Off to Europe

Back to travelling and writing. I made a big (and hard) decision this past week, but one that would provide me more free time. As we launched on our trip I decided that I enjoy writing about our travels, wanted to keep it up and now I had no excuse. So, I’m back at it.

But first, a bit about what we’re doing. Several months ago I got an email from Scott McMurran at Alaska Travelgram… if you don’t follow him, do it here: www.alaskatravelgram.com/. Delta was having a major sale for RT tickets from Anchorage to multiple destinations in Europe for around $400. Having 4 kids, we usually can’t take advantage of those types of deals; but, misery loves company so as soon as Amanda woke up I told her about. $400… that’s like a trip to Seattle, so we were pretty motivated and decided to give it some serious consideration. I forwarded the email to some Francophile friends of ours, too, and then went and got ready to start the day. Later that afternoon, my friend emailed back, “what are you talking about?? There aren’t any deals.” My heart was racing as I quickly went to the site and saw that he was right… they were gone.

I tweeted Scott and let him know. He acknowledged that those deals go quickly, but did say it might be worth looking at United, too. Using Google Flights and using their Fare Graph tool, I was able to find one of the deals. United has a feature that allows you to lock the fare in for 3 days for $18 and so we did it and went about securing arrangements for our kids and approval from our bosses. We chose Amsterdam because we had been there for a few days and loved it, it is an easy place to navigate as they speak English, and we knew we wouldn’t have to rent a car. We were going to Europe!!

We left about 8pm Saturday night, with the first stop of Chicago and a long layover. We are regular Alaska Air flyers and it was interesting to compare United versus Alaska. I can tell you that there is a reason Alaska has such loyalty… it is a great airline. The seats on United are incredibly tight. My knees hit the seat in front of me and my boys (6’3” would have had a very hard time sitting there for 5+ hours. We decided to get the cheese tray from their bistro menu. Compared to the iconic fruit and cheese plate, it was disappointing. Not only was it more expensive, the cheese wasn’t as good and there was limited fruit.

We had a 12 hour layover in Chicago and so we decided to get a day room at the Hilton hotel attached to the O’Hare airport. Best decision ever. We were checked into our room and horizontal in our beds by 6am Central time. We slept hard for 4 hours, then got up, had coffee, and went down to the fitness center. It was my long-run day and I was supposed to run 5 miles. The treadmill had a feature where you could program the video to take you through trails and hikes around the world. Sold! I put some good music on and for the next hour I ran through New Zealand mountains, Queensland, the Shasta mountains in California, and the redwoods. It was enriching to my soul… of course, a runner’s high helps.

We went and showered, grabbed a bite to eat, packed up, and headed to our gate. Right now we are about 5 hours from Amsterdam, just about ready to head out over the Atlantic. For my family, friends, and Amanda’s friends following along, welcome. I’m really honored you read my ramblings. Thank you.

Dublin… someday.