Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day spending time with family and friends.

More to come soon- I promise- on the Seattle leg of my northland trip and holiday party pics.

Adventures in the Northland

My trip up north was incredible. I loved every minute of it. I really didn't know what to expect seeing as how I was just going on rumors of what Alaska was supposedly like. It actually wasn't that cold. I packed long underwear and layers upon layers that I didn't end up needing to wear. The thing about Alaska is that it is so pure, so beautiful. There is a natural beauty there that I don't think people can really comprehend unless they've been there in person. People up there refer to it as the 'last frontier' and I would wholeheartedly agree with that. It is absolutely breathtaking.

I spent a few days in Anchorage, a city that I would say is a comparable size to Des Moines plus looming, gorgeous mountains and the ocean that you would never see in Des Moines. It's pretty small but it's the biggest city in Alaska. I met a few really cool people who I hope to keep in touch with. People up there are very friendly and open.

I then spent the last leg of my trip in Girdwood, Alaska which is approximately 40 minutes away from Anchorage. The drive to Girdwood is possibly the prettiest drive I have ever been on and the quaint town of Girdwood is stunning. It is a little ski town nestled in the mountains. In the summer, you can see glaciers from the top of a mountain in Girdwood. I cannot do it justice just to say it was beautiful.

The reason I went to Girdwood is one of my old friends from high school is living and working there right now. He went to school in San Franciso and then got transferred to Girdwood. Seeing him made the trip more special and unique just because I got to meet a lot of people through him, see the town in ways I probably wouldn't have otherwise, and most importantly I got to catch up with him since we haven't seen each other in literally years.

My adventure coming home kind of sucked but I will write about that more in my next post. And as soon as I have pictures, I will post them. Even though I had no desire to ever go to Alaska, I'm now thinking that I have to definitely get back there sometime. And I would highly recommend that everyone go up there at least once in their lifetime. You'll be amazed.

Alaska? Really? Um...yeah. I guess so.

Once again I find myself here a month after my last post apologizing that I don't post more. I always intend to, I just don't. I guess that's something that myself and my three readers will just have to accept.

I have a lot to post... including mostly pictures from my holiday party last weekend. Unfortunately, I can't do that now as all of the pictures are on my home computer and right now I am sitting in the airport on my laptop waiting to catch my flight to Anchorage, Alaska.

HUH?!

Yeah.

My reaction, too. I am going up there today through Friday... a little bit of work and a little bit of fun. I scheduled my trip for a couple of extra days so that I could see what this place is all about since I really have never had any desire to go up there before and I doubt I will again. Might as well explore it now that I have the opportunity.

I am pretty much prepared to absolutely freeze my ass off. Fortunately, I managed to find my loooonng woal coat leftover from my Iowa days that I got literally about two months prior to deciding to move to Phoenix. Needless to say, it hasn't been used much but I can almost guarantee I am going to be in love with this coat by the end of this week.

Anyway, I really have no idea what to expect up there. I feel like I am going to the Artic circle or something. It could be interesting. I'm also going to be seeing Seattle for a day or so... I have an overnight layover there and should have time to explore that city, too. I'll keep everyone posted on the adventures...