This morning we woke up to faint voices saying, “Time to get up! Get some breakfast and pack your stuff up.” As we all groaned and slowly got up off the floor of the church, breakfast was getting ready for us to eat.
      Ishtar told us that some people were going food shopping in Anchorage while the rest of us went out to the laundromats. We were definitely excited for clean clothes! After the laundry was done we all met up at Sam’s Club and set out on the road again.
      On our journey down the road along the shoreline, we stopped at McHugh Creek. This is a beautiful place to get pictures. There are waterfalls and wonderful sceneries. We all got some great photos to bring home. After spending around an hour there, we once again got into our lovely vans and drove off to Seward.
      By now we all were getting really hungry, so we stopped at The Bake Shop for lunch. The rolls were wonderful, and a lot of people got soup and grilled cheese. After that we went shopping for a little while. Once again on the road, we didn’t stop until City Campground in Seward. On the rest of the drive we saw a moose, glaciers, and beautiful mountains.
      Eventually we all drove into the camp slots and set up our tent. One van was at the airport in Anchorage still waiting for some new arrivals. Mrs. Carrel, Mr. Smith, and Ashley Smith are coming for the second part of the trip. To get ready for them, we sent two other people back to Michigan today. Those two people were Mrs. Campeau and Mr. Maynard. They were very nice and caring and were two people that everyone loved having here. We will miss them, but we are looking forward to our newcomers.
      Once everyone got camp set up, we heard that the newcomers’ flight had gotten delayed, so we had to send another van to go and get the people who were waiting to pick them up. We will wait to see Mrs. Carrel, Mr. Smith, and Ashley until tomorrow night. While things were getting taken care of at the airport, the rest of us were playing a form of dodge ball with socks. We all had fun releasing all of our energy and then went off to journal and have free time.
      We have had a long day of being on and off the road for hours. We are glad to be in Seward and set up at City Campground.

     Airports always give me a sense of adventure and new beginnings. Today would be a new adventure for Debbie Carrel along with Ken and Ashley Smith. They would be switching spots with Annette Campau and Jim Maynard in the food van. Unfortunately, neither group could spend all three weeks in Alaska.
      When we finished lunch at The Bake Shop in Girdwood, everyone gave their final good byes to Annette and Jim. After a few tears were shed, the group (excepting the food van and Mike Cosgrove’s van) left for Seward. Mike took a little nap in the food van to get some sleep because we would be driving late into the night to get to Seward after meeting the airplane.
      Mike and Annette drove Matt Bowers, Jenni Klingsmith, Kenni Bentley, Ashley Keel, and me to Portage Glacier to use our free time before we drove to the airport. We walked through the visitor’s center taking pictures in a kayak, looking through the eyes of a bee, and learning more about the 1964 earthquake. Once we finished, we walked outside to catch a glimpse at Maynard Mountain. Annette was excited to see that there were floaters from the glacier in the lake. The ice that washed onto the shore was crystal clear. We made our way over to the gift shop where they had some really good ice cream that we took to our vans. We ate our ice cream as we drove down the road looking at the scenery on the way to the airport.
      Annette’s voice came over the radio as she informed Mike that Debbie, Ken and Ashley had missed their connection flight in Chicago due to a delay in Detroit. They would have to spend the night in Chicago and fly in tomorrow. Disappointment filled my heart. I was so excited for them to come, seeing as Debbie is my mom. I was going to surprise her by picking her up at the airport. Now I would not get the chance.
      We still drove on to the airport to drop Jim and Annette off for their flight. Mike, Ashley, and I helped them bring in their bags. We walked through a hallway with lights on the ceiling that changed colors like the northern lights. It was really pretty. Jim and Annette checked their flight time and found that their flight left at 9:40 instead of 11:40, which was the time that they had originally planned on. They rushed to say goodbye and go through security.
      Then we left for the vans in the parking lot. Ishtar called and told us that Tim Cook and George Siefert were on their way to pick up the food van. We waited for what seemed like an hour until they arrived. We headed out to Seward, stopping to get gas and grab a bite to eat at Wendy’s on the way. On the road again, George said, “ The drive to Seward should be one of the top five drives in the country or even the world.” This is true. It is breathtaking even on a cloudy day. On the way to Seward we all thought about how much we wished that those at the airport in Chicago could be here with us.