“Welcome to Alaska”

As if from a foggy dream I heard the 5 words I’d been anticipating all night: “It’s time to get up”. Ms.Clore and I groggily stumbled around our apartment, packing a few last minute items and getting ready to say goodbye to our little home for the next 4 weeks. Before we knew it, the car service had pulled up outside the door and it was time to go.

We met the students and parents at LaGuardia around 5 am. The line for American Airlines was already filling up and moving quickly. Our students were already in line, bags in tow, the excitement all over the faces. Pushing into the line behind our students, we quickly took stock of what was turning into a fast-paced situation and secured our boarding passes. After quickly going through security we got some breakfast and headed off to the gate. Everyone was in high spirits despite not having slept much the night before.

Cramming onto the flight, we mostly slept our way to Chicago. Landing at O’Hare around 9:30 am, we found out our connecting flight was delayed for an hour. We spent the extra time chasing down a missing wallet and scaring up some lunch before we finally boarded our connection to Anchorage. Six more hours of being crammed and pinched in steerage ensued before we landed in Anchorage. Getting our luggage, we realized that Justin’s sleeping bag, which had been tied to his backpack, was now missing. We filed a lost bag form, and then we were off to security check in again. After our crew was stopped no fewer than 3 times for liquid violations (and realizing we had lost some film) we finally got through the overzealous TSA agents and off to our first meal together.

We stuffed ourselves with nachos, buffalo wings and French fries, before we checked in with our commuter flight to Kodiak Island. We could finally clearly see the landscape through the airport windows. We could faintly see snow covered mountains through the haze, and a green mat of coniferous trees carpeting the landscape. Our twin prop commuter flight was finally called, and we were loaded onto the plane. I think that we overwhelmed the usual commuters with our boisterousness and excitement. Glimpses of the wild, rough landscape could be seen through the snatches of the clouds below, and our anticipation grew.

Finally, we touched down in Kodiak Alaska, in a mist of clouds and rain. The air that swept over us as we deplaned smelled wild, salty, and fresh. We looked around us in wonder, at the mountains rising out of the clouds, and the small village covered in mist. Inside the terminal we met Andy, the executive director of Island Trails Association, a tall, lean muscular fellow, with hands like dinner plates and a grip like a vise. All smiles, he helped us get loaded into the van, and took us on a windshield tour of Kodiak. The town was small, and mostly located on the waterfront, with what seemed to be two fishing boats for every one person. We made our way to the city dock where the M/V Island C, our home for the next week, was tied up.

After a quick tour of the ship, we settled in, and got a quick safety and life aboard ship briefing. Daylight was still streaming through the windows at 10 pm as we wound down the night with a game of Uno. Finally we drifted off to bed, looking forward to the day ahead.

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