Saturday, Dec. 6th
We went in search of a treadmill. I had no idea there were so many options for treadmills. Quite frankly, I don't want a treadmill. John said, "Get on there, Roz, and try them out." I did. "Does it feel better than the other one?" That's kinda like me asking him, "Hey, John, try out the action of this piano. Can you feel the difference?" If one isn't used to something, you don't notice the nuances of them. I was falling off one as effectively as the other!! However, after messing with about 4 or 5, and finally getting the hang of it, and after discovering that the speed button didn't react as quickly as I do, we decided upon the treadmill WITHOUT the implanted tv, but WITH the ipod connectivity. Sheesh! Are we spoiled or what?
My only concern is where do I put this thing? I don't want it in the living room. I dont' want it in the bedroom. I don't want it in the garage. I don't want it. BUT! I do need it. So I think it'll go in the garage....hmmm, should have bought the one with the inserted tv!!! After discussing the different attributes of treadmills, and finally picking it up at the Sears store (where we met Bobby and Diane Gibbs picking up another package), we were on the road for the 6 hr. drive home. We got back to Valdez about 7pm. John made a fire, rolled Roz up in a feather comforter on the couch, and went to unpacking all the luggage. Roz was "out" on the couch by 7:30pm, not having completely adjusted to Alaska time, yet. But it's good to be home.

Friday, Dec. 5th
We were at the airport at 6am, and were told that we'd been rescheduled on Alaska's next Seattle flight; but because of scheduling conflicts, they couldn't replace the first class seats. So we were placed in an emergency exit, with some extra leg room. That was great. The seats didn't recline, but we weren't in for much sleeping anyway. We got to Seattle with only enough time to spare to grab a bowl of soup and run to the next gate; where we were told "Mechanical problems! Sorry! Run to other end of airport and catch next plane there!" The walking actually felt good! We'd been moved to another, smaller plane. Folks were getting told that they were getting reseated; but we were in good stead. We got the exit row again, and we made it into Anchorage about 4pm. John gathered all the luggage, parked me in a corner of the airport at the window, and went to get the truck, which Lance, our superintendent, had let us park at his Anchorage home. That saved us a tidy penny! Thanks, Lance! John returned shortly, and we went to find a hotel, because at that time, neither one of us wanted any more travel. John made a short Costco run. Roz acquainted herself with the hotel bed. I don't think either one of us saw 8:30pm! We were snoozzzzzzzzzing.

Thursday, Dec, 4th
The process of getting home was not so much complicated, but just long and drawn out.
We made it from Bremen to Amsterdam in good stead. However, we boarded at Amsterdam, and then were put into a lengthy queue for de-icing the plane. We sat on the tarmac for nearly 2 hours, which put us shy of meeting our next connection, Chicago to Sea-Tac. We'd planned an overnight stay in Seattle, but KLM put us up for the night in Chicago as we'd missed our flight. It was a blessing in disguise, for it actually helped us aclimate to the time change a bit more effectively. We had 8 hours sleep in Chicago, whereas the overnight in Seattle would only have afforded 4 hours at most. So we planned to travel to Seattle on Friday morning.