Dear Kids,
Today was Day 5 in Fairbanks.
I got up around 2 in the morning to go to the bathroom, and I thought it would be a good idea to take a picture so we could remember what 2 a.m. looked like. Also, I wanted to show your aunt (my B___). Even though I could barely open my eyes I somehow managed to get my phone, open the camera app, point it outside, and snap a pic. Well, I thought I managed all of that anyway.
When I got up at 4:45 to start working at 5, I checked on my phone to see how the picture turned out…and it was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps I didn’t actually hit the button? Maybe I accidentally deleted it between taking it and getting back into bed? It’s possible I dreamt the whole thing? Oh, well…no pic…c’est la vie.
Ima got up at 6 and started working.
Woot!!! I found the missing hand soap. How embarrassing…after calling the Walmart and asking them to look to see if I left the bag at the register…so humiliating. But, all’s well that ends well. I found the soap on the kitchen counter, where it had been the whole time. Who knew?
SBR, you weren’t feeling very well this morning and decided to say home from camp. Speaking of camp, SBK and SBE went, and on my way back I stopped to get gas…can you imagine? How exciting. For the first time in my life, I actually filled a gas tank with gas, while in Alaska. Crazy, right? Later in the day, Ima wanted SBR to go out and get some fresh air, so you and I went for a short walk up to the cul-de-sac at the top of the hill and took some pics of the view. You weren’t excited and wanted to go home…also, the mosquitos were out in force, so that didn’t help.
Dinner wasn’t anything terribly exciting: MorningStar Farms’ chik’n nuggets for the kids, and a bagged salad mix for Ima and me. After dinner, we headed down the hill and into town…to Pioneer Park again, this time to see the Green Tara concert at the Gazebo. I thought it was fun, but everyone else got bored and we soon moved on. The Harding Railroad Car is right next to the gazebo, so we walked through that. It was kind of interesting. According to Wikipedia:
The car was one of three used to carry a delegation that included President Warren G. Harding in 1923 to the Mears Memorial Bridge for a ceremony marking completion of the railroad between Fairbanks and Seward. The car was purchased by the Alaska Railroad in 1923 from the Great Northern Railroad, and was used in its service until 1945. At the urging of the Fairbanks “igloo” (chapter) of the Pioneers of Alaska, the car was restored in 1959–60 and given to the city of Fairbanks. It was placed in [Pioneer Park] in 1967, created to mark the centennial of the Alaska Purchase. It was used for some years as the park’s visitor center. The car was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Cool, huh? And you got to walk through it.
After walking through the train and reading all about its history, we walked around the park and looked into a few shops. As we walked aimlessly, we found ourselves by the Alaska Salmon Bake. What a neat place, there were food stations set up around the grounds, and the tables were both inside and outside. It was an open-air restaurant. We didn’t eat there (but hopefully on our next trip we will), but we walked through the place and tooks some pictures with you kids sitting on a huge wooden fish (random, right?). There was a large pond just outside the restaurant with ducks. We bought some food to feed the ducks, but there was this crazy family chasing and generally harassing the ducks. I thought the mother was chasing the childern, but I was wrong…she was also chasing the ducks and actually managed to catch one. I don’t think these ducks are meant to be handled…fed, but not handled. The duck looked agitated and traumatized. I just wanted to get away and dragged you kids out of the area. We’ll try to go back later in the trip.
On the way back home (ok, ok, I know, you keep telling me that it’s not our home…but it’s home until we leave Fairbanks), we stopped at the Chena Pump Transfer Site to drop off trash. We’ve been to the transfer station here at home, but this was a bit different and more interesting. Ima was excited because there was a section where people dropped things that were in pretty good shape, and it seems that dumpster diving is accepted here. We didn’t do any of that, so don’t worry.
Love,
Aba
