MarvinS

My daughter renewed her passport recently.  Filed the paperwork at the local post office on August 16th with normal routine processing and NO expediting service.  We received her new passport exactly 5 weeks later on Sept. 20th, and received her birth certificate and other official paperwork separately in the mail about 3 days later...
We were also told at the post office that it would be at least 12-16 weeks, so was pleasantly surprised when it arrived in 5 weeks!!!

My daughter renewed her passport recently.  Filed the paperwork at the local post office on August 16th with normal routine processing and NO expediting service.  We received her new passport exactly 5 weeks later on Sept. 20th, and received her birth certificate and other official paperwork separately in the mail about 3 days later...
We were also told at the post office that it would be at least 12-16 weeks, so was pleasantly surprised when it arrived in 5 weeks!!!

I know Anchorage well.  The Hilton Garden Inn is in an area considered "midtown", and is about 3 miles away from the Anchorage "Downtown" area near Humpy's and the Glacier Brewhouse (both great places) and the Museum (also very good), along with a lot of other great shopping/dining options.
Lodging is VERY expensive during the summer, so using hotel points is not a bad idea and can save a lot of $$$.  You can always use a taxi/Uber/Lyft from the Hilton Garden Inn after checkout to the Marriott and possibly drop off your luggage for a later check-in, and then already be downtown and walk around...  If you have a rental car (which can also be very expensive), there is a large public parking garage about 1 block away from the Marriott across the street.  Just a suggestion or two!

Yes, it was cancelled!  I felt the earthquake where I live (Kenai Peninsula).  I heard the tsunami warnings going off for a couple of hours before it was cancelled.  The earthquake felt a little different that others in that there were no hard jolts, but just a long 2 minutes of moving and swaying.  My hanging lights and chandelier just swayed back and forth, and there was enough movement that my grandfather clock stopped!  That was rare!  People along the coast do take this seriously, and I watched a steady stream of cars evacuating low lying areas.  The news reported that some of the coast guard ships based in Kodiak left port and headed out.  While out on the water, a tsunami is usually barely detectable, and only materializes once it gets close to shore in shallow water.

I know Anchorage well.  The Hilton Garden Inn is in an area considered "midtown", and is about 3 miles away from the Anchorage "Downtown" area near Humpy's and the Glacier Brewhouse (both great places) and the Museum (also very good), along with a lot of other great shopping/dining options.
Lodging is VERY expensive during the summer, so using hotel points is not a bad idea and can save a lot of $$$.  You can always use a taxi/Uber/Lyft from the Hilton Garden Inn after checkout to the Marriott and possibly drop off your luggage for a later check-in, and then already be downtown and walk around...  If you have a rental car (which can also be very expensive), there is a large public parking garage about 1 block away from the Marriott across the street.  Just a suggestion or two!

I just checked on a map...I'm right at 402 miles from the epicenter!  That's a pretty significant quake!  It was definitely long and rolling, and wondering when it was going to stop...  Fortunately, no damage in my area and all is well!

I know Anchorage well.  The Hilton Garden Inn is in an area considered "midtown", and is about 3 miles away from the Anchorage "Downtown" area near Humpy's and the Glacier Brewhouse (both great places) and the Museum (also very good), along with a lot of other great shopping/dining options.
Lodging is VERY expensive during the summer, so using hotel points is not a bad idea and can save a lot of $$$.  You can always use a taxi/Uber/Lyft from the Hilton Garden Inn after checkout to the Marriott and possibly drop off your luggage for a later check-in, and then already be downtown and walk around...  If you have a rental car (which can also be very expensive), there is a large public parking garage about 1 block away from the Marriott across the street.  Just a suggestion or two!

I just checked on a map...I'm right at 402 miles from the epicenter!  That's a pretty significant quake!  It was definitely long and rolling, and wondering when it was going to stop...  Fortunately, no damage in my area and all is well!

I just checked on a map...I'm right at 402 miles from the epicenter!  That's a pretty significant quake!  It was definitely long and rolling, and wondering when it was going to stop...  Fortunately, no damage in my area and all is well!

Wow 2 minutes of shaking sounds nuts... glad you are okay...

I'm glad that you are okay!

Yes, it was cancelled!  I felt the earthquake where I live (Kenai Peninsula).  I heard the tsunami warnings going off for a couple of hours before it was cancelled.  The earthquake felt a little different that others in that there were no hard jolts, but just a long 2 minutes of moving and swaying.  My hanging lights and chandelier just swayed back and forth, and there was enough movement that my grandfather clock stopped!  That was rare!  People along the coast do take this seriously, and I watched a steady stream of cars evacuating low lying areas.  The news reported that some of the coast guard ships based in Kodiak left port and headed out.  While out on the water, a tsunami is usually barely detectable, and only materializes once it gets close to shore in shallow water.

Yes, it was cancelled!  I felt the earthquake where I live (Kenai Peninsula).  I heard the tsunami warnings going off for a couple of hours before it was cancelled.  The earthquake felt a little different that others in that there were no hard jolts, but just a long 2 minutes of moving and swaying.  My hanging lights and chandelier just swayed back and forth, and there was enough movement that my grandfather clock stopped!  That was rare!  People along the coast do take this seriously, and I watched a steady stream of cars evacuating low lying areas.  The news reported that some of the coast guard ships based in Kodiak left port and headed out.  While out on the water, a tsunami is usually barely detectable, and only materializes once it gets close to shore in shallow water.

Yes, it was cancelled!  I felt the earthquake where I live (Kenai Peninsula).  I heard the tsunami warnings going off for a couple of hours before it was cancelled.  The earthquake felt a little different that others in that there were no hard jolts, but just a long 2 minutes of moving and swaying.  My hanging lights and chandelier just swayed back and forth, and there was enough movement that my grandfather clock stopped!  That was rare!  People along the coast do take this seriously, and I watched a steady stream of cars evacuating low lying areas.  The news reported that some of the coast guard ships based in Kodiak left port and headed out.  While out on the water, a tsunami is usually barely detectable, and only materializes once it gets close to shore in shallow water.

Yes, it was cancelled!  I felt the earthquake where I live (Kenai Peninsula).  I heard the tsunami warnings going off for a couple of hours before it was cancelled.  The earthquake felt a little different that others in that there were no hard jolts, but just a long 2 minutes of moving and swaying.  My hanging lights and chandelier just swayed back and forth, and there was enough movement that my grandfather clock stopped!  That was rare!  People along the coast do take this seriously, and I watched a steady stream of cars evacuating low lying areas.  The news reported that some of the coast guard ships based in Kodiak left port and headed out.  While out on the water, a tsunami is usually barely detectable, and only materializes once it gets close to shore in shallow water.

Yes, it was cancelled!  I felt the earthquake where I live (Kenai Peninsula).  I heard the tsunami warnings going off for a couple of hours before it was cancelled.  The earthquake felt a little different that others in that there were no hard jolts, but just a long 2 minutes of moving and swaying.  My hanging lights and chandelier just swayed back and forth, and there was enough movement that my grandfather clock stopped!  That was rare!  People along the coast do take this seriously, and I watched a steady stream of cars evacuating low lying areas.  The news reported that some of the coast guard ships based in Kodiak left port and headed out.  While out on the water, a tsunami is usually barely detectable, and only materializes once it gets close to shore in shallow water.

Yes, it was cancelled!  I felt the earthquake where I live (Kenai Peninsula).  I heard the tsunami warnings going off for a couple of hours before it was cancelled.  The earthquake felt a little different that others in that there were no hard jolts, but just a long 2 minutes of moving and swaying.  My hanging lights and chandelier just swayed back and forth, and there was enough movement that my grandfather clock stopped!  That was rare!  People along the coast do take this seriously, and I watched a steady stream of cars evacuating low lying areas.  The news reported that some of the coast guard ships based in Kodiak left port and headed out.  While out on the water, a tsunami is usually barely detectable, and only materializes once it gets close to shore in shallow water.

Yes, it was cancelled!  I felt the earthquake where I live (Kenai Peninsula).  I heard the tsunami warnings going off for a couple of hours before it was cancelled.  The earthquake felt a little different that others in that there were no hard jolts, but just a long 2 minutes of moving and swaying.  My hanging lights and chandelier just swayed back and forth, and there was enough movement that my grandfather clock stopped!  That was rare!  People along the coast do take this seriously, and I watched a steady stream of cars evacuating low lying areas.  The news reported that some of the coast guard ships based in Kodiak left port and headed out.  While out on the water, a tsunami is usually barely detectable, and only materializes once it gets close to shore in shallow water.

Yes, it was cancelled!  I felt the earthquake where I live (Kenai Peninsula).  I heard the tsunami warnings going off for a couple of hours before it was cancelled.  The earthquake felt a little different that others in that there were no hard jolts, but just a long 2 minutes of moving and swaying.  My hanging lights and chandelier just swayed back and forth, and there was enough movement that my grandfather clock stopped!  That was rare!  People along the coast do take this seriously, and I watched a steady stream of cars evacuating low lying areas.  The news reported that some of the coast guard ships based in Kodiak left port and headed out.  While out on the water, a tsunami is usually barely detectable, and only materializes once it gets close to shore in shallow water.

Yes, it was cancelled!  I felt the earthquake where I live (Kenai Peninsula).  I heard the tsunami warnings going off for a couple of hours before it was cancelled.  The earthquake felt a little different that others in that there were no hard jolts, but just a long 2 minutes of moving and swaying.  My hanging lights and chandelier just swayed back and forth, and there was enough movement that my grandfather clock stopped!  That was rare!  People along the coast do take this seriously, and I watched a steady stream of cars evacuating low lying areas.  The news reported that some of the coast guard ships based in Kodiak left port and headed out.  While out on the water, a tsunami is usually barely detectable, and only materializes once it gets close to shore in shallow water.

Yes, it was cancelled!  I felt the earthquake where I live (Kenai Peninsula).  I heard the tsunami warnings going off for a couple of hours before it was cancelled.  The earthquake felt a little different that others in that there were no hard jolts, but just a long 2 minutes of moving and swaying.  My hanging lights and chandelier just swayed back and forth, and there was enough movement that my grandfather clock stopped!  That was rare!  People along the coast do take this seriously, and I watched a steady stream of cars evacuating low lying areas.  The news reported that some of the coast guard ships based in Kodiak left port and headed out.  While out on the water, a tsunami is usually barely detectable, and only materializes once it gets close to shore in shallow water.

Yes, it was cancelled!  I felt the earthquake where I live (Kenai Peninsula).  I heard the tsunami warnings going off for a couple of hours before it was cancelled.  The earthquake felt a little different that others in that there were no hard jolts, but just a long 2 minutes of moving and swaying.  My hanging lights and chandelier just swayed back and forth, and there was enough movement that my grandfather clock stopped!  That was rare!  People along the coast do take this seriously, and I watched a steady stream of cars evacuating low lying areas.  The news reported that some of the coast guard ships based in Kodiak left port and headed out.  While out on the water, a tsunami is usually barely detectable, and only materializes once it gets close to shore in shallow water.

Yes, it was cancelled!  I felt the earthquake where I live (Kenai Peninsula).  I heard the tsunami warnings going off for a couple of hours before it was cancelled.  The earthquake felt a little different that others in that there were no hard jolts, but just a long 2 minutes of moving and swaying.  My hanging lights and chandelier just swayed back and forth, and there was enough movement that my grandfather clock stopped!  That was rare!  People along the coast do take this seriously, and I watched a steady stream of cars evacuating low lying areas.  The news reported that some of the coast guard ships based in Kodiak left port and headed out.  While out on the water, a tsunami is usually barely detectable, and only materializes once it gets close to shore in shallow water.

As I've lived in Alaska for the last 40 years, I've been to Denali several times.  When trying to get there in conjunction with a cruise, you will usually need to plan to add a land tour of some sort to get there.  Denali is a several hour car/train/bus ride one way to get there.
Once at the Denali park entrance (at at the main visitor's center), they base several different park tour buses from that facility that travel varying distances into the park.  There is a road that goes 98 miles into the park and ends at "Wonder Lake" which is where most of the scenic pictures of Denali with a pretty lake in the foreground are taken from.  This is as close as you can get on a bus tour.  Getting to "Wonder Lake" involves a 12-hour round-trip bus ride (about 5+ hours in; a lunch/break time; 5+ hours back to the main entrance).  You make several stops along the road both ways (in/out) as the various smaller visitor centers, so it is not one 5 hour ride only.  They also stop the bus when there is wildlife easily seen along the side of the road (such as bears, moose, etc.)  There are shorter trips that only go part way into the park (to other small visitor centers along the 98 mile road; there are 3 or 4 of them) and then back out.
Being able to see the top of Denali is absolutely NOT guaranteed.  I've seen it a few times clearly from within the park, but the majority of the time (75%+), its usually got a layer of clouds hanging around it.  Irregardless, seeing the wildlife is phenomenal.  Seeing the top of the mountain is just bonus!
My profile picture is actually of Denali on a clear day from a plane as I was flying past from Anchorage to Fairbanks.
My recommendation:  Do a land-tour that includes Denali, and take the bus tour that goes all the way in!  You won't regret it.

+1 for the Thenford Grey tours! (Non-RCL).  We very much enjoyed it when we went with him back in January 2015.  Thenford was an absolute walking encyclopedia of information of St. Kitts!  His website is still functional and up, at least...
https://www.thenfordgreytours.com/