Coming Full Circle: Fairbanks ~ April 15, #2
Almost four boarding passes and 16 hours later, at 1:11 AM our two feets, two wheels and 3 of 4 checked bags arrived in Fairbanks to join the other box that travelled one flight ahead of us. Life was finally about to get simple and our emotions complex.
Plan B means Plan A’s failure was actually a success!
In our perfect world, the plan was to arrive at 3pm yesterday, meet our gracious Warm Showers host at bag claim, enjoy an afternoon/evening with our host and gear-up the next day to launch our journey on two wheels. After the first flight cancellation, then the delay, our arrival had pushed to somewhere between midnight and 3am - time for Plan B.
Thankfully, we landed with just enough time to claim a super-sized SUV, reserved only hours ago, from the last rental car agency, minutes before it closed at 1:30am. When the baggage claim bay door rolled up to reveal our bikes sitting next to an overly excited Lab in a crate, we couldn’t have been more relieved. Next, our Home Depot moving boxes, barely holding their sides together, were pushed out alongside. After lifting the handles of several nondescript black roller bags rounding the carrousel, the last bag was recovered. Our home was back under our control once again!
Our host, a well seasoned traveller herself, kindly accommodated our late arrival, allowing us a keyless entry and amenities to help us settle in for a much needed recovery.
Later that morning, experiencing a different kind of jet lag, we greeted our host over much needed coffee, and recounted our surreal ordeal while taking in the glorious winter scene of snow laden birch forest outside every window. With a rental car still at our disposal for the day, we headed to the local outdoor shop to seal up our winter tires and acquire our post-flight necessities.
People make plans…Life makes adventures
A month prior, realizing we had to just “pick a date” and commit, it seemed fitting to make our chosen travel date the day before Nivaun’s 60th, both a coming home and a coming full circle for his life’s journey thus far. Ironically, somewhere during the hours of waiting at the airport, Nivaun smirked and fatefully said, “Looks like I’m going to be 60, before we evvver get to Fairbanks!” In actuality, we did at least make it into Alaska air space before midnight. To celebrate our arrival that day, we sought out a local brewery to raise a glass and breathe a sigh of freedom. As Nivaun stepped away from the table briefly; a simple moment of solitude, staring out the window, post toast, glass still in hand, the “wave of magnitude” crashed over me. Our new life begins now, it’s us, just us, whatever may come. Tears in my beer were never so sweet…