We had breakfast with my father-in-law this morning. He took us to the airport in mid-morning. We sat in the airport holding pen for far too long, which meant enjoying the ever-challenging CNN dayparts. Why airports feel the need to turn it on CNN and break off the knobs we may never understand.

We they must almost always be turned to the highest possible volume first just seems like a crime against humanity.

Anyway, we flew to Salt Lake City, where we had our first experience in one of the secured “travelers clubs.” You pay a bit more and you get snacks, quieter rooms, better chairs and less crowds.

Worth every penny.

It turns out that my step-father was in Salt Lake City at the same time. He was over in one terminal waiting on his turnaround and we were waiting elsewhere for ours. We did not have time to meet, but it was kind of funny.

I got War Eagled on the plane to Salt Lake and then again inside that special club room. There’s just no end to the family reunions.

Here are some photos from the rest of the trip. We headed northwest, over the corner of Canada and landed, finally, in Anchorage.

On the one hand we traveled something like 16 hours on the day, after you figured in the time zones. On the other, we went across the entire country. Aeronautics are amazing, despite the cattle-car-in-the-sky mentality.

When we arrived it was about 11 p.m. local time. And it was still daylight. Our friends Adam and Jessica picked us up and took us to their place, and we enjoyed the mountains in twilight all the way there. Tomorrow we’ll start seeing the sights.