performers had to be freezing.  

String Band Performance

At the second Starbucks, Cal chatted with someone who is a member of one of the brigades.   These are membership clubs called Brigades.  The groups meet once a week.  Beside socializing, they are fundraising and preparing for next year’s Mummers parade. For those groups with chorographic parts, there is practice.  For those with props, these need to be made and painted. And of course, there are the costumes that need to be designed and made.  Some costumes were extremely elaborate.  The comic groups had basically the same design of costume, but in different colors. 

This gentleman told Cal that cancelation and postponement of the parade was discussed.  However, with all the expense of costumes, and the time spent in practice, they wanted to be able to march.  This was the coldest year since 1919!! They may have postponed the event until Saturday of this week, but the weather forecast is for cold weather all week, so there was not reason to postpone.   

It is an interesting event!  Glad we came, even if it is cold.                    

Sunday, December 31, 2017 – New Year’s Eve in Philadelphia.  

I awoke at 9:00 am!  We walked to the Marathon Restaurant for breakfast.  As soon as we walked into the restaurant, we knew we had been there before with Tony & Madeline.  

After breakfast, by now it was almost 11:00, we returned to the hotel room.  I read the newspaper and Cal worked on the computer, before watching football games.  After the Steeler game was over, we walked to the Reading Terminal Market where we found something to eat before returning to the hotel.  The Market was busy, but a lot of places were closing-down for the night.  Of course, the Amish were not in their booths, as it is Sunday.  

It was a very cold walk!  Tomorrow will be frigid!  Tony is flying back tonight, and we will see him about 9:00 tomorrow morning. 

Saturday, December 30, 2017: Philadelphia

It is so good we have had no concrete plans for Philadelphia in that we arrived a day later than planned.  Our son Tony is not in town (he is in Asia), giving us time to ourselves for several days. Cal wants me to see several things beside the Mummer’s New Year’s Parade.  Two things for sure are the old Eastern States Penitentiary, and the Barnes Art Museum.  Tony has mentioned another museum that we will visit on January 2, 2018 with him.  

Due to traveling yesterday, we slept-in this morning.  When we awoke it was snowing!  There was a skiff of snow on the roofs of the building below us.  It was a beautiful scene.  We don’t expect there to be much accumulation, but we will want to wear our boots for traction, and warmth. 

We asked the concierge about a good breakfast spot.  He recommended the Marathon, but we stopped at a closer spot - Square 1628.  It is COLD outside.  Really COLD!  The wind cuts through you. However, it is partly cloudy, so the sun is shinning at times, which makes you feel warmer.  

Liberty Center

Morning Snow

Breakfast

Trying to keep Warm

Washington and Franklin - Masons

We decided to take a cab to the Eastern States Penitentiary – it is too cold to walk that far – the wind is from the north and would hit us head-on. Too COLD!

This Penitentiary facility, built in the early 1800’s was the first Penitentiary built in the United States. It closed in 1971, and in the 1990’s opened as a museum.  This old building is in horrible disrepair.  I don’t know their long-range plans, but at this point they want to share this HUGE Historic facility with the public.  It was an interesting place, but would have been a horrible place to live.  They use the technology of audio head phones for the tours.  It was a very good tour.   

Eastern States Penitentiary

Al Capone's Cell

Jewish Synagog

After the tour, we walked to a corner restaurant for a restroom, and while there, bought a sandwich and coffee. By now we were half way to the Barnes Art Museum, so we continued walking.  Actually, the wind was at our back, and the sun was shining, so the walk was not too bad!

The Barnes Museum is the private collection of Albert C. Barnes.  He made his money by a Chemical invention and sold his business for millions before the Great Depression in 1929.  After that he began collecting works of art for educational purposes.  He built a gallery in a Philadelphia suburb, but met an early death in a car accident.  His collection was moved to a new building here in downtown Philadelphia, displayed in the exact same manner as he designed. He hung the works of art in a pattern for the best in art education.  He has the largest collection of painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir – 181 paintings. A French painter – 1841-1919.  

We have always like Renoir’s work, since in college Cal did a term paper on him, for a Fine Arts’ class. You get to the point, when you see a wall of paintings in front of you, there is no problem picking out a work by Renoir.  His style is so different.  It is so soft, and tender. He had a fascination with women or girls wearing beautiful hats. All of his people has such beautiful pleasant faces, often with smiles.  Barnes had works from other of his favorite painters too, but obviously Renoir was his favorite.  We much prefer Renoir’s over anything else.

Van Gogh - Postman

Renoir

After the Barnes Museum we continued walking toward the Westin Hotel, and hopefully find a taxi somewhere.  Then we saw the door was open at the Cathedral/Basilica of St Peter & Paul off Logan Square. This is the largest Catholic Church in Pennsylvania. We decided to detour that way for both a look, as well as a place to warm-up.  By the time we left, we decided we would continue walking, and forget about the cab - the wind was at our back.  

It has been a busy day.  After relaxing at the hotel for a while, we walked to the Dandelion Restaurant.  While we waited 30 minutes for a table, we walked to the Rittenhouse Square, a block away, to see their Christmas decoration.  After dinner we called it a day!

Rittenhouse Square

Friday, December 29, 2017:  Munich, Germany to Philadelphia, Penna   

All went well this morning – breakfast, shuttle bus to the airport, getting to the gate, boarding and taking off for Frankfurt, Germany.  In Frankfurt, both Cal & I had extra security due to flying to the U.S. – we think it was random, as we sure didn’t look suspicious, and not everyone had to go through it. 

In Frankfurt we had a long walk to the gate, but we had plenty of time.  The flight left about a half hour late.  It was unusual to have a total daytime flight, but each of us slept part of the time.  We are looking forward to getting to bed early tonight.  It is great to be back in the good old U.S.A.  However, this was a wonderful trip.  We would go back to Croatia and surrounding countries again.

We will see where another trip takes us.  This was Christmas 2017. 

We will be in Philadelphia for several days, staying at the Westin Hotel on 17^th St.

After checking-in we walked (5 blocks) to where our car is parked. It is in Tony parking spot, in his apartment building. We have two suitcases full of clean clothes, and warm winter clothes – such as boots. We will need everything for the Parade, as it is very cold right now in Philadelphia!  We ate dinner at the Continental restaurant over on 18^th St.  Wow, is it cold! You definitely need something on your head!  The wind is horrible.

Thursday, December 28, 2017: Zagreb, Croatia to Munich, Germany 

Last night our apartment host told me that if it was raining in Slovenia today, it will be raining in Zagreb tomorrow.  Guess what, it was lightly raining in Zagreb this morning when we loaded the car!!

We checked-out of the apartment, loaded the car and headed to the Zagreb airport which is about a 30-minute drive out of downtown.  On our way, we drove by the little chapel, near the airport, that Cal & I had seen on our first day in Croatia, so Cherie could see it.  At the airport, we checked-in the rental car, and immediately Cherie checked it out!!  

Yes, we had a wonderful Mercedes rental car, with all the upgrades which included an excellent GPS system.  Cherie has another 5 days of vacation, so she is going to drive to Venice, Italy from Zagreb, Croatia.  It is estimated to be a 4-hour drive, all on the autobahn.  Since she has been driving this Mercedes, and was accustomed the way it handled, plus the GPS, she did not want to switch vehicles.  

Cherie was on the road to Venice by 11:30, right after we checked-in for our flight, and said good-byes.  She communicated that she had a 45-minute wait at the Slovenian border!  Lots of traffic.  She was driving in rain.  She noted the temperature was dropping, when suddenly, she saw snow flurries.  Well, it was not just flurries, she was driving in a blizzard!  Thank goodness, this car had the winter snow package – meaning snow tires.  Within a very short time about 4-5 inches accumulated.  There was lots of slush on the highway, with only tracks clear in the passing lane. At one point, traffic was completely stopped on the autobahn for about 1 hour.  By the time she reached the Italian border, it was just rain again, as by then she was at a lower elevation.  It has been a long time since Cherie has driven in snow! 

As to us – our flight was to leave Zagreb at 13:10 or 1:10pm. At about 12:30 pm it was posted that our flight was delayed until 2:00.  WHAT?!!  We barely had enough time in Munich as it was, to make the next connection. What is our chance now to make the flight to Montreal?  However, what can we do???  Well as we expected, we did not make the second flight in Munich, but Lufthansa has re-routed us via Frankfurt tomorrow morning.  They also gave us a voucher for a hotel and meals.  Our evening meal was marginal!  We decided to stay at the hotel tonight, write this blog, and go to bed early, as we have a shuttle bus ordered for 7:30 am.  We hope to make it to Philadelphia tomorrow!!!