Our final days in Juneau Alaska went by too quickly. Friday and Saturday were a blur, blending together farwell concerts and two flights back home (three if you include Tim's connector flight back to New Haven!). We hope we will be able to continue to share our travels with you from around the country and the world (remember, we'll be in Germany this August!).
Our final morning in Alaska began with a home cooked breakfast in our hotel room, as Matt had finally masterd the "over-easy" egg and the art of the non-burnt bacon after a week's worth of trial and error. Our final formal concert in Juneau was held at noon at the Nugget Mall, just outside of town. A lovely crowd came out to see us on our final day, and we were able to say our goodbyes to our wonderful hosts at Juneau Jazz and Classics.
After our final concert, we headed back into town to give our final outreach workshop with the K-8 students of the Juneau Community Charter School. Having a excellent music program, we were able to play fun games with elementary school students and introduce the idea of chamber music to the older music students.
With our musical activities coming to a close, we had a couple hours to pack before heading home. Our first flight left around 7:30pm (Juneau time) and took us further into the great north to Anchorage, Alaska. We bought some necessities at the Anchorage airport (McFlurries and sleeping pills) and boarded our 6 hour flight through the night to Chicago. By this time, we had given up on trying to figure out which time zone we were in and tried to get as much sleep as we could. We arrived in Chicago at 8:00 am (Chicago time), were picked up by Kari's Aunt and Uncle, and proceeded to sleep on the floor of their cargo van. Still exhausted and confused about what day it was, we dropped Tim off for this third flight of the day back to Connecticut, and the four of us proceeded to drive back home to Ann Arbor.
What was our favorite part of Alaska today?
Tim: I had a fun time gathering up a thank-you gift for Caroline Ross, who was so amazing and wonderful to let Akropolis borrow her english horn for Fischoff and Alaska.
Ryan: On our last day in Alaska, I ventured our to the local Salvation Army and picked up some amazing (and surprisingly well-valued) records for my collection. Good thing I had some weight to spare in my suitcase.
Andrew: The man who ended up driving us to the airport was such a character. Being able to hear some incredible Alaskan experiences from him and all the locals will be something I will miss.
Kari: We finally saw a bald eagle! It took us five days in Alaska, but one was perched on a street light as we were driving out of town.
Matt: The long, overnight flights home were not my favorite. I did however enjoy the "first drink's on us" policy of Alaskan Airlines.
To sum it up, the trip was an unexpected and incredible adventure. The five of us never imagined we would ever be asked to bring our chamber music to a place so unique and beautiful. All five of us will miss Alaska: the supportive community, the great brews, the breathtaking sights, and exploring America's final frontier.
To see all of our photos from our week long stay in Alaska, visit our Flickr page here!