Alaska | Part 1 - Getting Here

It's rainy, green, and breathtaking here in Alaska. But, getting here was a little rough. As much as I love airports, I hate flying. Like really. Hate. Fiery death variety. My passionate love for travel outweighs this hate slightly, so I deal. Sort of.

The flight out of Salt Lake was delayed which was fine, it just meant more airport time. Delayed flights never bother me, in fact. They are just another part of the journey and the journey is half the fun of travel. The flight out of Long Beach to Anchorage, however, was a little more... interesting. Just as we sped up on the runway, about to leave the ground, the pilot suddenly slammed on the breaks. This, my friends, is kind of an intense moment in one's life, even for a seasoned flyer. Apparently one of the engines had a failure, and after sitting on the plane for a little while, we were ushered back into the gate to await for another plane to take us to our destination. By the time we finally took off (this time with working engines) it was about midnight Utah time. It's probably important to note that I was running on very little sleep as it was. The week prior to this departure, I was in crazy zombie mode trying to finish everything before I left. I was beat and desperately wanted to sleep, but I have never been a good napper (doubly so on airplanes). By the middle of the 5 hour flight, and in my hazy non-sleep sleep, I silently cursed Alaska for deciding to be so far away from real America. How dare it be part of the United States. If Alaska was united, we wouldn't be flying over Canada to get there. At least Hawaii has an excuse! It's an island! I hated Sarah Palin so much more than I ever had, and I even sorta wished that all the bears and wolves in the whole world were dead. This was a very dark time in my life.

But, as always, my personal tantrum eased as we pulled into the gate and got off the plane. Soon I was curled up in my warm bed listening to percussions of the precipitation outside, remembering the opportunity I was being given by being here. I didn't hate Alaska quite as much after that.

Tonight is the wedding dinner and tomorrow is the big day. The forecast is stormy, but I'm at least hoping for (and feeling slightly entitled to) some good dramatic clouds if it's going to be wet. The groom showed me some snapshots of the location, and sheesh, all I can say is you all better stay tuned for pictures. I can't wait to get out there and shoot. The flight was definitely worth it!