Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The Inside Passage
Here are pictures of the Inside Passage of Canada from our Alaska ferry voyage. Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Ferry Departure at Bellingham
Here are a few pictures of our ferry voyage to Juneau. Ok, really they're mostly pictures of the ferry leaving the dock at Bellingham. We traveled up here last August. Look forward to even more pictures of this journey in future posts! Enjoy!
P.S. The people in these pictures aren't people I know. If it looks like the picture is supposed to be of them - they turned as I was trying to take the picture.
P.P.S. The small blue tent that is featured is our tent! ;)
P.S. The people in these pictures aren't people I know. If it looks like the picture is supposed to be of them - they turned as I was trying to take the picture.
P.P.S. The small blue tent that is featured is our tent! ;)
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Saturday Shopping
Yesterday W and I went out for a short walk and some basic grocery shopping. On the way to the store we enjoyed the sunshine so much that (There was actually sunshine! It's a rare occurrence here in Juneau.) we decided to walk along a trail along the Mendenhall River that's near the store. We went farther on the trail than we had ever been and by the time we started looking for a bridge to cross back over the river to go shopping we found ourselves at the top end of Mendenhall Loop Road.
We had only been to the see Mendenhall Glacier once from the parking lot and only for a few minutes. Because we had gone so far we decided that we wanted to walk a mile or two more to see the Glacier and Mendenhall Lake. So we did! We walked along hiking trails over snow and ice in the woods to get to the visitor's center. Once there we got to look at the glacier and the lake. The glacier was covered mostly in snow so we weren't able to see how blue the glacier normally looks, but what we did get to see and experience was even better!
The lake had frozen over and lots of people had walked across it to go see the glacier more closely and the icebergs in the lake. W and I were both hesitant to go at first because we're not the smallest people and it seems that a lot of people up here are smaller than we are, but as we got to the area that we figured was the shore we saw that there were some larger people already out on the snowy ice so we decided to take the chance. I'm so happy we did. We went a far way across the lake and looked closely at and touched two of the three icebergs in the lake. There was a beautiful waterfall near the glacier that we decided we wanted to go see better. However, as we left the main path that most people had walked across to reach the glacier, and took side paths, we felt the ice shift under our weight twice. We then decided that the waterfall looked great from where we could see it, and that we didn't want to go farther to see it better and fall in icy cold water. We went back to the main path and walked toward the glacier. We got to be roughly 150 yards away from the glacier when I started getting really negative thoughts about going farther. Then W said, "Do you feel like we should go all the way to the glacier, because I feel like we shouldn't." The moment he said that I agreed because of the thoughts I had had and we went back.
As we were going back across the ice we felt the ice shift a couple more times on the main path and felt happy with our decision to head back. We also saw some friends that we have made while living here. We visited with them for a while and then they gave us a ride to the store. The best part of shopping at the store was buying girl scout cookies! That's right, girl scouts were selling their cookies that day. We bought five boxes, there goes my diet. We bought these kinds: Thin Mints (a must - my favorite since I was a little girl), Thank U Berry Munch (yummy cranberry cookies), Tagalongs (cookies topped with peanut butter and covered in chocolate), Dulce de Leche (really yummy caramel cookies), and Savanna Smiles (lemon cookies for the lemon lover). So I think shopping was quite successful!
It was such a fun shopping trip, I only wish that I had taken our camera. I enjoyed seeing more rain forest and snow and lots of ice but I found myself missing the desert landscapes that have surprisingly started to feel like home.
We had only been to the see Mendenhall Glacier once from the parking lot and only for a few minutes. Because we had gone so far we decided that we wanted to walk a mile or two more to see the Glacier and Mendenhall Lake. So we did! We walked along hiking trails over snow and ice in the woods to get to the visitor's center. Once there we got to look at the glacier and the lake. The glacier was covered mostly in snow so we weren't able to see how blue the glacier normally looks, but what we did get to see and experience was even better!
The lake had frozen over and lots of people had walked across it to go see the glacier more closely and the icebergs in the lake. W and I were both hesitant to go at first because we're not the smallest people and it seems that a lot of people up here are smaller than we are, but as we got to the area that we figured was the shore we saw that there were some larger people already out on the snowy ice so we decided to take the chance. I'm so happy we did. We went a far way across the lake and looked closely at and touched two of the three icebergs in the lake. There was a beautiful waterfall near the glacier that we decided we wanted to go see better. However, as we left the main path that most people had walked across to reach the glacier, and took side paths, we felt the ice shift under our weight twice. We then decided that the waterfall looked great from where we could see it, and that we didn't want to go farther to see it better and fall in icy cold water. We went back to the main path and walked toward the glacier. We got to be roughly 150 yards away from the glacier when I started getting really negative thoughts about going farther. Then W said, "Do you feel like we should go all the way to the glacier, because I feel like we shouldn't." The moment he said that I agreed because of the thoughts I had had and we went back.
As we were going back across the ice we felt the ice shift a couple more times on the main path and felt happy with our decision to head back. We also saw some friends that we have made while living here. We visited with them for a while and then they gave us a ride to the store. The best part of shopping at the store was buying girl scout cookies! That's right, girl scouts were selling their cookies that day. We bought five boxes, there goes my diet. We bought these kinds: Thin Mints (a must - my favorite since I was a little girl), Thank U Berry Munch (yummy cranberry cookies), Tagalongs (cookies topped with peanut butter and covered in chocolate), Dulce de Leche (really yummy caramel cookies), and Savanna Smiles (lemon cookies for the lemon lover). So I think shopping was quite successful!
It was such a fun shopping trip, I only wish that I had taken our camera. I enjoyed seeing more rain forest and snow and lots of ice but I found myself missing the desert landscapes that have surprisingly started to feel like home.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Weekly Posts
Hello all,
January was a month full of stress for me at my work. So far February has also been stressful at work but I'm making a greater effort to separate my work life from my real life. I work full time at a very popular retailer. My job there is not the typical job you might think of when you think of people that work there, I'm the person who gets to pay all of the bills that come to the store. I have found that many people at my work consider this an important job and a good career, I disagree because I think a career is one in which a salary is paid and not an hourly wage. So I, in all of my glory, have been for the past few months preoccupied with worry over this piddly job - to the detriment of my health and happiness.
February, I believe, is far enough from the holidays to have returned to a normal course of life and close enough to the new year to still work on resolutions. I have many. But I feel the most important one to mention at this point in time is my resolution to post weekly on this blog. Be warned, I lead a fairly predictable and somewhat boring life these days. Searching for new and interesting things to share is difficult for me, but I will strive to do this for the few friends and family members that actually view this blog. I find that a big reason why I refrain from posting regularly is lack of visual aids, I apologize for this. I will post weekly with or without photos of our life and I hope that this will be sufficient for our readers :)
On another note, after living here for half a year W and I have learned that Alaska is not our dream state to live in. This experience has been good for us. I think that moving to an entirely new place without work, friends, or family has helped us grow as a couple and it has also helped us learn more about ourselves and what we want in our life together. That said, we have bought tickets to move back to the contiguous United States in July. This will allow us to witness Spring and more of Summer before moving back. I am hopeful that many picture opportunities will occur in the coming months because we will have more daylight hours outside of work to go out and enjoy the nature around Juneau. But, truth be told, I am really looking forward to moving back and being closer to family and friends. I love you all and miss you all very much. I hope that this February can be a time of renewal and refocus for all of you who wish it.
P.S. Happy belated Valentine's Day!
January was a month full of stress for me at my work. So far February has also been stressful at work but I'm making a greater effort to separate my work life from my real life. I work full time at a very popular retailer. My job there is not the typical job you might think of when you think of people that work there, I'm the person who gets to pay all of the bills that come to the store. I have found that many people at my work consider this an important job and a good career, I disagree because I think a career is one in which a salary is paid and not an hourly wage. So I, in all of my glory, have been for the past few months preoccupied with worry over this piddly job - to the detriment of my health and happiness.
February, I believe, is far enough from the holidays to have returned to a normal course of life and close enough to the new year to still work on resolutions. I have many. But I feel the most important one to mention at this point in time is my resolution to post weekly on this blog. Be warned, I lead a fairly predictable and somewhat boring life these days. Searching for new and interesting things to share is difficult for me, but I will strive to do this for the few friends and family members that actually view this blog. I find that a big reason why I refrain from posting regularly is lack of visual aids, I apologize for this. I will post weekly with or without photos of our life and I hope that this will be sufficient for our readers :)
On another note, after living here for half a year W and I have learned that Alaska is not our dream state to live in. This experience has been good for us. I think that moving to an entirely new place without work, friends, or family has helped us grow as a couple and it has also helped us learn more about ourselves and what we want in our life together. That said, we have bought tickets to move back to the contiguous United States in July. This will allow us to witness Spring and more of Summer before moving back. I am hopeful that many picture opportunities will occur in the coming months because we will have more daylight hours outside of work to go out and enjoy the nature around Juneau. But, truth be told, I am really looking forward to moving back and being closer to family and friends. I love you all and miss you all very much. I hope that this February can be a time of renewal and refocus for all of you who wish it.
P.S. Happy belated Valentine's Day!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Happy Twelfth Night!
Our yule celebration this year is now done. W and I celebrate the twelve days of Christmas beginning on Christmas Eve and ending last night. We both had a lot of fun this yule. We played a lot more board games together this year and loved it.
I think my favorite moment from our whole celebration was the moment that W opened his ninth gift. I bought him the game "Dark Tower". It was released in 1981 and shortly after that it was taken off the market because of a lawsuit over who really created the game's concept. W first wanted this game when he was four and, due to its scarcity, has now finally received it (I love ebay). He was so full of joy when he opened it! It made me so happy to see him finally getting something that he has wanted for years.
When I look back on this yuletide I will be able to remember wonderful times spent with the man I love and the excitement I felt, and continue to feel, about sharing my life with him.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
I think my favorite moment from our whole celebration was the moment that W opened his ninth gift. I bought him the game "Dark Tower". It was released in 1981 and shortly after that it was taken off the market because of a lawsuit over who really created the game's concept. W first wanted this game when he was four and, due to its scarcity, has now finally received it (I love ebay). He was so full of joy when he opened it! It made me so happy to see him finally getting something that he has wanted for years.
When I look back on this yuletide I will be able to remember wonderful times spent with the man I love and the excitement I felt, and continue to feel, about sharing my life with him.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
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