This trip was over 10 years ago in September and the details are rather fuzzy. Nonetheless, we are including this itinerary because it was an interesting one involving driving and the state ferry system. We saw lots of animals and untamed natural scenery.

September is the transition month between the tourist season and the off season in Alaska.  As a result, many business that serve tourist were either closed or about to close for the off season.

Day 1: We flew to Anchorage, checked into our hotel, and rented a car & explored the city.

Day 2: We drove to Seward and boarded a Kenai Fjords day glacier viewing Boat Tour.  On the way we passed through a single lane tunnel used by both trains and autos.  There are set times for trains and autos in each direction.  If you arrive at the wrong time you have to wait.

Day 3: We drove all day in the shape of an upside down U to the border with Yukon Territory, Canada, on the AK 1 freeway. We reached the border at dusk and, after clearing immigration, we found our hotel.  We had made a reservation online, but there was absolutely no one there.  Everything was unlocked and we wandered around, finding empty rooms, linen closets etc.  I was about to just move in when a man, the owner, entered.  He told us he was closed for the season.  We produced our reservation, but he knew nothing about it.  He took us across the street to a similar hotel and arranged for us to stay there.

Day 4: We continued on to Skagway, Alaska. We explored the rather small town (pop. 800) trying out the three bars in town. We learned that only one remained open throughout the winter.

We parked our car on the pier and boarded a ferry. We boarded the ferry at about 10PM and were due to arrive in Petersburg 3PM the following day, so we had arranged for a sleeper cabin.

The Alaska ferries are amazing.  They go everywhere the cruise ships go, for a fraction of the cost, and many places the cruise ships cannot reach.  For more info, check out:  http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/

Day 5: Petersburg is a small fishing village on an island in the Inside Passage.  The Petersburg fire department had just won some kind of competition in Anchorage and many of the members were on our ferry.  The town was in a festive mood with a welcoming parade.

After checking in to our hotel I was in the mood for sea food.  So, we went to, what we were told was, the best restaurant in town, located right in the fishing harbor.  Much to my surprise, the only sea food on the menu was fish and chips.  I asked the waitress about this and she said, “The season is over, the tourists have left, and the townspeople are tired of fish.”

Day 6: We took the ferry to Juneau, with one stop in Kake (pop. 800.)  During our one hour stay in Kake we somehow managed to find kimchee for sale in the general store.

We spent the night in Juneau.

Day 7: We explored Juneau in the morning and then boarded a ferry back to Skagway.  We picked up our car on the pier and checked in to our B&B.

Day 8: Our hostess informed us the next morning that this was the last day of the cruise season and there would be 5 ships, 10,000 people, descending on this town of 800.  We spent some time in the morning shopping (end of season – everything was half price,) then drove back in to Canada up to Dawson City, the first capital of the Yukon Territory.

Day 9: The next day back to the US on the Top of the World highway.  There is no bridge over the Yukon River, so part of the highway involves a free ferry across the river.  We crossed back into the US at Poker Creek, Alaska, population 2, both border guards.  We continued on to Fairbanks, where we had dinner before continuing on to Denali National Park.

Day 10: We had arrived quite late at our inn outside of Denali and gone right to bed. The next morning we heard everyone talking about what a beautiful Aurora there had been that night.  We missed it.

We toured Denali National Park in the morning before heading back to Anchorage.

Day 11: Flew back to LAX.

 

 

A pure adventure!

We made this trip after getting off a Yangtze River cruise that we booked for $999pp for 8 days as advertised on Travelzoo in  June 2014. For the first time in China, we did not have a native speaker friend guiding us & English was not spoken much in these villages and small towns in central China. All the Chinese words and characters we ever knew became useful! (Yangtze River cruises tend to be expensive going with a cruise line based in the U.S. or Europe. However, local companies do offer cheaper options. Here’s an example.)

All the trains and buses and cabs cost no more than $100pp. Lodging cost total was under $300. Meals were cheap: mostly $5-10pp including beer for Pat.

Day 1: The river boat let us off in Chongqing, and we took a cab to Tujia Sweethome Serviced Apartment, which turned out to be about 15-20 minutes away(by car) from the center of town. Yes, the name was spelled exactly like that. I found it on Agoda.com for $58/night. The place was pretty nicely set-up. Explored the town by taxi and on foot.

Day 2: Train to Pengshui, 2,5 hours SE of Chongqing, then got in a van to be transferred to Wanzu, 20 minutes away. A minibus dropped us off near the boat dock. We accomplished this by showing the Chinese characters: 龚滩古镇 written out for us by native speakers. The boat, however, would not leave unless there were 15 customers, but there were only 5. A long story short, we ended up hitchhiking to the next town & got a van taxi to take us to Gongtan Ancient Village. We found a room facing the Wu River at the best hotel in town for $15/night. Walked around the village. [Gongtan blog link]

Day 3: Bus to Youyang to catch the train to Tongren, about 2 hours SE. At one corner of the square outside of the train station, there were buses with signs saying “Fenghuang” in Chinese characters(鳳凰). Lucky I recognized them! About an hour later, we arrived in Fenghuang, known as the Phoenix Town in English. It took a while to find our hotel, Melody Inn Phoenix($62/night for a deluxe suite on Agoda.com), which was right on the river and was pretty well equipped and nicely decorated. Walked around town. [Fenghuang blog link]

Day 4: Lingered in Fenghuang as long as possible & got on the bus to Jishou, a busy transportation hub 1.5 hours NE. $44 bought us an “Executive Twin” room at Hollyear Inn Jishou.

Day 5: Got on the 8 AM Train to Zhangjiajie City, about 1.5 hours NE. Taxi to our hotel near the south entrance to the National Park. Our room at Guanxanyue Honeymoon Mansion($61/night on Ctrip.com) had a bathtub in the middle of the room. Very nice hotel near a shopping area. Taxi to the Park, which we explored all day on our own. Pat got a senior discount on the entrance ticket.  [Zhangjiajie blog link]  [Baofeng lake link]

Day 6: A 40-minute taxi ride back to Zhangjiajie City & visited Tianmen Mountain National Park. Covered the 30-minute cable car ride, the skywalk and other famous stuff in half a day. Found a hotel in town for a late flight. Can’t remember the name, but the owner spoke perfect English!       [Tianmen Mountain link]

That night, we flew 1.2 hours NW to Xian on Capital Air.

 

We took this trip in September 2010. Five of us traveled together from Los Angeles for 7 nights/8 days in Central Mexico. The total cost per person was about $350 + meals. We could eat quite well for about $10-15pp including a margarita at each meal.

Day 1: arrived in Mexico City & checked into a 3-bedroom apartment($125) found on VRBO.com in an area 10 minutes north of Zocalo. Walked around downtown checking out the major sites and murals.

Day 2: Anthropology Museum and a couple of other museums in the same area. Explored Condesa area. Used city buses.

Day 3: Took the metro to Cayoacan & San Angel areas to trace the footsteps of Diego Rivera and Frida Khalo.

Day 4: 3-hour bus ride to Queretaro. Stayed at a 2-bedroom suite at a hotel 10 minutes outside of downtown. Walked around.

Day 5: 30-minute bus ride to San Miguel de Allende. Stayed at a 2-bedroom suite in a hotel right next to the main square. Explored the town on foot.

Day 6: 1.5-hour bus ride to Guanajuato. Stayed at a three bedroom house on top of the hills. Walked around town.

Day 7: 3-hour bus ride to Guadalajara. Checked into a hotel in downtown. Cab to Tlaquepaque area for arts & crafts shopping and dining. Walked around downtown.

Day 8: flew back to LAX.