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Day Of Rest

Ahhhhh Tuesday. The day to remember all the things I didn’t get done on Monday- and push them off until Wednesday.

Today began without a plan.  Sue awoke at 2:30 AM (since she crashed at5:00 PM the night before).  We talked for 30 minutes before both of us going back to bead.

One more “old picture”…this one happened during one of our travels!  Dad loved to travel, Mom not so much!  I remember Dad going to Hawaii on a tramp steamer in 1953 by himself…only a few old fuzzy black & white photos still exist today.  In 1957, Uncle Chuck, a Captain in the US Army,  was transferred to Anchorage Alaska.  Chuck said to dad “Come on up” and we did!  

Dad and I flew on a Northwest Orient Airlines Super Constellation but that, on its own, was a story!  After arriving and transferring airplanes in Seattle, we got aboard the Supper “Connie”.  About two and a half  hours out, I noticed flames on the wing so I asked Dad “Is that normal?”.

Engine #1 caught fire and had to be shut down.  We are fully loaded and half-way to Alaska.  The Captains call was return to Seattle as it had a better airport and was closer to Northwest’s hub.  It was a 1500 mile trip and the ol’ “Connie” barely did 300 miles per hour at a whopping altitude of 25,000 feet!

Flying over Alaska

We turned around and came back to Seattle where we were put up in a hotel.  We were on the 12th floor and I was scared all night long (of the room being 12 floors up).

The next morning, back to the airport and a new constellation awaited us.  We boarded but there were only twelve passengers on a plane that could carry 106.  Most of the Japanese passengers took another airlines the previous night as they needed to get to Tokyo for business. Remember, in those days  the range of a constellation was almost 5,000 miles and Tokyo was 4,800 miles leaving zero margin so an intermediate stop was required!

We spent two weeks in Anchorage and drove all over with Chuck as out guide! It was summer but it got cold in the evenings.

Watch out fore the tides which in Anchorage can be 38′ a day!!

We had a great visit and I will always remember it! Yes, Dad is holding a cigarette which he always had…he quit in 1960 when we went to Urope to visit Uncle Chuck!

The day was easy as I went out for a few minutes to take care of sub perceptions at CVS, drop by the market, and go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

We watched GIlmore Girls, a couple of movies ad then crashed!

About Paul

Just an old retired guy trying to finish out my last years on this planet. I lost my best friend and wife in early 2020. I was blessed again by reconnecting with Dr. Mary Côté, a long-time friend. Mary and I got married July 28th, 2021, and are enjoying life together and plan to spend the rest of our lives being a blessing to our friends and family.
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