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My stomach growls in response. I never did get the snack I wanted.
We follow Mark out to the car, and he drives almost halfway to the hotel before we find a cute diner to have lunch in. It’s early afternoon, but the place is pretty empty so we’re seated in a booth immediately.
We order burgers and fries as our last meal in Alaska. Once the waitress has our order, I ask John and Mark how their sessions went today. They were both on panels. I wanted to attend to hear what they had to say, but they were panelists in different sessions at the same time, and it felt wrong to choose between them.
“Really well!” Mark answers. “It was my first time being a panelist, but I think I did okay. I got a few compliments afterward.”
“That’s great! What about you, John?”
“Pretty much the same. The moderator tried to dominate the conversation, but I’m used to that. It was a good conversation besides that.”
“I’m glad. I wish I could’ve seen you guys.”
“You didn’t miss much, I promise,” Mark says. “How was the panel you attended?”
“Really good. I learned a lot.”
I don’t mention Jane. We’ve hardly spoken about her since the first time we met, and I’d like to keep it that way.
Our burgers arrive, and we chow down. After we finish, John pays the tab, and we head back to the hotel. My eyes are trained out the window the entire drive. I don’t see another moose, but there is plenty of wildlife to take in.
Yet another thing I’ll miss when we’re back in New York.
Our belongings are still strewn around the rooms when we arrive at the hotel. We knew we’d have the afternoon to pack, so we weren’t worried about it when we left this morning.
John, Mark, and I immediately get to work putting our clothes back in our suitcases. I put on some yoga pants and a comfy shirt for the plane ride home. I learned on the trip here that comfort is key on a cross-country flight. At least this time, I can take a motion sickness pill since I’ll be able to sleep it off tomorrow.
I play music on my phone as I pack. I’m dancing around the room, tossing my worn clothes into the suitcase, when a voice startles me.
“You’re so adorable,” John murmurs. “I love that you dance like no one is watching.”
“Well, I didn’t think anyone was watching.”
He laughs. “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt. Please, carry on.”
“I’m done packing, anyway.”
“Us, too.”
John helps me zip my suitcase and wheels it out to the main room. I follow behind him with my carry-on. After double-checking to make sure I have everything, I turn off the light.
“We still have some time to kill,” John mentions. The three of us are standing around with our suitcases around us. “What should we do?”
I sigh. “I don’t know. I’m not ready to leave yet.”
“Me, neither. Plus, I don’t want to spend too much time at the airport. We have about two hours before we have to leave.”
I think for a minute. Over the last week, we’ve done a lot. We’ve gone to museums and learned about Alaskan history, on top of all of the stuff we learned at the conference.
My favorite activity we’ve done has been the hikes, though. We’ve gone on longer, more difficult ones all week. Yesterday, we hiked up an actual mountain. The view was beautiful, and the air felt clearer than I’ve ever breathed. I could’ve stayed up there forever.
“What if we go for a hike?” I suggest.
“Oh, that’s a great idea! Where, though?”
“Since we don’t have a lot of time, let’s go back to the trail we did on our first day. We can do a shorter loop so we get back in time. It’ll be a nice way to bring our trip full circle.”
“I like that idea,” Mark says. “That trail was really nice.”
“Perfect. Let’s go, then.”
“Wait, what about our stuff? Don’t we need to check out?”
“I got us a late checkout since I knew we’d be here until mid-afternoon, if not later. We can leave our stuff here and grab it when we get back.”
“Oh, okay.”
We leave our suitcases in the room and head for the lobby.
“Leaving already?” the concierge asks when he sees us. “I thought you would be here for a while longer.”
“We’re just going for a short hike, but we do have to leave this evening.”
The concierge frowns in disappointment. He has been nothing but kind to us since we checked in. I’ll miss him, too.
“I hope you’ll visit again soon. Enjoy your hike!”
We assure him we will and head outside. It’s a bit chilly, but nothing a couple of miles of walking won’t fix. Leading the way to the trailhead and down the path, I take a deep breath of fresh, Alaskan air.
