The More Things Change, the More They Remain the Same

Never had time to access the computer during the trip up. So there's some already-old news to recount. The nights before leaving were filled with family and friend good-byes. They all will be very much missed. Dan, a trainee from Tucson, stayed the night at our house to be part of the crew riding up on the coach. We said good-bye to Lauren in the morning. After exploring all options, it ended up that Dan and Taylor would ride the coach and I would convoy with the pick-up. Since I enjoy driving, that was fine with me...plus I wanted to get a couple of geocaches on the way to Las Vegas.

No, we did not go to Las Vegas simply because we are inveterate gamblers! Railroad Pass is right on the line between Boulder City, NV and Henderson, NV. It was there that we picked up Todd and Rhonda, also trainees. We all had lunch there along with Todd's friend, Linda and our friends, Al and Lou. The destination that evening was not far away: Mesquite, NV...simply because the rooms are inexpensive. Rhonda was nice enough to accompany me the rest of the afternoon....and patient with a couple of very unsuccessful attempts at geocaching using only my phone. Blyecch! Give me my GPSr with downloaded caches!!!!!

We stayed at the Virgin River Casino. For the duration of the trip to Seattle, we shared a room with Taylor and the other three shared a second room. Virgin River Casino turned out to be loads of fun....I bet $40 at the craps table and turned it into $82. Then I turned that $82 into $350(!!!!!) at the blackjack table. All this with Todd grabbing his head and saying, "GET OUT NOW!!!" I am happy to have ignored him. When everyone was ready for dinner, it was on me. Only sorry we couldn't find Dan and Rhonda so they could benefit from my good luck.

I drove the pickup the next morning and Rhonda again was kind enough to accompany me as we headed up through Utah.We made good time and had lunch at a Cracker Barrel north of Salt Lake City. We ended up the night at a Best Western in Jerome, ID. What a nice place! Each guest gets a free beer; gas fireplace in the lobby, very friendly staff and a full breakfast bar. Pizza Hut delivered and we partied in the lobby until late...about 8 p.m. Yeah, what partiers.

We woke up to COLD and RAIN and headed out. No more shorts for awhile! This time, Dan drove the pickup with Rhonda accompanying him as we headed up through COLD and WINDY Idaho and Washington. It stayed extraordinarily windy throughout the day. A lot of talk about how far we would drive that day. With some switching of passengers in Union Gap, WA and taking a wrong turn or two while finding a bathroom break...we ended up in Tukwila, WA...just south of Seattle at a Days Inn. I've stayed in better places, but it was ok. Dan graced us each with a piece of the jewelry that he makes. What a fantastic memento!

We said good-bye to Todd, Ronda and Dan and wished them safe journey and lots of fun as they work in Juneau. It's only 45 minutes away by air...but over $200 for the round trip flight. Still, Jo Wulffenstein from last year is down there and that now makes 4 people I could stay with. That works for me. It is bittersweet to say good-bye to now only them, but to the others in our training class in Phoenix. Yes, Chippy, that means you, too! Haha! We bonded well and it just always seemed odd that we weren't all ending up in the same town. But Chippy, Dom and Mary are in or will be in Fairbanks. A whole bunch are in Juneau and a few in Anchorage and Ketchikan. We will miss them and hope to hear bunches about their adventures in their own locations.

We didn't say good-bye to Taylor because it was her first opportunity to sleep in. So we eased out of the Tukwila hotel room and dropped the coach off in Seattle at the Gray Line bus yard where we met up with Will and Keegan. Finally, we were alone in our own little pick-up and headed out.

We had a bit of discussion on whether we should try to contact anyone, but most everyone we would be able to see we would be seeing in a few short days/weeks. Still, I felt guilty when we spent a good hour at the Horseshoe Cafe in Bellingham for lunch. Bellingham is another training site for HAP drivers and we know a good number of folks who live in the area. However, we wanted to put a lot of miles in that day.

Last year crossing the border we had our vehicle complete searched, had to pull out our pockets and lift up our pants legs. So, I was fully prepared for another thorough inspection. Yay! Only 25 minutes crossing into Canada and we were off...no personal or vehicle search! We made it to Quesnel, British Columbia where we stayed at Billy Barker's casino...where we did NOT make any money. But the room was quaint and quiet and worked perfectly for us. The next day was a huge mileage day as we made it up the Cassiar Highway to Dease Lake to a too-high-priced motel room (usual rate for the area, however) and amazing food at Mama Z's. Highly recommend this place and she's opening another one in Dawson City, YT soon. The Cassiar Hwy. is known for its amazing scenery. However, this year we were treated to rain, snow and low clouds. No scenery for us.

"That being stated," (the quotes are a private joke...apologies) the animal sitings were so much better this year. The whole province was lousy with caribou. We saw a grizzly, a black bear, 3 moose, several ptarmigans, a coyote and a snowshoe hare. It really made up for the lack of mountain scenery. We won't discuss the price of petrol. It hurts.

Monday morning our excitement was rising as we crossed back and forth between the Yukon Territory and British Columbia on the Alaska Highway and the South Klondike Highway. Mike narrated the South Klondike Highway to me, noting places to park, where to have tourists take photos, etc. And we got closer and closer to Skagway. We arrived about 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon. LET THE HUGS BEGIN!

So much fun re-uning (is that a word?) with everyone...some in new positions from what they worked last year. And a whole lot of greeting new people. As the title says, though....the more things change, the more they remain the same. Our room is the same and after unpacking, it looks almost identical to last year. The main differences being that we brought up the flat screen t.v. and we left our Yukon map at home, so we don't have that on the wall. Other than that, here we are. Same room. Same view (beautiful mountain view). But not only are we in the same room, so far all of those returning to the Westmark are in their same rooms, too! There are more married couples this year than last year. Teri and Steve; Elise and Seth, soon Chris and Bri...and that doesn't count those couples where only one person works for HAP. And it doesn't include the dating/living together couples. And it doesn't include the splitting-up couples and the new couples.

So there is drama. As ever. Despite requests to do so, I will not have a public, tabloid, tell-all of the gossip, dirt, accidents and sensational news belonging to the people I work with. Really. I won't. Promise?

Driving down the highway, Chris Whetton was doing dual driving with Taylor and we were all furiously waving...not realizing it was Taylor. Daisy was at the Westmark and she offered to make us hot dogs for lunch. She was a most welcome goddess! I cannot continue to mention everyone who greeted us so very warmly. I'll forget someone and feel awful. Dinner that night was at the Red Onion with Taylor. It's been cold and rainy and/or damp and windy. It's been Skagway.

And then we went right to work the next morning. Experienced drivers drove with new drivers, switching off, showing where to park. I got to experience driving the hill...without a Jake brake (an engine retarder that slows the vehicle down in addition to downshifting). And I got to experience dual driving as quadruple driving because there were THREE experienced drivers with me. How lucky can a girl get? Carolyn or Jeanette asked if I was going to practice my spiel and I said I didn't have a spiel. But then they told me it was a good time to practice. Then everyone later who saw me driving was asking me why I was on the coach microphone like I was giving a tour!!!!

I did well. Very few mistakes. I asked Tony what I could improve and he told me to RELAX. I am, in a phrase, a hot mess. Typical me, I want to be competent and knowledgeable on day one and am stressed that I won't be competent and knowledgeable even by week one....how about month one? I am stressed. I am worried. Knowing I'm the creator of my own angst isn't helping. After the busy day, dinner at the BrewCo seemed expedient. It cannot continue that we eat out every night (I cooked for night 3...all is good).

There is also worry over other things....primarily the health of our parents. Anyone who wants to be a god or goddess can help out by keeping in touch with them if you know them. My mom has fallen and has two cracked ribs and a cracked coccyx. She has a bunch of tests coming up and I'm not there to be with her for those appointments and make sure she has a ride. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you, Bridget, for all your help! Right now, the rest of the parents are status quo with no new problems or issues. Thank goodness!

So far it looks like Taylor is fitting right in here in Skagway and that makes us both so happy. Mike is everywhere at once, it seems. He checked for the coach we used in Phoenix for training to see if it has arrived with more of our stuff on it....won't be in for another week. I took care of cooking, laundry, bill paying, etc. on my half day off yesterday and half day off today. He, Taylor, Manz, Will and Jess hiked up to Lower Dewey lake. Great pics that I saw on the camera, but they haven't yet made it onto the computer. So photos to come. Promise.

There seems to be so much more to say. As if you haven't read for a long enough time! I need to get out of this room and walk off some of the angst. 3 hour operations meeting this afternoon followed by a company pizza party at the Red Onion. And tomorrow....our first ship. And it's a biggie. It's not just a big ship, it's this ship's first Alaskan port which makes it Skagway's first time to impress Disney. A lot of Disney and HAP brass in town for tomorrow.

The Disney Wonder is arriving tomorrow. Allison, who is a station master for the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, posted a video of the Wonder passing under the Golden Gate bridge and tooting its horn. Its horn plays the first line of "When You Wish Upon A Star." All experienced drivers will be doing the tours tomorrow with us rookies riding along to listen and garner information on how to be great tour guides. That's a good thing. I don't need to be on the hot seat just yet.

So much is the same. So much is changed. I will relax. I can handle change with grace and aplomb.