Here's our current itinerary:

Stephen, Alicia and I are flying to Anchorage from Syracuse this Thursday at 8am. We'll arrive in Alaska at 1:15pm Alaska Time that same day. They are 4 hours behind the east coast. We'll change planes in Chicago.

I need to start my new job on Friday the 30th in order to get on the State Pension Plan. All new hires after July 1 will not be eligible for this plan, only a 401(k) type deal. So we paid $1500 each for two roundtrip tickets (with only a 7-day advance purchase) to get on the Pension bandwagon. The state is reimbursing us for the cost of the trip.

I'll work for a week and then we'll fly back to Syracuse. We'll pick up our kids and pets and drive back to VA on July 9th. That trip should give us a little taste of what it'll be like to have all of us in the van when we drive to Alaska the next week! We plan to have a car topper for that trip, but it's still going to be a "cozy" ride! I should probably state right here.... "Don't try this at home. The drivers in this enactment are professionals." [Or just nuts.]

As it turns out, the movers aren't able to arrive until July 12-14. So we'll be chilling in Virginia until they show up, unpack our previous boxes, repack the stuff in their boxes, load everything on a 40 foot container and take off. We will then load what's left including 7 breathing bodies into the Chevy Venture minivan and embark on our 4500 mile road trip, which will include 3 days on a ferry from Washington state to Skagway, AK.

Once we finally arrive in Anchorage and bathe sufficiently, we'll sit back and wait for another month or so for our belongings to arrive. Doesn't this sound fun?! You betcha! And you can enjoy the whole adventure from the comfort of your computer screen. :o)

PS Alicia is officially 17 months old today!