Once all that had been sorted we repaired to the bar to partake of our two free drinks and some bar food which was some of the nicest I have ever had in an hotel bar and was very reasonable. We had initially thought that the two free drinks was one each, but no, it was two each. Better again! 
Because we had been re-booked on the 7am flight we got up at 4:30am (I saw so many 4:30ams on this trip!
) and soon were heading to the airport. Check-in was quick, easy and pleasant and soon we were heading for security. The man who was checking passports etc., at the entrance to security was as pleasant as all of them had been in Alaska and as he handed me back my passport said, “Sláinte” Bless him! 
We moved on to security and it was then that Chris realised he had left his CPAP machine at check-in so had to return to collect it while I continued on. We were soon re-united and headed for the Board Room where the pancake machine was in operation once more (and where Chris managed to leave his gold card at reception - I thought I was the scatty one! )When we boarded the flight we met up with the others from the previous day’s flight and were offered coffee. The load was extremely light and indeed it was no hardship for AS to book us all in First as there was only one other couple in that cabin. Obviously there were no other MVP members in economy to upgrade! There was a bit of a delay as one passenger who had apparently flown in from Honolulu overnight had a dog and wanted to know if he was in the hold. It took some time to resolve and it turned out the dog was on the 6am flight!
The flight was a short one - only 43 minutes so only coffee was on offer. Hmmm! I remember a bmi flight between Dublin and East Midlands lasting 38 minutes in which we were all given a hot breakfast!
I digress! It was uneventful and soon we were landing in Fairbanks. Chris went to sort out the car while I picked up the bags. There was a family together with a dog waiting to meet a mother. Yup, the dog had arrived safely and been sprung from his travel kennel and there was a joyful family reunion.Our original plan had been to do a river cruise before driving south to Denali but as the cruise was due to start at 8:45am Chris opined we were too late so we looked for other options. We discovered there was a place called North Pole
Chris somehow managed to lock the keys into the boot of the car and had the embarrassment of ringing the rental company and saying that he was at the Santa Claus House, North Pole. I think the word he used was “brainfart” and I couldn’t stop laughing!
Thank you for posting 
