Alaska or Bust!

In 1991 a family moved next door to me. The next time I went in my back yard three little heads popped up and said hi. They were Paul, Katrina and Emily. They were Eskimos! The second time I saw them, Emily asked me if I would be her dad. But we were very close and eventually they attended my church and school. There was no dad. The parents were divorced and dad stayed in Alaska. It had a very harsh effect on the children, especially Paul.

I took Paul under my wing and he truly was like a son to me. We did everything together. I took him on vacations with me, even to go up north and see Connie! Paul was one of my groomsmen in my wedding.

Well, after I married Connie, the family moved back to Alaska. I recently heard from Paul and he's getting married. He's marrying a gal who won $240,000.00 on Deal or No Deal. Not bad, eh? They've asked me to officiate the wedding.

I probably should have gone alone and come right back because of expenses, but we've decided to hock our lives and go for it, so the whole family is going on a 12 day trip to Fairbanks Alaska. While in Fairbanks we'll go on an 8-hour tour. See the city sights of Fairbanks, visit Gold Dredge No. 8 and cruise on an authentic sternwheeler riverboat. Includes a miner's lunch. Then we're taking the train down to Anchorage where the wedding will be. We're taking the Denali Star Train

We'll be on a relaxing trip to Denali National Park, on the the Denali Star. The scenery and small-town history along the way will bring you back to a different place in time. The best way to see Alaska is on the Railroad with award-winning service, comfortable seating, and knowledgeable tour guides are part of the fabulous rail experience. The scenery is world-class. (from travel agent)

We'll be at the National park there and see it all and then continue down on the train to Anchorage. Somewhere in there we are also going to go on a Steamboat paddle boat Sounds like too much fun to me. The timing stinks because my income drops in half during the summer, but we'll make it somehow. We always do.

I found out last night that neither Cingular or Verizon work in Alaska, so we'll be cellphoneless®. But, I just found out that the hotel has wireless so my iphone should work just fine! Yea!