Supposed To Be...

I’m supposed to be in Alaska right now. I’m supposed to be working my new job, watching my house being built, swatting the world’s largest mosquitos, and being chased by grizzlies. I bought the Iot. I saved the money, I bought the land, property # 3 with the bear bed and breakfast where my garden is supposed to be.  I saved some more, I bought a school bus. This bus was supposed to be my ride and supposed to be my temporary home, but it’s not. It is sitting in my driveway. It’s half painted, seats removed, and parked. I sold belongings, I researched, I planned, I made lists, but I’m still not where I’m supposed to be.

Life has a way of watching you stack up all your blocks just so it can kick them across the house. My blocks are fucking MIA. How did this happen? Well, that’s a long story, but I guess it doesn’t really matter either. The points is, I am still here, but I’m not staying.

Alaska is a place like no other. It either doesn’t interest you at all, or it is all that you live for. I fall into the latter category. I am what some people call passionate about Alaska. I say fucking obsessed. I cannot imagine living anywhere else. The snow topped mountains, the bright fireweed, glacier blue rivers, moose. The coffee at every corner. It calls my name, begs for my return. So many lakes to ice skate on, trails to hike, views to photograph, adventures to take.

Well, my dear Alaska, I miss you and I am coming to stay. It may not be this year, and it may not even be next year, but I am coming.

To read about my sometimes crazy life preparing for Alaska, follow me at:

http://boobsontheweekend.wordpress.com/

All Aboard! South To Seward

8-26-2012

6:45am. The Alaska Railroad pulls out of the Anchorage station. We are relaxing in our seats with a cup of coffee, ready for the city to disappear. The conductor quickly announces that breakfast would be available soon. We eagerly head to the dining car, super hungry from not having dinner the night before. Andrew wanted everything and I didn't see anything immediately that struck my fancy. We ended up both deciding to try the breakfast tacos with reindeer sausage. Okay, I know, I didn't like it two days prior, but I didn't see any other options. Reindeer sausage was clearly made for breakfast tacos. OMG! Amazing!
The views accompanying our breakfast that cold, drizzly morning were indescribable. Glaciers, mountains, rivers, streams. We even saw a family of bald eagles in a tree right by the tracks. The four hour train ride took us through tunnels, past ruins from the 1964 earthquake* (see note below), around crazy turns, and even met up with another train traveling the opposite direction.

We spent some time in the domed viewing car, where we met the conductor. Andrew, of course, asked him a zillion questions. I, on the other hand, just enjoyed watching him answer... what a hunk he was. If Andrew could swoon over a park ranger, then I could admire a train conductor, right? When Andrew ran out of questions, we headed back to our seats. On the way we discovered a spot between cars where the open air was deathly cold, rain was coming in, and there was a crowd. Didn't take long to discover why everyone was clamoring for a spot, this was certainly the best, if not only, place to take pictures from the moving train. Andrew, being the intelligent one, stayed with me there for about 5 minutes admiring the view over the other idiots heads. I, being obviously insane and determined to have a somewhat decent photo or two from this ride, stayed until my fingers were too numb to operate my shutter. I lost track of time. It was cold and wet and fantastic. If ever you get a chance to be on a train in Alaska, don't pass it up. I think it is a requirement when visiting anyway. I'm sure I read that somewhere.
At 11am, we arrive in Seward. Stepping off the train, the rain had gotten a little worse, but we were set on checking out the town a little bit before getting on our cruise ship. We boarded a free shuttle to take us more into the town, and could actually see our boat docked. It was huge. Seward is adorable. Cute little shops of various types line the 3-4 blocks that make up the center of the town, or at least the tourist part anyway. At the far end from the train station is The Alaska Sea Life Center which is certainly a must see with kids. We passed on it this trip, but walked around outside instead. We ended up in a bookstore looking for some new reading material to take home for the munchkins. The cashier, and owner, was very friendly and engaged Andrew in conversation immediately. Big mistake. He went directly into all kinds of queries about living in Alaska, the weather, the jobs, the prices, the people. I was ready to check out the store across the street and finally convinced him that we should go. This store spoke to me ( as seen in photo ) and upon entering I saw why. This was where I could buy my ulu. I purchased one for me and one for my parents, cause after all, who doesn't need a really sharp u-shaped cutting utensil?

We were hungry now and it was time to get on the ship. After a quick shuttle ride around town again, we arrived at the dock. Our suitcases had been automatically transferred for us, so after signing in, getting our room keys, and being strip searched (not really), we boarded Holland America's MS Zaandam for a week of being served. We dumped our purchases in our stateroom and went up to the Lido deck for some lunch. We ate our yummies and looked out over Seward's harbor. It was still cold out, but we walked the deck enough for me to take some shots of the boats around us and admire the mountains on the other side. Since the ship wouldn't be leaving port for another 4 hours or so, we took a brief nap before exploring all the Zaandam had to offer. Rested, we arranged ourselves at a dinner table near a window to watch the departure. As the boat pulled away from the Kenai Peninsula, I knew deep down that I'd be back soon... to stay.

*Note: On Good Friday, March 27, 1964, a 9.2 earthquake shook Alaska. It was the most powerful recorded quake in US and North America and the 2nd most powerful ever measured by seismograph. Across south central AK, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the quake caused about 143 deaths.*

Real Estate, Redoubt, and Rest

Mt. Redoubt from Soldotna airport

8-25-2012
Let me start off by saying that I am NOT a morning person. I love my coffee and need my coffee in order to function somewhat normally. On the other hand, I will say that there are sometimes when 5am can't come soon enough. For instance, when you happen to be attempting to sleep in the tiny backseat of a PT Cruiser, when it's 40F degrees outside, and you just have a paper thin airline blanket and no pillow.
When the sun began to peer over the horizon at the beautiful Skilak Lake, we were thrilled to get up. We were heading back into Soldotna, but needed food ( and liquid motivation ) first. We hit up a little diner for some breakfast. I think between Andrew and myself, we must've drank a whole pot of coffee and a pitcher of water. The food was delicious. As soon as it was a reasonable working hour, we called the listing agent for property #3 and asked for more details to be emailed to us. We immediately called and forwarded it to Mom and Dad. We were pretty sure this was gonna be the one. We decided to go back and look at it again, maybe try to walk and find the back corners of the lot. Upon arrival we opened the map of the property the agent had sent and quickly realized that the power lines were much closer to the front of the lot than we had previously thought. And we thought it was big before! We walked on and found the large field that seemed perfect for a garden. Waist high grass was the still wet with dew and I was a little cold. Then I saw next to me..... a crop circle. Well, it was worse really. A huge area of matted down grass. I'd seen it countless times on tv shows. A grizzly bear has sat his enormous rump right here where I now stood. I might have been slightly panicky and less willing to walk any further back at this point. Okay, I downright refused, whining and whimpering like a toddler. With much disgust, Andrew obliged and we headed back towards safety. Regardless, I knew this was my new home, it just felt right. We walked to the street feeling completely certain that this was where we needed to be. :Let's look down the road and see if we can see a neighbor."  Not 30 feet down our road, I stopped dead in my tracks and stared across the street. "Oh, my, god, Andrew, did you see THAT?" Right there, across a gorgeous field of bright pink fireweed, was Mt. Redoubt, the most beautiful volcano. ( this is pictured on my first blog post ).

Doubtful now that there could ever be a more perfect piece of land for us, we left. We were now headed to Anchorage for the next leg of our journey. We got back on the Sterling Hwy. Before long the scenery around us opened up tot he most beautiful views we had ever seen. Mountains with a dusting of snow, lakes, streams, and the greenest grass. "Is this the same way we came from Anchorage a couple nights ago?" I asked. "Well, yeah, this is really the only road." So this is what we were missing that first night when we were half asleep. It made much more sense now. The pull off areas, like the one we slept in for a while, weren't for that purpose at all. They were for taking photos of all Alaska's amazingness.  After 2 1/2 hours of oohing and ahhing over the views, driving through Alyeska Ski Resort, and stopping for some lunch, we arrived in Anchorage. We returned our rental car and checked into a hotel. It was going to be an early morning tomorrow. We arranged a wake up call and a taxi, and settled in. After we both abused the hot water, we turned on the tv. You know those tourism channels, right? Short bits of useful and interesting information tightly mashed between tons of commercials for local businesses? They always repeat the same 30 min or so. Well, before we even got through a whole cycle, Andrew was out cold. No dinner and only about 5pm. I guess a combination of odd sleeping arrangements and jet lag finally got us. I jotted down some notes about the things we'd seen, and watched another hour or so of the same channel. (There was nothing else on ) By this time I knew I desperately needed an ulu ( a really cool traditional knife of sorts ) at least. I was out hours before the sun went down.

Scenes along the Sterling Hwy. 

Hiking With Bear Spray

Browns Lake moose

08-24-2012
"This says 14 miles up Funny River Rd."
"We've still only gone eight," Andrew replies with a huff, "how many times are you going to tell me that? I am capable of remembering one number."
"Oh, shut up, I don't want to miss it."
As we arrive, property #3 looks pretty good. We park the car, eat a quick sandwich, and started to walk. "Do you want a second sandwich for while we are walking?" Andrew asks.
"No thanks, it might attract a bear."
"You're crazy," he sighs as he gets another for himself. "You should never have read those bear attack stories."
We walked onto the property on what was once a driveway, but now was overgrown with brush and moss. The lot is nicely wooded except for a nice field area and a cleared section in the middle with power lines and an atv trail. Bad, right? A power line. Normally, yes, but something about it just wasn't that bad. The more we walked the lot, the more we liked it. We marked the property paper as a possibility and drove to the next lots.
Let's just say, looking at property online, doesn't truly portray anything. We looked at four more properties and they were all bad in their own strange way. One was next to a dump, literally. One was inaccessible, and two were simply not there. It was interesting to say the least. Property # 3 was looking better and better. Then we found the most amazing thing. As we were driving down an empty street, not 5 minutes from property # 3, there was a giant alien cow chewing on some fireweed., right on the side of the road. A large moose cow, right by the car. We pulled up as close as we could, rolled down the window, and took a ton of pictures. We were pretty excited, our first moose and so close. We rolled on to the top of a hill and looking down to the bottom was the most beautiful site. Browns Lake to be precise.  Amazing and surrounded by snow capped mountains. How could this be so close to that property? Maybe we had found a winner.
Next stop... Kenai Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. That's a mouthful, huh?  Well, this may very well be the cutest visitors center ever. Of course, I may be a little bias... nah, probably not. I had to find the bathroom first ( for research only of course ) and when I came out there was Andrew at the information desk, sexually harassing a hot ranger lady. Okay, not really, but he was seriously hounding her with questions. Luckily she was thrilled to be sharing all her information about canoe trails, hiking trails, lakes, lakes, the best places to see bears, etc. Wait, WHAT?! I decided it was time to intervene. "Can we see some bears from our car, ya know, safely?" I asked Andrew's new girlfriend. "No, we want to hike and see some bears," Andrew says. "No we don't." "Yes we do! Its my birthday so you're gonna hike with me for my birthday present." Oh, crap!
 Next stop... Sportsman's Warehouse. Reason...bear spray. I might have been just a little pouty while we made that purchase. Now I had no choice, I had to hike. In bear country. During a salmon run. Along a river. During the drive to the trailhead of what I was sure was our last hike ever, I opened the bear spray and read the instructions to Andrew. All he could say was, "Are you really scared?" or "I'm not gonna let a bear get you." Okay, that was sweet, but really, what is Andrew gonna do when a 9 foot 1000 lb bear grabs me for a snack?! I delayed departure as much as possible with going to the restroom and debating wearing my jacket. Meanwhile, Andrew tested the bear spray. It worked pretty well... on a TREE. "Come on, Autumn, or we'll be walking back in the dark." Oh, crap! Off we went, on a rather beautiful hike. I'd have to say that it would've been pleasant if I wasn't keeping a death grip on Andrew's jacket, scanning every tree for giant killer bears, and playing out how I would quickly hide behind Andrew when we were inevitably attacked. After what seemed like an eternity,  we heard water and came up to a wooden viewing platform. It overlooked the Russian River. To the left was a very nice waterfall.. I immediately lifted my camera and began shooting. A man next to me starting trying to tell me something, but I didn't understand him. Then Andrew tapped my shoulder. "I just can't get it right," I told him, " it just isn't as pretty thro' my lens." Have you looked over here yet?" He asks me, pointing to the other side of the deck. So I casually walk to the other railing, expecting to find another waterfall. "BEARS! Oh, there's bears! Did you see the bears!!??" I can't tell you how many photos I took of that mother bear and her two cubs, but it was beyond thrilling. I couldn't help it, I wanted to get closer, I needed to get closer. "Can we go down there?" "Sure, there's a trail. Let's go." We ended up right across the river from the bears.We watched them catching and eating bright red salmon. It was amazing. They were huge. Mama bear was in the water and seemed to be getting closer to where we stood. She got about 100 feet from us. "Uh, can she come across that water to where we are?" I asked suddenly in a panic. If that bear decided she didn't want us there, it would pretty hard to scramble up the skinny trail we came down on. "Yeah, I'm sure she could," Andrew replies too calmly, "it isn't that deep." "I wanna go back, I'm done. I don't want to be this close. I wanna go back up." I was sure that bear was coming to get me. We took a few more pics from the deck and headed back down the trail.
"See, it wasn't that bad. We weren't attacked," Andrew says as we drive to our camping spot for the night. "Now you're addicted to finding bears, aren't you?" "NO!"  Okay, maybe I am...

Bed, Breakfast, and... building products?

August 23, 2012
Daniel's Lake in Nikiski is small and owned by the people who own property around it. It isn't as amazing and majestic and some other Alaska views, but it is quaint and cozy and still known to a popular spot to hang out if you are a member of the moose community. This is where we checked into our bed and breakfast for the night. An actual bed was seeming pretty exciting about now, it seemed we hadn't really slept in two days. I guess the four hours of time difference was wearing us down a little. We settled into our room and were tempted to just go to sleep, but it was only 4pm and this was the only time we had allotted for exploring this area. The living room area had a bookshelf with some area books and maps so we grabbed a map and decided to see what was around. Cook Recreation Area sounded exciting and we figured it was probably our best bet to see some wildlife (hopefully the bears would only appear if we were safe in the car). I refilled my water bottle, locked our room door, and we headed out.  It was a short and pleasant drive to the park. We thought a short hike would be nice, but we couldn't find much of that. We ended up parking and walked to an overlook type area where we could see the beach and some nice views of Cook Inlet. I couldn't help but turn around every so often to check for massive attacking grizzly bears, but there were none. We took a more scenic route back to the B&B and decided to order pizza for dinner. It was pretty good. Andrew decided to pour over the maps provided and I was busy reading a book I had brought with me when another couple arrived. They were spending an entire week in the area and were really nice. We opened some wine and chatted with them about our crazy venture. They shared some information about past trips to AK they had taken and before long we were having a slightly drunk good time. We talked construction, customers, kids, you name it. By 10pm I was damn near falling asleep on the bar, I swear I felt myself sliding off the barstool a time or two. I told Andrew I was gonna have to go to bed. I said my goodnights and slipped away from the conversation. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. Andrew ended up staying up another two hours chatting with the couple before coming to bed himself. I didn't even hear him come in.
You know that awake when you physically open your eyes and look around, but everything is still dreamy and unreal? 3:30am I wake up and forget for a minute where I am. Our room had a huge picture window that overlooked the lake. I looked outside and saw this faint green glow really low in the sky. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief, but when I looked again it was still there. I turned and shook Andrew violently, "Look, look, it's the Northern Lights!" He grunted at me with his eyes closed. "LOOK!"  Slowly, Andrew opens his eyes, rolls my way, and looks out the window. Let me point out here that he isn't wearing his glasses of course. " See the green? It's the northern lights, right? Do you see it?" I am probably yelling at him now.
"Ggggguhh" was all he can manage and then he lays back down and is immediately asleep. I was so disappointed. I watched the sky until I fell asleep again myself, wishing I was brave enough to go outside with my camera.
August 24, 2012 Andrew's 31st B-Day
Andrew and I wake up early, around 630am, and begin getting dressed and ready for the day. We meandered into the kitchen to get breakfast. Andrew enjoys cooking and I am lazy in the morning so he got out the eggs, reindeer sausage (which scared me a little) and the orange juice. I went back to our room to pack up all of our stuff while he cooked. Scrambled eggs and pan seared reindeer sausage awaited my return. I took one frightening bite of the sausage and kindly offered the remainder of my serving to him, for his birthday and all you know. I ate my eggs and some toast. We packed up the rest of our stuff, left a little goodbye note to our "neighbors" and got into the car. Today was our property viewing day so we were gonna be in and out of the car a lot and driving around to find our new home. We had picked out 7 properties to view and had prioritized them with our first choice first and so on. Let's just say that no one should ever buy property sigh unseen. SCARY! The first property was very close to town, a plus, very close to brewery, a major plus, and the photo provided online showed the most promise. Well, upon arriving there we liked the road, the neighbors, the views. Then we started walking the property to get a better feel for the size of the place. The closer we got to the back of the land, the spongier and mushier the land was. Okay, so first choice was out. Our second choice was a little too close to the road and therefore a little noisier than what we wanted. This property, however provided a really cool gift for the kids. As we were again walking the property, Andrew happened upon a moose jaw (pictured below). It was creepy and neat at the same time. We joked that we should bring it back for the kids, especially Angelo, who would think it was the coolest thing ever. Of course this is probably not allowed so Andrew told me to turn around and cover my ears. I did, and he proceeded to crack the skull and remove the teeth. "We will just take the teeth then," he says as he shows them to me. "Only our family," I reply and we go back to the car to get a plastic zipper bag to store them in.  The remaining properties were a little farther away so we decided to go back into town, pick up some food to take along and check out Soldotna Building Supply. Exciting, right? Well, maybe not, but necessary. It is actually really cute. It feels like a combination of classic hardware store and large lumber yard. Andrew compared prices for a while, we looked at some wood stoves, and headed on to Freddie's for some groceries. We bought sandwich meat, rolls, cheese, pretzels, fruit, and chocolate enough for lunch and dinner. We knew we were heading up Funny River Rd. next and that the rest of the properties were up there. From what we had seen so far, we weren't sure what the others would look like. We were a little worried that we wouldn't find one that would work for us. We had no idea what was coming.

A Day at The Spit

August 23, 2012
At 5 am we pull into Sal's Klondike Diner in Soldotna, AK. We're tired, cold, and hungry. We order coffee first and foremost, then choose different breakfast plates. We are the only customers. Sal's isn't a big fancy place, but it's warm and cozy, the portions big and yummy, and the staff friendly. The waitress is young and happy, especially considering the early hour. She strikes up a conversation after we are on mug #2 of wake up juice. We chat there for an hour at least and head to visit the local grocery store. I am especially excited about this for a couple of reasons. We had heard food was more expensive and we needed to figure that into our new living expenses. I had also heard that they carried the best peanut butter in the world. Previously I have had to travel to Columbia, Myrtle Beach, or Kentucky to get my peanut butter so I had to know if I was actually going to be able to get it in my new hometown. It was really there!!! Now, I know in your head you are picturing a rinky dink general store type grocery. FM (Freddie's to locals) isn't like that at all. It is actually quite large. It is most comparable to a supercenter type store. Groceries, clothes, sporting goods, a cafe, you name it, they've got it. Even a Star**** coffee. Yes you read that right. We were pleased to find that the grocery prices were pretty much the same as at home. There were, of course, items that were more expensive, like fresh tomatoes, orange juice, and milk, but the sales were the same. I was thrilled. Andrew picked up some new boot socks, I got an orange water bottle for our trip and we got back in the car.
We were now driving down the coast towards Homer. Along the sides of the road were views to die for. Snow-capped mountains, evergreen trees, fireweed. We were hoping to see a bear or a moose, but no such luck. We stopped when we saw a sign for beach access. Everything looked abandoned, too late in the season I suppose. We walked along the sand a bit and spotted a juvenile bald eagle (shown in my last post). It was beautiful. We didn't stay too long, as the wind was a little chilly and we really wanted to get to our next stop. Homer (pictured above) is an adorable fishing town with a definite hippy feel. We had been told about a cool bar on The Spit ( the bit of land, like a peninsula, that acts as Homer's pier ) that we wanted to check out. We had to drive up and down The Spit a couple of times to find a parking space. The Salty Dog is a pub so small that we walked right past it twice. By small I am not simply referring to square footage, but it almost seemed like Andrew wouldn't be able to walk in the front door. It is basically an old sea shanty made for hobbits. We were there right as they were opening and as we walked in, we were shocked. Every surface of the place ( except for table tops and bars where food would be placed ) was covered with dollar bills. When the bar first opened, it was a common meeting place for fisherman, visiting friends, lovers, etc. Sometimes, fate being what it is, one individual wouldn't show so the person that was then drinking alone would get a dollar bill, write their friend's name on it and hang it on the wall. Then the next time their friend came to The Salty Dog they would have a drink paid for. Cute, right? Well, this has gone on for years and now it is tradition to hang up a bill with a name Then when there is no more space left, management takes down all the bills and the money is donated to local charities. Now, does your bar do that? I don't think so. So of course, we hung up a bill with the kids name on it and sent them a picture. Andrew drank a beer ( a little too early for me ) and we left planning on getting some food. We had halibut on the brain, seeing that Homer is the halibut fishing capital of the world, but we are cheap and halibut is not. So we settled on sandwiches and started our drive back up the coast to our B&B in Nikiski.

Stepping Off A Cold Plane

August 23, 2012
After shivering under a lame airline blanket and attempting to nap for 5 hours, we finally land in Anchorage. Excitedly we get our bags ( and blankets ) and head for the door. The wind making its way into the gangway is cold and quickly reminds us that this is Alaska. "Maybe I will get that coat out of my checked bag after all." Its 1:30am by the time we hop in a taxi to pick up our rental car. So far there isn't much to see. In the dark, Alaska's largest city looks about like any other city in the lower 48. Once our rental is loaded with our bags, we type in our first destination of Soldotna in the GPS and begin our journey. Coffee is sounding really good about now, seeing as we only got maybe a total of two hours of sleep, however there seems to be nothing directly on our route.
Soon enough the city disappears and we are seemingly nowhere. Along the Sterling Highway there are numerous pull off areas on the side of the road. Must be for emergencies. It looks as though there is water out my window and mountains out Andrew's, but it is so dark we just aren't sure. "Go ahead and sleep if you want," Andrew tells me, " I'll pull over if I get tired." Directly ( or so it seems ) I fall into a deep slumber, the car slows down.  Andrew is obviously tired and we are in a little parking area on the roadside.  We settle back in our seats and all I can think is, " Can a bear get into this car? " I guess the bears weren't interested. Needless to say, a PT Cruiser isn't really made for sleeping, so after about an hour and a half we are on the road again. Where is the coffee???!!!
Now, you should know that Alaska has three seasons: winter, winter, and construction. We, of course, are visiting during construction season (summer to non-Alaskans) as this is the only time most Americans think the state is even open. We pull up to a stop sign held by a woman wearing a safety vest and typical Alaskan attire: Carhartt type overalls and jacket and ExtraTuf style (rubber and weatherproof) boots. Oh, and a winter hat. And a hood. And gloves. Okay, the point is, she looks cold. Once we are completely stopped, she walks to the driver window and Andrew rolls it down. "Hey guys," she smiles, "Did you see that bear back there?" I am inwardly panicking now ans she is grinning from ear to ear. The air coming in from the down window is ridiculous, but it's obvious she wants to chat and Andrew is just as thrilled. I sat back in my seat and covered up. Evidently the car that was somewhere in front of us has told her they had seen a bear crossing the road, but she didn't really believe them. Andrew began his game of twenty questions and we quickly learned this nice lady's entire life story. She told us how easy it was to live there, how nice everyone is, how the cold isn't too bad, etc. Turns out she also works for the planning dept in Soldotna, so, of course, we talked construction. It had now been verified, no building permits would be needed when we moved. Hallelujah!!! It was a sign. We were stuck there for at least 30 minutes and learned so much it was crazy. When she got word on the radio that were good to go, we had to ask one last, most important question yet... "Where can we get some coffee?"

In The Beginning...

In the beginning there was a family of six.... Autumn (me), Andrew (my husband), Angelo and Jasper (our sons), and Dulci and Tempi (our daughters). We have decided to pick up and move to Soldotna, Alaska. We are ready for a change, a big change. We are saying goodbye to mortgages, credit cards, "normal" jobs, and "normal" life. We are taking my parents along for the ride. Why Alaska???? one might ask. "Well", I say, "Why not?" Alaska is beautiful! If you don't believe me, look at the picture above. That is Mt. Redoubt, a volcano, that can be seen from our new street. I took that photo in August while visiting Alaska for the first time. WHAT? Yes, I have only been to Alaska once, for two weeks, and my parents (Jeff and Beverley) have never been there at all. This is our story....

Unhappy with what one would call "normal life", my husband and I started discussing a move. We agreed that we wanted to get away from it all. We considered Tennessee, Montana, and even as close as the mountain area of NC. None of those options, however, seemed to fit. I said, Alaska, as somewhat of a joke to start, and Andrew got really excited. "Would you really move there? I mean, really??? The cold, the dark, the bears (I have had a lifetime phobia of bears)?" He asked. "Sure", I replied, " If there was really a way to move there, I would go. I mean, not to the North Pole, or Barrow, or anything that extreme, but yeah, I've always thought I would like to live there".

And so it began. Countless hours of research. We became obsessed. Online articles, books, tv shows, movies, anything with Alaska or about Alaska and we were all over it. Once we saw that it was possible, and not as extreme as the general public thinks, we were hooked. There were a couple of problems though. One, we had never even been there. We can't seriously consider moving someplace we have never even visited. So just for the heck of it, I looked into a trip there to check things out. It was a sign..... a cheap cruise, encompassing the weeks around Andrew's 31st birthday. We talked to my parents and told them our crazy idea of moving, how we would have to go on this trip to verify that we could really live there, and that we wanted them to come along. They thought we were nuts.... but only for a few days. Soon enough they had decided. They were coming too. We met at a park, let the kids play, and got down to business. We decided that in order to know if it were really possible, we would have to go there and check things out, the town, some properties, meet some people, get the feel of the place, see if we really belonged there. We told them about the cheap cruise we had found but the kicker was that we couldn't afford for everyone to go, it was a two week long trip, and the babies (Tempi and Jasper) had never been away from us at all and Jasper was still breastfeeding. They agreed to watch the kids so that we could find a new home. Everyone knew that once this was booked, there was kind of no turning back. It was a lot of money towards a dream that we were gonna have to make our reality. Everyone was in agreement. It was gonna happen. The trip was booked.