Archive for May 14th, 2009

I confess: I’m Wild About Anchorage. And yes, it’s true: we have a Big Wild Life. Check out the Beard and Mustache Championships on Sat., May 23. That’s coming right up!! Here’s a picture of one of the contestants from the last meet-up in Brighton, England. This unique, offbeat public event is open to everyone with a beard or mustache with proceeds benefiting local charities. Register as a competitor or purchase your spectator tickets today!

If you haven’t seen Anchorage’s new (more…)

I just got off the phone with my travel agent, Karen Sundby at USTravel‘s Anchorage office. She was busy saving me some time and money. Trust me–if I could have done it myself, I would have. But for the life of me, I could NOT find the right flight between Frankfurt and Barcelona. Together, we went through the options into Madrid, back to Frankfurt the night before and looked at all the airlines. But because she had the info at her fingertips, we got through it in a matter of 10 minutes instead of what I did the night before: spending hours on the computer.

I got  a great note from one of my Yoga teachers over at Laughing Lotus. He was headed to Costa Rica and discovered his passport was expired. I called Penny Lampl, one of my international experts at USTravel‘s Kodiak office. She knew just the right people to fast-track Rick’s passport application. Thankfully–everything worked out. Why? It’s because Penny knew the right people to call. It’s her business.

Whether it’s for a cruise, a business trip, a family reunion or a vacation in Italy, your USTravel agent can tap into a wealth of knowledge and information at their fingertips. As the largest travel agency in Alaska, they have the connections and leverage to fix things when they go wrong–and to make sure they get done right in the first place!

Coming to Alaska? Check with Laura Savage at Explore Tours, USTravel’s sister company. Whether you’re coming to Alaska or edgy to get out of town, touch base with your USTravel agent. They can save you some, time, money and a whole lot of aggravation!

Make plans to tour Kenai Fjords National Park on Renown Tours‘ sleek Catamarans. There’s plenty to see on this incredible six-hour tour: big glaciers, wildlife, humpback whales and orca whales. Don’t be surprised to see some of those Bald Eagles flying around, either. They’re everywhere.  Make your reservations online and save 20 percent!  Normally the National Park Cruise is $149–now available for $119.20. Make your reservations today!

There’s no shortage of Big Ice in Kenai Fjords National Park. (more…)

Fly Era to Aniak, beginning June 1. Fly there on Era’s Beechcraft 1900-D aircraft. Just $319 roundtrip.  Add Aniak to the list of cities served by Era, including Barrow, Bethel, Fairbanks, Kodiak, Cordova, Kenai, Homer and Valdez.

More importantly, watch for special fares to Aniak in the weekly “FlyAway” newsletter. Sign up here.

Also on June 1, Era Aviation will start flying to Barrow, using a Dash-8 to fly frmo Anchorage to Fairbanks and then on to Barrow.

Era Aviation now is a fully-integrated member of the Frontier Alaska family, with service to 90 communities throughout the state. This group also includes Hageland Aviation and Frontier Flying Service. Era brings the Dash-8s to the new company–and they’ve been ready to launch the Dash-8 service to Barrow! (more…)

Actually it’s called “Alaska’s Marine Highway”. And it really is a road between many of our far-flung communities.

My friend Marion Owen at Galley Gourmet in Kodiak took this picture of the m/v Tustumena sailing by her home last April.

Here’s a round-up of several specials now available on Alaska’s Marine Highway:

a. Driver goes free. Yep. Unlike the cruise ships which sail up from Seattle, the ferry can actually take your car or RV. And the driver goes free when you sail on a round-trip itinerary. (more…)