I flew into Alaska for the first time recently. Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is the…read moremain airport in Alaska and is also a stopover point for people going to Europe and Asia. It is a major cargo hub and has a seaplane base adjacent to it. The airport itself isn't very large compared to most airports that I have been to. But it has a nice cozy vibe to it. Ted Stevens has two terminals and around 30 gates. When I arrived, I noticed several taxidermy mounts of animals all around the airport. There was also a seaplane on display. It made me feel like I was in the wild. It was a nice way to welcome me to the state of Alaska and got me excited for some of the outdoor activities that we had planned for the week. I did a lot of fishing while I was here and even flew on a small plane over some of the glaciers. The fish count was higher than usual when I was here. Most people were checking in 50 pound boxes of fish when I departed. I checked in a box myself. Overall, getting in and out of this airport went smoothly for me and my crew. This airport is named after Ted Stevens. He was senator of Alaska from 1968 to 2009.

This is an easy airport to navigate through. There are a variety of shops and restaurants. It's…read moreclean and there are plenty of seats while you wait. I love that this airport also basically has a museum integrated into it. I enjoyed seeing and reading the displays.

I was hoping to dislike Wasilla and the Wasilla Train Depot--mostly because of the famous female…read moreRepublican politician who hails from this city. But darn it, Wasilla seems like a nice place and the Wasilla Train Depot was quaint and picturesque. It seemed a lot more modern than some of the other one-horse town depots that are little more than quickie whistle-stops. According to the Alaska Railroad website, "the historic depot in Wasilla is where the train stops to pick up passengers, however it is not staffed by the Alaska Railroad. The building is leased to the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce, and is often closed and locked at train arrival/departure times." Passengers who are boarding at Wasilla park their vehicles in the designated gravel area at least 10 feet from the tracks. Passengers board on the same side of the tracks as the depot building. The area is not sheltered from the elements, so be warned. When the train arrives, have your ID handy for the Conductor or the onboard supervisor, and they will give you a boarding pass which will have your seat assignment. Since the train stops in the middle of Wasilla, be prepared to hustle since street traffic stops on the road in both directions to accommodate boarding and departing. Immediately after leaving Wasilla heading north, be prepared to see some absolutely spectacular scenery, Sara Palin excluded.

We had a great experience with Red Eye Rides and would highly recommend. We flew into Anchorage and…read moreneeded to get to Seward for a cruise. After looking at several options, we decided to go with Red Eye Rides. Communication was awesome the entire time and Paul, our driver, was fantastic. The trip down to Seward felt like a sightseeing tour at times because Paul pointed out different things along the way, including a huge bald eagle nest and historical information about the road and our trip down. Again, if you need to get to Seward from the Anchorage airport, Red Eye Rides is top notch.

Our person whom we spoke to on the phone and the driver were nice and courteous, but beyond that,…read morewe would never use Red Eye Rides again. The 15-passenger van was in bad repair. The exterior was damaged from a previous accident. We rode in the first set of seats and had a non-functioning seat belt. The inside of the van was filthy, the windshield was broken, and the vehicle had bad shocks, which was a safety hazard on the mountain roads. Our driver also repeatedly looked at his clipboard and phone for text messages while driving a loaded van of passengers. We were beyond disappointed.

"I said train kept a rollin' all night long" (Aerosmith)…read more After our Princess cruise ended, we took the McKinley Express train from Whittier to Denali. It was a long ride of 5 hours plus. The train cars were very comfortable and each of the 7 cars (each car holds 80 passengers) had its own Steward. The cars had enormous glass windows and a glass domed ceiling, so you could see just about everything. FYI, each of the 7 cars had a rest room. Our Steward was Jeremy and he was great. As a native Alaskan, he shared a lot of tidbits about Alaskan culture. He also shared some family memorabilia and photos with us. The scenery on the ride was amazing! Mountains galore, plus we saw two mountain sheep and THREE moose! The train has a bar car and you can order drinks at your seat. My group all had lunch on the train, and my hamburger was pretty good. Gina handles the food orders and service and she was great too. We had an excellent experience with McKinley Express.

All I can say is don't use yellow cab for anything... I…read morecalled a few days prior to schedule a pick up for early in the morning to head to the airport. 15 minutes later they never show up... I call them and they never sent anyone to pick me up. They said they would call me back when they found someone. 20 minutes later we load up in our car to drive to the airport and they call to let me know they still can't find anyone.. I would have been not able to make my airplane if I didn't have my jeep to put my luggage in. DO NOT COUNT ON THEM TO COME

Rude, disrespectful, scary, and hard to get anyone who understands what your saying -…read more There has to be a more effective communication approach when handing customers- I understand there are bad people but you can't just treat them all like that-