Well, real soon is more like a few months from now but since I have waited all my life, until this year for this trip, it is real soon relatively speaking. Both Brendan and I are going. It is going to be a trip of a lifetime for me; hopefully, Brendan will make some more trips just as good or better in the years to come. I just finished making and booking the reservations for the flight. I booked the hotel weeks ago as I did the rental car. I rented a large pick-up truck for the week. Was thinking of an SUV then found out they are all only 2 wheel drive so I opted for the truck; not sure if that is 4WD or not but don't really care.
I am also not sure if I am going to book any excursions ahead of time even though we at least definitely plan on going halibut fishing. The captain of a fishing charter boat emailed me tonight and told me that it is pretty easy to find a boat with an opening during the time frame we are going to be there since it is not going to be during the peak season. He said to just to call a day ahead of time. That makes planning the trip a whole lot easier on me because we can do this or that here and there without worrying about having to go fishing on a particular day. my guess is most things will not be completely booked leaving us plenty of leeway to do what we choose once there.
As for other excursions or activities, I figure some lake and possibly river fishing but probably more in the lakes than rivers. Most of the salmon runs in the rivers don't start until at least a few weeks to more than a month after we will be there. That's okay because as I understand there are plenty of land locked salmon and plenty of trout in the lakes an some grayling too. I also want to rent a skiff for a day of fishing in the local bays. I figure we will also do some hiking but that will depend on how much Brendan's tendinitis is bothering him. If not hiking, then we will do sightseeing via motor coach in Denali or just do more fishing or river rafting or zip lining or getting sloshed in a local bar (have to do that last at least once). Of course, I also plan to take an excursion to the fjords to see the glaciers and hopefully spot some whales and other wildlife.
Three essential things to make this trip complete for me, that I don't have right now and will need before we travel are: rain gear suitable for the fishing trip, a digital camera (other than the one in my phone) and a 44 magnum revolver (just in case for defense from bears). I can probably use my wife's camera, that little point and shoot job will be good enough for me. As for the rain gear, I'll probably get something fairly inexpensive like Frogg Toggs or similar (now that I think of it I may buy them up in Anchorage if Bass pro Shops prices are not higher than their norm up in the north country). As for the 44 magnum, I have a Ruger in mind but don't think I have the funds on hand. I will have to scrimp and save some for that; hopefully I will get called in for work several times between now and when we leave for Alaska.
I am pretty excited about the trip and I am pretty sure Brendan is really looking forward to it. We are going to be in Wasilla for couple to few nights and then in Seward for the rest of the week (yep, the trip is only 8 days long in total, including travel). If anyone of my readers has been there and has recommendations as to where to go and what to do within about 125 miles of Wasilla or near Seward, or better yet can recommend an excellent fishing charter outfit in or near Seward, PLEASE do so in the comments. I know one of you recommended Sitka over Seward, and I appreciated that and thought it over, but the logistics and added expense ruled that out. So Wasilla (for some decent nearby lake fishing, close to Anchorage for a day trip and close enough to Denali for a day trip or two) will be it for the first few days. Then onto Seward for the remainder. Heck, I am already wishing it could have been 10 days but for that I would need to hit the lotto instead of just getting the second mortgage on the house (only kidding about the mortgage, at least I hope so).
Now to do some more checking and planning on what else we can have fun doing.
All the best,
Glenn B
