Sun sparkled from every corner of Kachemak Bay, its brilliant aqua blue surface stunning my mom and I as we drove into Homer. From its intense color life exploded: sea otters floated holding their new fuzzy babies to their chests, puffins torpedoed through the air, and kittiwakes swooped and called. What an magnificent place we live in! Earth never ceases to amaze me with her abundant beauty.
My mom came to visit me last week, and after she helped me dig a garden and plant we drove down to Homer, made our way across Kachemak Bay to Seldovia, and enjoyed a few days in this incredible part of the world.
On our way to Homer we stopped by the seaside town of Ninilchck. where we pulled of the Sterling highway to see the beach. We wound down through the tiny village of Ninilchick where wooden houses squated along a grassy "u" of land embraced by a bend in the river. An abandoned bright turquoise boat shell advertised for boats.
On a clear day you can see right across to the ever-snowy Alaska Range, home to a number of volcanoes. Today, as the gray sky dripped, it was just the sea ahead of us, heavy and gray.
As we drove the length of the village to the beach we realized we were looking out upon about 20 white-headed eagles gripping the dark sand along the mouth of the river. The looked skeptically our way, some pulling their wings just slightly away from their body as if ready to soar should we come any nearer. One soaking fellow dipped his head into the river over and over. Several others soared above the bluff behind the village chasing and picking at each other.
Looking down a noticed a kaleidoscope of seaweed covered stretches of the beach: peach, scarlet, bronze, scum-green, and brown. Some smooth, some frilled, it added texture to the pebbled beach.
We chanced the local seasonal restaurant and ordered the local specialty:Alaskan Razor Clams, fried with a side of fries. Those clams sank like, well, fried clams in our bellies, and we left feeling like bloated pieces of detritus. That was the last of the fried food we'd eat for awhile!
We stayed at a super cute B&B in homer and ate an excellent dinner at the Mermaid Cafe. The next day we caught a ferry to Seldovia, and enjoyed seeing the sea life on our trip over. We found a lovely hike through the temperate rain forest to a pebbled beach.
The next day we took my very first fishing charter, what a thrill! This wonderful guy, Fritz who runs Alaskan Grace charter, took us out to fish for halibut.
The boat ride out to the Gulf of Alaska was incredible, and then he put some chunks of octopus on some fishing lines for us, attached to a weight about the size of my fist. We lowered the lines, and as I set in to wait, as it always the case when you fish, I turned to look at the captain to see what I should be doing with my line while I waited, and he said, "If they're not biting immediately we'll have to move!" I thought I was hearing things, when sure enough my line started to jounce. About five minutes of arm ache later (I was sure I was reeling in at least a 70 pounder) I had my first halibut!
Mom followed soon after an in literally 15 minutes we both had our limit of 2 halibut each. Wow. I've never experienced fishing like that before!
As mom's visit drew to close I felt so lucky to have been able to spend such a lovely time with someone I love in an awe-inspiring place. Right now teaching in Alaska feels like the best job ever, because I have 3 months to explore this breathtaking place with the people I most love!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
We've got people!
It's 11:32 pm on Memorial Day, and there's still plenty of light left in the day to finish writing my blog! I am definitely finding it difficult to sleep, but since it's summer and I don't have a job to report to for the next two months I just stay up late and nap lots. I definitely feel like I am living to the fullest, it pretty much rocks!
This week marks my one-year anniversary as an Alaska resident, and it was just this week that I've really come to realize we really have made some great friends up here in that short time.
I'll give you something to be pissed about . . .
Hugo, our sweet and huge grey kitty has been super sick. He's got a serious bladder infection, and unfortunately we didn't realize it until he was pissing all over the house and being what I considered to be a big gigantic butt. I was so mad at him, and just sure he was doing it because he was pissed at me for something or other, and then I realized he was really, really sick and trying to tell me something. Poor guy. Now he really has something to be pissed at me about, literally!
We were referred to this great vet (Diamond Animal Hospital) who is open 24 hours and doesn't charge extra for late visits. They patiently saw Hugo two days in a row after 10 pm and made sure he was doing ok and had all the right meds. Apparently, if a cat can't pee it can be a life-threatening emergency, so they were very attentive and patient through the whole process and didn't mind my numerous calls and visits. Thank goodness we had such a good vet up here when we really, really needed one.
If you ever need a farmer's daughter . . .
In my life-long pursuit of organization I sought out some gorilla racks on craigslist (big sturdy metal shelves) to help organize our garage. In typical Jen fashion I arranged to pick them up before realizing they wouldn't fit into our Subaru. What's a girl to do? Call a farmer's daughter!
Marnie was my co-worker this past year, teaching right across the hall from me. This is her first year in Alaska too. She pet sat for Matt and I over Winter Break, and was simply the best pet sitter ever--Jack LOVED her, almost as much as he loves me.
Anyway, she had this big 'ol truck with "Farmer's Daughter" written right across the back window. It is always so hard for me to ask for help, but I I'm trying to acknowledge more and more we are all connected and need to help each other through this life. It only took a phone call and next thing I knew she was hauling my big 'ol shelf in her big 'ol truck clear from one end of town to the other, and on Memorial Day Weekend too!
As we unloaded the shelves into my stuffed-to-the-gills garage I realized I truly have a friend I can call on in a time of need.
Paddle no matter what!
On Saturday we had a HUGE treat: we got to go white water kayaking on the Eagle River. How did we get so lucky you might ask? Well, we've got people!
Matt's co-worker Dave invited us to Kayak with him, supplying us with all the gear from the kayaks to the dry suits to the paddles (even the ridiculous helmets).
We were in this neat-o inflatable kayak that was impervious to rocks and rapids alike. Freezing glacial-melt bursts over the sides of the kayak every time we broke through a rapid, making my blood pump a little faster. Then we'd reach a lazy, calm stretch where we could just float along and enjoy the stunning mountains and lush greenery, and we'd round a bend and be off again, paddling no matter what the river threw at us!
Dave taught us to surf the rapids, a crazy phenomena where you paddle like hell up the river towards a current until you find the quiet sweet spot and can kind-of just sit still in the middle of all that torrential glacial melt pouring downhill around you.
Towards the end we stopped to scout the "bigger" rapids ahead to see if we wanted to brave them. Matt and I decided that in the impervious kayak we'd definitely try it. What a rush! We actually went down a big set of rapids backwards, but the kayak that wouldn't tip just turned sideways, and then we just kept on going right through all those fun rapids!
A much anticipated arrival
My mom arrived late Sunday night, and we are so excited to have her! She is an amazing work horse of efficiency, and has already helped me double-dig my front flower garden. Tonight we ate Chipotle Orange BBQ Salmon Tacos (super yum!) with our neighbor Tracy and celebrated all our people, those who are no longer with us, and those we are lucky enough to still have filling our lives.
Well, the mosquitoes are swarming--even here indoors at my computer. I think I've killed at least 45 today, and 17 of those have been in the past 30 minutes. Maybe it's a sign that I should go to bed! Definitely a sign my posts are way too long. New goal: cut to the bone!
I almost forgot! I added some pages to this blog: a book review page of books by Alaskan authors or about Alaska, and a travel guide put together by Matt and yours truly. You can find links to them right at the top of the page under the the picture of Glacier Bay National Park.
Until next time,
Jen
This week marks my one-year anniversary as an Alaska resident, and it was just this week that I've really come to realize we really have made some great friends up here in that short time.
I'll give you something to be pissed about . . .
We were referred to this great vet (Diamond Animal Hospital) who is open 24 hours and doesn't charge extra for late visits. They patiently saw Hugo two days in a row after 10 pm and made sure he was doing ok and had all the right meds. Apparently, if a cat can't pee it can be a life-threatening emergency, so they were very attentive and patient through the whole process and didn't mind my numerous calls and visits. Thank goodness we had such a good vet up here when we really, really needed one.
If you ever need a farmer's daughter . . .
In my life-long pursuit of organization I sought out some gorilla racks on craigslist (big sturdy metal shelves) to help organize our garage. In typical Jen fashion I arranged to pick them up before realizing they wouldn't fit into our Subaru. What's a girl to do? Call a farmer's daughter!
Marnie was my co-worker this past year, teaching right across the hall from me. This is her first year in Alaska too. She pet sat for Matt and I over Winter Break, and was simply the best pet sitter ever--Jack LOVED her, almost as much as he loves me.
Anyway, she had this big 'ol truck with "Farmer's Daughter" written right across the back window. It is always so hard for me to ask for help, but I I'm trying to acknowledge more and more we are all connected and need to help each other through this life. It only took a phone call and next thing I knew she was hauling my big 'ol shelf in her big 'ol truck clear from one end of town to the other, and on Memorial Day Weekend too!
As we unloaded the shelves into my stuffed-to-the-gills garage I realized I truly have a friend I can call on in a time of need.
Paddle no matter what!
On Saturday we had a HUGE treat: we got to go white water kayaking on the Eagle River. How did we get so lucky you might ask? Well, we've got people!
Matt's co-worker Dave invited us to Kayak with him, supplying us with all the gear from the kayaks to the dry suits to the paddles (even the ridiculous helmets).
We were in this neat-o inflatable kayak that was impervious to rocks and rapids alike. Freezing glacial-melt bursts over the sides of the kayak every time we broke through a rapid, making my blood pump a little faster. Then we'd reach a lazy, calm stretch where we could just float along and enjoy the stunning mountains and lush greenery, and we'd round a bend and be off again, paddling no matter what the river threw at us!
Dave taught us to surf the rapids, a crazy phenomena where you paddle like hell up the river towards a current until you find the quiet sweet spot and can kind-of just sit still in the middle of all that torrential glacial melt pouring downhill around you.
Towards the end we stopped to scout the "bigger" rapids ahead to see if we wanted to brave them. Matt and I decided that in the impervious kayak we'd definitely try it. What a rush! We actually went down a big set of rapids backwards, but the kayak that wouldn't tip just turned sideways, and then we just kept on going right through all those fun rapids!
A much anticipated arrival
My mom arrived late Sunday night, and we are so excited to have her! She is an amazing work horse of efficiency, and has already helped me double-dig my front flower garden. Tonight we ate Chipotle Orange BBQ Salmon Tacos (super yum!) with our neighbor Tracy and celebrated all our people, those who are no longer with us, and those we are lucky enough to still have filling our lives.
Well, the mosquitoes are swarming--even here indoors at my computer. I think I've killed at least 45 today, and 17 of those have been in the past 30 minutes. Maybe it's a sign that I should go to bed! Definitely a sign my posts are way too long. New goal: cut to the bone!
I almost forgot! I added some pages to this blog: a book review page of books by Alaskan authors or about Alaska, and a travel guide put together by Matt and yours truly. You can find links to them right at the top of the page under the the picture of Glacier Bay National Park.
Until next time,
Jen
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Summer's here: hikes and flights and authors oh my!
The bell rang one last time for the school year and the students let out a celebratory whoop before flooding the halls to hug all of their friends goodbye.
We teachers herded and prodded them toward the exits. Waiting outside in the gentle Alaskan sun we watched them load the buses, and then waved farewell as the buses pulled away. "I won't miss you!" I called out as I did the parade wave for what seemed like forever. And as soon as all 10 buses were out of sight the staff of Mears Middle School let out a celebratory whoop too!
You guessed it, Jen has officially finished her last week of school this year. Now that summer feels like is has officially begun we've got plenty of adventures, large and small, underway.
On Thursday Matt took a trip out to Platinum, one of his communities, where he had a rare clear day for his flight. He said the views of anchorage and the surrounding mountains were stunning. As the plane descended toward Anchorage glaciers came into view, all three volcanoes along the Alaska Range, and he even could see all the way down the Kenai Peninsula into the Gulf of Alaska. It's pretty cool that he was on the clock AND earning airline miles while he got to see all this natural beauty.
While in Platinum he spoke with his contact there about goose hunting, which is happening big time right now. Black Brants and Emperor Geese are apparently flying (and being hunted) in in abundance.
As we learn more about subsistence food cultures (and the horrors of industrial factory farmed food) we are very intrigued by this way of life--envious even. But we are not yet hunting ourselves, just unsuccessfully fishing so far. Hopefully this summer we at least become mediocre anglers. Mom and Dad Paterson have recently purchased Matt a new fly rod that will certainly give a good start!
On Saturday Matt and I attended the grand opening of the new Alaska Writing Center called Raven Place. We have both been volunteering to help get the little house clean and ready to go for the summer season; it rents as a guest house in the summer and in the autumn and winter will house writing workshops and such. It's run by 49 writers, and it's very exciting to be a part of this project from the beginning.
The guest speaker was Heather Lende, author of If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name and her latest release, Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs.
She read from Take Good Care and I was awestruck by the honesty and raw emotion in her writing. She basically writes about life in small-town Haines, Alaska, where she lives. But it's fascinating and perceptive and very thought provoking.
In her first chapter she talks about the blessing of the ships in their harbor, a friend who lost her son in a shipping accident, literally being hit by a car, and losing her mom to cancer, and then ended it all with this incredible connection to the Aurora Borealis. I wish I could quote it all here, but that's what libraries are for, right?
I'm looking forward to reading the signed copy of this book in the next few months and promise to report back on it. I'm glad we are finding our way into little bits of communities like 49 Writers up here in this big city.
Matt and I also realized that we have seen more authors up here in the past year than ever before in our lives. We've seen Nikki Giovanni and Heather Lende, and I've seen Chris Crutcher. All three times we got signed books, which are the first books I've ever had signed by authors. I guess that's one of the perks of living in a city!
Today Matt, Jack, and I hiked the Powerline trail. Even though all snow has been melted for weeks down here in the city, and short 20 minute drive up into the Chuguach Mountains brought us to patches of snow, ice, and mud. We had a messy but beautiful hike, and even saw a moose. I think just a few more spotting of those huge beasts and we won't even be fazed by them any more.
Daytime highs are around 55, and at night it's been getting down to about 45. Plenty of light invades every corner of this place right now though, so growth of grass and trees is simply stunning. In some places literally overnight things grow more than you can imagine. I'm looking forward to putting in my garden this next week!
I cannot WAIT for my trip to Glacier Bay National Park in late June. The trip has been made even better by the addition of my best friend Angie. She has always wanted to come to Alaska, so I'm excited that we'll be able to explore this corner of the Last Frontier for the first time together. Check out the map below: can you just imagine what I'm in for? The "A" label is Blue Mouse Cove, where we're hoping to paddle around & camp for a few days. We start in Gustavus (lower right-hand corner) and take a park water taxi into the park (they'll drop us off and pick us up). I could go on and on, but I'll spare you my excited babble and leave off for another time.
View Larger Map
Until next week,
Jen (& Matt)
Book image from: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41bbMkVNoUL.jpg
We teachers herded and prodded them toward the exits. Waiting outside in the gentle Alaskan sun we watched them load the buses, and then waved farewell as the buses pulled away. "I won't miss you!" I called out as I did the parade wave for what seemed like forever. And as soon as all 10 buses were out of sight the staff of Mears Middle School let out a celebratory whoop too!
You guessed it, Jen has officially finished her last week of school this year. Now that summer feels like is has officially begun we've got plenty of adventures, large and small, underway.
On Thursday Matt took a trip out to Platinum, one of his communities, where he had a rare clear day for his flight. He said the views of anchorage and the surrounding mountains were stunning. As the plane descended toward Anchorage glaciers came into view, all three volcanoes along the Alaska Range, and he even could see all the way down the Kenai Peninsula into the Gulf of Alaska. It's pretty cool that he was on the clock AND earning airline miles while he got to see all this natural beauty.
While in Platinum he spoke with his contact there about goose hunting, which is happening big time right now. Black Brants and Emperor Geese are apparently flying (and being hunted) in in abundance.
As we learn more about subsistence food cultures (and the horrors of industrial factory farmed food) we are very intrigued by this way of life--envious even. But we are not yet hunting ourselves, just unsuccessfully fishing so far. Hopefully this summer we at least become mediocre anglers. Mom and Dad Paterson have recently purchased Matt a new fly rod that will certainly give a good start!
On Saturday Matt and I attended the grand opening of the new Alaska Writing Center called Raven Place. We have both been volunteering to help get the little house clean and ready to go for the summer season; it rents as a guest house in the summer and in the autumn and winter will house writing workshops and such. It's run by 49 writers, and it's very exciting to be a part of this project from the beginning.
The guest speaker was Heather Lende, author of If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name and her latest release, Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs.
In her first chapter she talks about the blessing of the ships in their harbor, a friend who lost her son in a shipping accident, literally being hit by a car, and losing her mom to cancer, and then ended it all with this incredible connection to the Aurora Borealis. I wish I could quote it all here, but that's what libraries are for, right?
I'm looking forward to reading the signed copy of this book in the next few months and promise to report back on it. I'm glad we are finding our way into little bits of communities like 49 Writers up here in this big city.
Matt and I also realized that we have seen more authors up here in the past year than ever before in our lives. We've seen Nikki Giovanni and Heather Lende, and I've seen Chris Crutcher. All three times we got signed books, which are the first books I've ever had signed by authors. I guess that's one of the perks of living in a city!
Today Matt, Jack, and I hiked the Powerline trail. Even though all snow has been melted for weeks down here in the city, and short 20 minute drive up into the Chuguach Mountains brought us to patches of snow, ice, and mud. We had a messy but beautiful hike, and even saw a moose. I think just a few more spotting of those huge beasts and we won't even be fazed by them any more.
Daytime highs are around 55, and at night it's been getting down to about 45. Plenty of light invades every corner of this place right now though, so growth of grass and trees is simply stunning. In some places literally overnight things grow more than you can imagine. I'm looking forward to putting in my garden this next week!
I cannot WAIT for my trip to Glacier Bay National Park in late June. The trip has been made even better by the addition of my best friend Angie. She has always wanted to come to Alaska, so I'm excited that we'll be able to explore this corner of the Last Frontier for the first time together. Check out the map below: can you just imagine what I'm in for? The "A" label is Blue Mouse Cove, where we're hoping to paddle around & camp for a few days. We start in Gustavus (lower right-hand corner) and take a park water taxi into the park (they'll drop us off and pick us up). I could go on and on, but I'll spare you my excited babble and leave off for another time.
View Larger Map
Until next week,
Jen (& Matt)
Book image from: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41bbMkVNoUL.jpg
Sunday, May 16, 2010
A change in how I'm posting: welcome to weekly updates! Also: what we'll be doing this summer.
Alright, alright, so I'm probably among the worst bloggers ever because I don't post enough! The problem is I'm always waiting for something noteworthy to write about, when really I feel like I'm just going along living my normal 'ol life. But I've decided that I can find Alaskan things to write about each week, they'll just be smaller, and perhaps a little more subtle.
I've also been inspired by one of my students who blogs now as a result of my evil homework requirement that students write for an hour outside of class each week. He blogs every Sunday, he just sits down and does it. And the result is a reliable post that reflects the ebb and flow of his life.
So that's my new goal: more reliable posts that reflect the ebb and flow of our Alaskan (and just regular ol' Matt and Jen) life. My hope is to give readers and family a more consistent idea of what the heck we're up to!
So . . . this past week I've been winding down the school year. My students and I have just four more days together. I am so, so excited for summer, as are my students. I'm pleased to report that I will be teaching next year at my same school, Mears Middle School, in the same teaching position. I work with a fabulous team of teachers and have really grown to love my working relationship with them.
This summer is going on record in my books already as the best summer ever. We've got some great adventures planned, and even better, we're going to get to spend some quality time with people we really love. One thing about living way up here: our loved ones are so far away, and it takes 5-18 hours to fly to see them depending on where we're headed. Luckily, our current location is enticing many of them to come visit this summer.
My mom comes to visit the first week of June to help me get my summer started off right. We'll be hiking and kayaking and yoga-ing as we hang out just like we used to when I lived in Co.
Our first big adventure will be a LONG trek down to the Florida Keys to vacation with my family. We are really looking forward to spending a week in the sun. Even though spring has technically arrived in Alaska we're still not seeing the sun more than a few days a week, and even then the highs have been only up to 50 degrees.
After that Jen is going to venture down to Glacier Bay National Park with our neighbor Tracy (in case you can't tell I am literally jumping up and down as I report this). It's actually a bit of a trek--we'll be flying down to Juneau, taking a hopper flight to Gustavus, and then taxiing (via boat) into the park to kayak and camp for three days. Tracy said odds are excellent that we'll see: gray whales, orcas, bears, moose, seal pups, tons of sea birds, lots of glaciers, and more! I can't wait to see it all and report back! I am especially thankful that Tracy is including me in this summer adventure. She's taken this trip 15-16 times and so I know I am in capable hands.
At the end of July Matt's entire family, including his aunt Jenifer, is coming to visit us!! We are going to hang out in Homer and Seward and plan to fish, hike, kayak, climb glaciers, and enjoy each other's company in the midnight sun.
Can you see why this will be the best summer ever? I can't wait! A few quick notes on life before summer: Matt's gotten another community to work with: Pelican. That will be his first Southeast Alaskan community. He is very much looking forward to his first visit to the SE this summer. You can see an updated map of his communities below. Jen has been volunteering for 49 Writers by helping them with their new writing center (she's responsible for planting and upkeep of the flower boxes out front). She's even been featured in their blog!
Until next week,
Jen.
Click on the blue markers in the map above to get the community names!
View Matt's Communities in a larger map
I've also been inspired by one of my students who blogs now as a result of my evil homework requirement that students write for an hour outside of class each week. He blogs every Sunday, he just sits down and does it. And the result is a reliable post that reflects the ebb and flow of his life.
So that's my new goal: more reliable posts that reflect the ebb and flow of our Alaskan (and just regular ol' Matt and Jen) life. My hope is to give readers and family a more consistent idea of what the heck we're up to!
So . . . this past week I've been winding down the school year. My students and I have just four more days together. I am so, so excited for summer, as are my students. I'm pleased to report that I will be teaching next year at my same school, Mears Middle School, in the same teaching position. I work with a fabulous team of teachers and have really grown to love my working relationship with them.
This summer is going on record in my books already as the best summer ever. We've got some great adventures planned, and even better, we're going to get to spend some quality time with people we really love. One thing about living way up here: our loved ones are so far away, and it takes 5-18 hours to fly to see them depending on where we're headed. Luckily, our current location is enticing many of them to come visit this summer.
My mom comes to visit the first week of June to help me get my summer started off right. We'll be hiking and kayaking and yoga-ing as we hang out just like we used to when I lived in Co.
Our first big adventure will be a LONG trek down to the Florida Keys to vacation with my family. We are really looking forward to spending a week in the sun. Even though spring has technically arrived in Alaska we're still not seeing the sun more than a few days a week, and even then the highs have been only up to 50 degrees.
After that Jen is going to venture down to Glacier Bay National Park with our neighbor Tracy (in case you can't tell I am literally jumping up and down as I report this). It's actually a bit of a trek--we'll be flying down to Juneau, taking a hopper flight to Gustavus, and then taxiing (via boat) into the park to kayak and camp for three days. Tracy said odds are excellent that we'll see: gray whales, orcas, bears, moose, seal pups, tons of sea birds, lots of glaciers, and more! I can't wait to see it all and report back! I am especially thankful that Tracy is including me in this summer adventure. She's taken this trip 15-16 times and so I know I am in capable hands.
At the end of July Matt's entire family, including his aunt Jenifer, is coming to visit us!! We are going to hang out in Homer and Seward and plan to fish, hike, kayak, climb glaciers, and enjoy each other's company in the midnight sun.
Can you see why this will be the best summer ever? I can't wait! A few quick notes on life before summer: Matt's gotten another community to work with: Pelican. That will be his first Southeast Alaskan community. He is very much looking forward to his first visit to the SE this summer. You can see an updated map of his communities below. Jen has been volunteering for 49 Writers by helping them with their new writing center (she's responsible for planting and upkeep of the flower boxes out front). She's even been featured in their blog!
Until next week,
Jen.
Click on the blue markers in the map above to get the community names!
View Matt's Communities in a larger map
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Did I tell you I live in a stunningly beautiful place?
Not every day, but when that sun comes out it's incredible up here! We're at over 12 hours of light up here (the equinox is this weekend), and boy has that sun been showing it's face.
Here's a shot of sunset (8:30 pm) tonight right across the street from my house. That's the Alaska Range rising up out of a honey-gold and ice-chunked Cook Inlet. Those are lovely oil tanks in the foreground.
This time of year is what they call "breakup" up here--I'm thinking 'cause it's so messy! Really it's just because all that ice and snow is breaking up. Today it got up to 42 in the afternoon, it's melty and puddley and muddy, but then it'll all freeze back up at night, so we've got one toe in winter and one toe in spring.
A solid brown scum coats all the cars, making us feels the tug of the car wash, only to be deterred by enormous lines snaking out from their cavernous entrances. I just want to be wearing muck boots every day (can I wear those to work? do you think that's "professional dress"?). I know they can get away with this in some of the smaller, more practical towns, but Anchorage thinks it's some big fashion stop and I know I'd be on the outs immediately (especially with 120 fashion savvy 8th graders). Maybe next year I'll have the guts to do it anyway.
Anyway--I want you all to come visit. This is truly a remarkable place, and it's not always going to be this pristine and lovely (population growth, climate change, and the rapid and careless destruction of the natural resources are happening, I promise).
As summer approaches I am dreaming of salmon and misty forests and berry-laden bushes. Of the sheer, snow-capped mountains pushing their way right up out of the water where orcas and sea otters glide. I want to kayak and hike and explore my way right back to peaceful, contemplative wintertime. I hope you join me!
Here's a shot of sunset (8:30 pm) tonight right across the street from my house. That's the Alaska Range rising up out of a honey-gold and ice-chunked Cook Inlet. Those are lovely oil tanks in the foreground.
 |
| From Blogger Pictures |
This time of year is what they call "breakup" up here--I'm thinking 'cause it's so messy! Really it's just because all that ice and snow is breaking up. Today it got up to 42 in the afternoon, it's melty and puddley and muddy, but then it'll all freeze back up at night, so we've got one toe in winter and one toe in spring.
A solid brown scum coats all the cars, making us feels the tug of the car wash, only to be deterred by enormous lines snaking out from their cavernous entrances. I just want to be wearing muck boots every day (can I wear those to work? do you think that's "professional dress"?). I know they can get away with this in some of the smaller, more practical towns, but Anchorage thinks it's some big fashion stop and I know I'd be on the outs immediately (especially with 120 fashion savvy 8th graders). Maybe next year I'll have the guts to do it anyway.
Anyway--I want you all to come visit. This is truly a remarkable place, and it's not always going to be this pristine and lovely (population growth, climate change, and the rapid and careless destruction of the natural resources are happening, I promise).
As summer approaches I am dreaming of salmon and misty forests and berry-laden bushes. Of the sheer, snow-capped mountains pushing their way right up out of the water where orcas and sea otters glide. I want to kayak and hike and explore my way right back to peaceful, contemplative wintertime. I hope you join me!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Not so Typical
So it's February, and it's raining here in Anchorage! The snow has turned to dirty slush and everything is dripping and soggy. I now officially know what it feels like to live on top of a slushy.
It feels a little crazy, and it's definitely not what I expected for an "Alaskan" winter. I'm quickly learning, as in most things, there is not a typical "Alaskan" anything.
For one thing, the state is so damn big! From one end to the other the temperatures typically vary at least 40 degrees.
For another thing, Anchorage and many of the coastal areas have just incredibly variable climates. My science teacher co-worker informed me that there is no "typical" season in Anchorage. Rainy all one summer, sunny the next, there were two straight weeks of -15 temperatures last January, and for the past 3 or so weeks the highs have been above freezing. Go figure.
As I was slogging through the crazy snow mush on my way home today, I felt like I could use a good dose of summer about now. Here's a slide show of the highlights of our summer adventures (most of which didn't get blogged--bad blogger!). Enjoy!
Here's a re-cap:
Matt's brother, Chris, came to visit and we went down to Whittier where we hiked and kayaked.
My parents came up and we went salmon fishing on the beautiful Kenai river, dad caught a silver!
Matt and I found a very cool hiking trail in our new favorite town, Girdwood, that crosses the Winner Creek on an hand cart. Yes, we made Jack ride across, he was none too happy about it too, but as always, a good sport!
Matt and I hiked up Flat Top Mountain, a local hike STRAIGHT up to stupendous views.
It feels a little crazy, and it's definitely not what I expected for an "Alaskan" winter. I'm quickly learning, as in most things, there is not a typical "Alaskan" anything.
For one thing, the state is so damn big! From one end to the other the temperatures typically vary at least 40 degrees.
For another thing, Anchorage and many of the coastal areas have just incredibly variable climates. My science teacher co-worker informed me that there is no "typical" season in Anchorage. Rainy all one summer, sunny the next, there were two straight weeks of -15 temperatures last January, and for the past 3 or so weeks the highs have been above freezing. Go figure.
As I was slogging through the crazy snow mush on my way home today, I felt like I could use a good dose of summer about now. Here's a slide show of the highlights of our summer adventures (most of which didn't get blogged--bad blogger!). Enjoy!
Here's a re-cap:
Matt's brother, Chris, came to visit and we went down to Whittier where we hiked and kayaked.
My parents came up and we went salmon fishing on the beautiful Kenai river, dad caught a silver!
Matt and I found a very cool hiking trail in our new favorite town, Girdwood, that crosses the Winner Creek on an hand cart. Yes, we made Jack ride across, he was none too happy about it too, but as always, a good sport!
Matt and I hiked up Flat Top Mountain, a local hike STRAIGHT up to stupendous views.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Wines List Added
One thing that is great about Anchorage is there are a few phenomenal restaurants. We've been lucky enough to enjoy some fabulous meals from them on occasion, and we've been able to sample some great wine as well.
I've added a list on the left-hand side of the blog of the wines we've sampled since coming to Anchorage that we really love. I also included the restaurant and approximate date we sampled it at. It's more of a way to remember and keep track of them than anything else, but I thought a few other readers might find it interesting.
Here are the restaurants that we capital "L" Love so far in Anchorage:
I've added a list on the left-hand side of the blog of the wines we've sampled since coming to Anchorage that we really love. I also included the restaurant and approximate date we sampled it at. It's more of a way to remember and keep track of them than anything else, but I thought a few other readers might find it interesting.
Here are the restaurants that we capital "L" Love so far in Anchorage:
- Crush: a fabulous wine and tapas bar. The menu and wines ALWAYS delight. Great atmosphere. Jen's very favorite (see picture @ left).
- Glacier Brew House: Good selection of AK seafood, pretty good brews made in house. Consistently an enjoyable experience.
- Orso: a contemporary Italian restaurant specializing in local ingredients (see review below). We've had some incredible meals here, and a few that bombed.
- Sacks Cafe: a little spendy for a normal outing, but the food is always excellent. I had a calamari salad here for lunch when my mom and dad were here that was amazing. We particularly enjoy the more affordable brunch (served weekends only) where my favorite dish is crab & scallop cakes topped with poached eggs drizzled with chipotle hollandaise sauce. Yes, it's as incredible as it sounds.
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