Alaska Day One: Anchorage --> Portage Glacier

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I'm not sure anyone really *cares* about the details, but I have like a thousand pictures and I've been missing Alaska something fierce, so y'all are stuck with a day-by-day series of posts. Actually, you're not stuck. The little x on the upper right (or left, for Mac users) corner can make it all go away :)

My first day in Alaska I drove southeast on the Seward Highway along Turnagin Arm. Along that route, I swear there's a trail or an observation area every 5 miles. I'm sure they do this in other parks, but there every park or maintained trail I found had a little box for you to just write down where you parked and put in $. To me, it kind of underscored the "you're on your own" aspect of the trip. It was both liberating and (a little) intimidating.

One thing I can't capture in film or video is the smell - it's a sweet, flowery smell. Of course it's not *everywhere*, but in the natural areas, you smell that more often than anything else. Even at the marshes and right by the water.

My main stops were Potter Marsh, Beluga Point, Portage Glacier and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

I'm hoping this photo slide show plays well and does the area a small measure of justice. If you want to view the photos at your own pace, just click on the slide show and it should take you to the album.

Lu-Lu's Opera

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(All sung to a baby doll and two stuffed Bambis, unless otherwise noted. And we all thought Bean had the lock on unintentional comedy.)

I want my gramma and my grampa
Grampa is my favorite
Grampa is my favorite boy
I forgot my deer
I'll go get it, I'll be right back
Can I come with you?
No, you can stay right here, I'll be right back

(spoken)
Mama, I'm getting my baby deer
her name is Bambi

I found her

(resume opera)
I found it
neigh
neigh

Nice to meet you, nice to meet you.

Guys.
I love you horsies; I love you guys deers

My name is calypso and name is Ayssa
neigh-neigh (because all deer say neigh-neigh, apparently)

Are you pickin' on your nose guys?

Neigh! yes! We're just pickin' on our nose

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To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.

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(Title quote from John Muir)

I've been home for almost two weeks, and Bean's b-day got it's spotlight, so it's time for the rundown on my trip to Alaska.

I was off-duty July 4^th weekend, and had the 5^th off, so I decided to extend it a little on both sides and take myself on vacation. I had considered Wisconsin to visit family, and Florida to visit friends and my sister, but - much as I love my friends and family - the options just weren't dinging my bells.

I wanted to push myself to do something that scared me. Trekking around Alaska alone was the gutsiest thing I could think of to do as a solo trip. And I’ve wanted to visit the 49th state for a long, long time.

(Spoiler alert: I could *not* see Russia. From anywhere. Not from a back porch or from a mountaintop. I even tried with my spiffy new 75/300 zoom lens. No dice.)

Alaska has been calling my name for years. There’s just something about it that speaks to my soul; all that wide open space, all that natural beauty, all the wildlife … And it’s Alaska. One of the last truly great wild spaces on such an epic scale. Denali. Countless other mountains. Rivers and streams. Humpback whales. Black, brown and polar bears. Killer whales. Seals. Wolves. Bald eagles. Caribou. Moose.

I’m seriously wishing I was back there already.

I went without any real plan or itinerary, other than flying in and out of Anchorage and staying 4 nights in Anchorage, then driving down to Seward for a night before flying home. I reserved hotel rooms and a car, and winged the rest. And you know what? Traveling like that rules.

Actually, traveling solo kind of rules, too. Next time I go I’m bringing CD’s for the car, because there’s plenty of dead air as you drive around. But then you pick up some random station and listen to local public radio stories about Raven's Radio Hour, which I wish I had seen while there. And then that goes away and 20 minutes later you can indulge in some guilty pleasure sing-alongs with Journey and 38 Special (you know you know the words to both of those) as a staticky classic rock station penetrates the mountains all around you.

It's just an amazing place, and using Anchorage as a base was brilliant, if I do say so myself. There's just so much to explore within a 2-3 hour drive. In that time you can get to Seward or Talkeetna, on any of hundreds of trails and activities between them. You seriously can't drive more than 15-20 minutes heading toward either without somewhere to pull over and just walk in the woods.

I'll give y'all the day-by-day breakdown in the days to come. It's the most beautiful and amazing place; one I'll return to many, many times.

Happy Fifth Birthday Bean!!

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Sweets, we've gone through a lot together so far, and I wanted you to know what I know:

You have a heart as big as Texas
You make me laugh every. single. day.
You've changed me, for the better, in so many ways.
You're an amazing person.
You ask so many great questions about the world around you.
Your curiosity and inquisitiveness keep me on my toes.
You're sweet and loving and never hesitate to show it.

You are magical, amazing and I am so lucky to be your mommy.

Happy Birthday, Princess. I cannot *wait* to see what the next year brings.


One hour old


One year old


Two years old


Three years old


Four years old


Five years old

Come on! It's a party!

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Today was the big girl's 5th birthday party. We did a joint party with two of her best friends, the fabulous Miss C and the irrepressible Miss A. Miss C's b-day is about two weeks before Bean's, and Miss A's is the day after Bean's. We usually have a 4-week run of parties, interrupted by July 4th, as a result.

This year, we opted for the joint party approach. And, believe it or not, it went off without a hitch. No catfights between the moms, no drama with the girls.

















The big girl had a blast, and so did her friends and her little sister. It was a fabulous way to get ready for her big 5th birthday. Thanks so much to everyone who joined in the fun!
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So mostly her, um, finger painting and macaroni art

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I have some cool news to share, but don't feel like a big long post tonight, so I'll share a few recent pics instead.

One of Bean's "Feelings Journal" entries



"I'm going to draw space so I know what it looks like", complete with the Earth, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, an asteroid belt, stars and the sun. Seriously.



Bean's heart drawing



Why I wonder about my kids' mental well-being. A lot.


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games people play

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I've been wishing I had a single girlfriend or two of late; I'd love to go out and have a couple beers, just do the low-key casual thing, maybe meet someone. All the spiffy ads talk about how so many people are meeting their significant others online ... but I freakin' hate that approach. I'll do it, because I don't have much choice when it comes to actually *meeting* people, but I hate it. I'm so much more *organic* than that.

Le sigh. Getting matched with guys with mullets (seriously) and old fat guys (sadly, seriously too) doesn't help me appreciate online dating, either.

I'm listening to the girls play. It's like a sad parody of parallel play, where Bean starts some elaborate game that no-one understands. Then LuLu tries to join in but has no idea how to engage with Bean's convoluted scenario. Today's play includes a "yak poker that pokes people away from trouble" hand crafted from Legos and "a vehicle that likes to eat (rattles off first, last and middle names for her dad, sister, self and I) and it's a very mean vehicle. It doesn't really eat people, it teases people. And hits them." It's shocking, really, that LuLu can't figure it all out.

Eventually Lu gives up and starts her own game, usually with little action figures and dollies playing mommies and babies (and the babies just said "back. off. I need space. I need space too!) and tries to engage Bean.

LuLu: Can I hug you, Bean?
Bean: NO.
LuLU: (pauses) Can I hug you Bean?
Bean: NOOO!!! Aaaah! Get off me! I don't want a hug!

Those who know Bean well get how funny it is that she's on the receiving end of the unwanted hug :)
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