For my birthday, Vaughn came in town and Tom took us out to dinner, at one of my favorite places, Applebees. Tom got me a gift certificate to Bed Bath and Beyond. I can't wait to use it. Fun, Fun!!
Once we finished eating I went to the airport to pick up my best friend Karleen. She is from a small village in Alaska that doesn't have many stores, so we went shopping till we dropped, going to Walmart, REI, and a couple other places.
Saturday morning bright and early @ 5:00AM the alarm went off. We needed to be at the Train station by 6:00AM to go on the Holiday Train to Seward, Ak. There were about 450 people on this special train trip. The train was decorated with lights and other Christmas decor to make it more festive.
We started out about 7:00AM got our breakfast... OJ, yogurt, granola and a croissant and coffee for my friends and tea for me. For the first couple hours of the trip it was dark outside so we just talked and got acquainted with some other friends that were on there also. Once it got light out side then we could see a lot more and it was absolutely beautiful going over the passes to Seward from Anchorage. We got to see new country that we don't see when we drive down there.
About half way through the trip, a couple guys brought their guitar and auto harp into our section of the train and we sang Christmas carols. That was fun! Then.... Santa came to our train and we got our picture taken with him while singing more carols. I especially enjoyed the auto harp. Mom Nogle gave me an auto harp a few years ago, and I played it for a while, but kind of forgot about it till now. I'll have to get it out and start practicing again. It's beautiful.
Once we got to Seward, there was a big craft fair we went to, then the buses took us down town and we walked around for a couple hours, shopping, ate lunch, walked some more and took a few pictures then caught the bus back to the train that left at 5:00 headed back to Anchorage. By this time it was dark again, so we ate some more and played some cards and other games that some of the other people had on board. The time went rather quickly and we returned back home abut 9;30 pm. It was a long, fun filled day. It was a new experience for both of us.
Sunday, I was bushed!! Karleen had to go shopping without me. I took her to the airport about 3:30 pm.
She had gotten several Christmas items together for gals and guys to send to Iraq. Sunday night when she returned to King Salmon, about 13 friends of hers got together and put together 75 Christmas stocking to send to her son in Iraq to distribute to the troops in his unit. That was AWESOME!! I know they will appreciate them!!
2 comments:
That looked like so much fun. I love the reindeer antlers! That is a riot! I am so glad that you got to do that. Your time with friends must really be precious to you. So, what's next on the calendar?
Ha! Too cute! Sounds like the Polar Express. I'm glad you had a good time for your birthday. Good memories. By the way, there is NO WAY I could shop that long!! I'm amazed at your stamina!
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