Juneau, Alaska
Saturday, November 14, 2009

    The morning started early with the alarm going off at 4:30 am. After a quick shower and a final e-mail check, it was off to John Wayne Airport to start the trip to Juneau by way of Seattle. Check-in and clearing security was surprisingly easy this morning. There was almost a problem with check-in, though. When I arrived at the Alaska Airlines counter, they asked for my name. She typed it in and then said that there would be a $40 charge to check my two bags. I looked confused and inquired, “Even for first class”. “First class? I show you in coach to Portland. Oh, wait a minute, here you are… first class to Juneau.” It seems that two Richard Hunters were flying on Alaska Airlines from John Wayne on the same morning. Go figure.

    We left on time and it was a smooth flight up to Seattle. It was scheduled to be a quick connection, but arriving at the connecting gate revealed an open-ended delay. The weather in Juneau included high winds, gusting to 60 mph, so no flights were going in or out. We would get a new time every half hour or so – not for departure, but a time when a new time for the next update of information would be forthcoming. There were six from our group there, so we had a chance to begin bonding.

    We finally departed about three and a half hours late and arrived in Juneau about 4 pm, just after sunset. It was snowing. We took the shuttle to the Travel Lodge and got checked-in. It is now about 5:30 pm and we will get together for dinner in a couple of hours. A few of us may meet up earlier for a drink before dinner.

    Tomorrow, we need to leave the hotel by about 5:30 am so that we can catch the ferry up to Haines. That is, we hope to. The sea was too rough, today, and the ferry was cancelled. Snow is forecast for Haines, so it should be quite pretty when we get out into the field to start snapping photos on Monday.