Favorite Days

“Describe your favorite day.”

Every form of this question has left me feeling baffled and slightly sad when I heard it asked. Am I supposed to have a very favorite day that sticks out in my mind? Furthermore, should I be answering these questions like a good little lady by saying “my wedding day”? Or as a Christian, “the day I was saved”… Or when I’m a mother, will I say “the day K was born”?

I can’t imagine the latter. Maybe the day after K is born. I’m no masochist.

Still, I can’t imagine choosing one day in my entire life that is the most special to me. Perhaps this is a good thing because it may insinuate that I have many wonderful days, which I do. I’m not sure I could even choose a favorite day this year, but there are many runners-up. Walk down memory lane with me?

Captain J (pictured above) and I were in a small town in Alaska just beginning our journey across America. We were bordering Canada while our friends back in Fairbanks were experiencing an ice storm that debilitated the city for a while. Meanwhile, we were enjoying a mostly snow free experience in Alaska in November, which is almost unheard of for this area. The wind was fierce in that little town. It whipped our faces and watered our eyes as we fought against it with a vengeance. Who else would walk our pups? This day was beautiful to me because we were together, experiencing a quaint town, and marveling in our last taste of Alaska for a long time. It’s one of my favorite days because we were headed to the lower 48 on a journey that had no time constraints. I cherish uninterrupted time with my soldier when I come across it.

Or maybe my favorite day is this one- when we felt warmth on our faces in sunny California for the first time in a long time. We drove the scenic route that meandered along the ocean for miles. Huge crashing waves provided our picture perfect views, waves we just aren’t accustomed to as East Coasters. There was a man in front of us on our drive riding his motorcycle. We got a chance to talk with him; he was discovering our great country with little more than the clothes on his back and the gas in his tank. As we walked away, we day dreamed about having few responsibilities and the freedom to just simply go.

It might have been this day as my brother, sister, and I snuck off to take pictures for my mom as a surprise Christmas gift. Ever terrible liars, Jake and I dodged phone calls from my mom who was questioning the original lie that “we really wanted to try out the new restaurant in Tellico”. Paige didn’t have service that night or if she did it was sketchy at best. Again, I love uninterrupted time with people I love. We took photos, ate, and boy, did we laugh. It was a great day (Note: No, we did not give the above photo as a gift. ha)

Or perhaps it was the day we got to finally announce that a baby would be making his way into the world to my family.

It could have easily been this day when Captain J and I walked hand in hand along Tybee Island in Georgia for Valentine’s Day weekend. We strolled, imagining the next time we took a trip to the beach that we’d have a son or daughter in tow.

This day was so memorable for me, too. Many of my closest friends were in the same place at the same time, a rarity in military life. I prepared a breakfast brunch for them as my mom decorated the back porch to see that everything was perfect! This was to be our last trip back to Tennessee before we moved for the second time in less than a year.

See? These are just a few. I don’t know that I can pick just one special day because God has blessed me with so many.

Do you have a favorite day?

Fresh Air

Summer or Winter, I don’t really care. Alaska, my love, I miss your fresh air.

Please send a nice, cool breeze my way (and a reindeer hotdog).

Thanks,

Mrs. K

Alaskan Summer

If you’re in Alaska, do yourself a favor…

Go order a nice, cold Alaskan Summer.

If not for you, do it for me.

And while you’re at it, enjoy every single second of the cool(er), refreshing air while you sip on it. It’s so much cleaner up there than here in the lower 48.

Will you do that for me? I know it’s a lot to ask.

Thanks,

Mrs. K

Our Great Migration

Remember when I promised you long, long ago that I would add more photos from our trip across America? Well, I’m a liar no more! Here they are…in all their glory. Please excuse my inability to make slideshows/movies/etc. There’s an extremely awkward part towards the end, but I have no desire to fix it. Maybe I’ll get better, ehh? Probably not. Enjoy!

Greener Grass

Why does the grass always seem to be greener on the other side? I’m sure if I were in Alaska right now I would be longing for the tshirt weather we’re experiencing here. I’m positive that I would be entirely sick of the snow and forty below temps. So tell me…

Why is it that as I sit here watching The Wild Within, my mind is drifting back to the place where J and I fell in love? There’s something about that place. The beauty of Alaska is unlike any other place I’ve visited. I think life is supposed to be lived like that or mine is at least. You can drive for miles, hours and not see a single soul. You may not cross a single road. All that surrounds you is God’s green earth (or white winter wonderland). That, my friends, is beautiful.

Spending time in the woods- hunting, camping, and fishing- changed me. Of course, I grew up camping and fishing, but doing it in Alaska is a whole different ball park than East Tennessee. Fishing, for sure, is a time for re-invention. Different fish, different rules call for different strategies. I enjoyed the excitement of hooking my first grayling and showing my Army man that I wasn’t a total girly girl. Camping became a popular past-time  for us, too. Waking up to the freshest air I can imagine, beside the best friend I could imagine, and knowing that all we really have in a thousand mile radius is each other is something that changed me.

I don’t want to move back to Fairbanks, but I would consider somewhere on the coast of Alaska in a heartbeat. I missed shopping, chain restaurants, and the instant gratification that cities can bring during our stay there. I would trade all that in, though for the modest cabin life Captain J and I once had. I miss it. Alaska, the place I said I would never want to go, has become a place that spoke to my soul. How could it not?

If you haven’t visited Alaska, you should. Put it on your list. If it weren’t for the Army, Baby, and wanting him/her to be around all the people we love, we’d be in Seward or Haines at the drop of a hat. I hope one day we can return to the place where we began-

 

Wordless Wednesday (Terrifying Edition)

(Can anyone do these without any words? Not this girl! Haines has many, MANY, bald eagles this time of year)

A peek at Haines

Haines, Alaska is picturesque and much more than I expected. I imagine if I were going to stay in Alaska, I would settle down in a town like this. This small town is a place where, I imagine, everyone knows your name (if you’re a local). Right on the coast, it offers views of water with snow covered mountains in the background. The little cabins with their outhouses close by are just what I pictured Alaska would be like before I moved up here. You know what? That actually seems intriguing to me now. I can see the appeal of this way of life the more time I spend in this beautiful state. My husband and I are reluctant to leave.

Driving into Haines, we were surprised by the lack of snow! There are places where the grass can actually be seen which we weren’t expecting because this little town gets a lot of snow in the winter. I suppose Jack Frost hasn’t made his way up to this part of our country just yet!

Don’t Judge Me

I got a little ahead of myself by publishing the previous traveling post on this blog. I mean, how could I leave out our last days in Fairbanks?

Wednesday evening our dear friends, Sarah and Graham, gave us a going away soiree complete with many of our Fairbanksian friends. The food was excellent (as always) and it was nice to be able to visit with everyone before we went on our way.

The next night was one that I had been looking forward to for a long, long time. No, not the anticipated last night in Alaska–It was time for the release of Harry Potter! Never missing a chance to bring out our dorky sides, Sarah and I went searching for HP tees. We emerged from the local Hot Topic with these-

(It’s the Gryffindor house symbol…lol) and then walked over to Michael’s where we made our magic wands 🙂

With the whole clan in tow, we settled in for the midnight showing of our favorite literary icon.

Oh, what fun there is to be had! Who cares if I’m twenty five years old? Harry Potter will make me young again, dang it!

We had a good night, but were forced to wake up the next morning, load the truck, process out of this duty station, and head to the next. Goodbye Alaska! We are sure to miss you dearly.

 

Cheeseburger 2010 and other tales…

Bonjour! From Canada 🙂

The last hotel we were at in Tok, Alaska boasted that they had wifi on a small piece of paper in the lower corner of the mirror. All you had to do was type in the password- “cheeseburger2010”. It was at that moment when I looked over and said, “I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas (Fairbanks) anymore, Toto (Holly).”

Now, it’s around 5:15 pm and I’m writing you from Canada. We happen to be ahead of schedule so we decided to stop in Haines Junction to relax a bit. The roads have been okay not ideal but not completely wretched either. As we drove into Canada, we felt a noticeable rise in temperature which I wasn’t expecting. It was odd to see snow covered mountains, trees, and shorelines with waves crashing on a nearby lake. I’m walking around in a t-shirt so I’m welcoming the warmer temperature with open arms.

Here’s a photo from close to the Alaska/Canada line:

3 Caribou just after crossing in front of us:

I’ll be back soon with more tales from the Alcan…

Farewell Festivities

We’ve really been living it up these past few days! As you Army people may know, Captain J has a ten day period of time to out process from Ft. Wainwright so I’ve seen him a lot more than usual. It makes me pretty happy to get more time with him even if he has been playing PS3 with his buddy, Joshua almost constantly. That’s a-okay, after all- it allots me time to catch up with all of you!

Last Wednesday, we made our final trip to The Pump House for karaoke night. We were regulars there for quite a while so naturally, we had to head back for one last time. Many of J’s friends from work joined us and we ended up shutting the place down shortly after J sang Fat Bottomed Girls and dedicated it to all the women in the room. Real crowd pleaser I’ve got on my hands!

A couple days later, it was my turn to let my hair down and hang out with friends. Sarah, Michelle, Ashley, Laura, and I decided it was time for a ladies night! We started off the evening at Ashley’s place with wine and good conversation. Then we went out to eat for Mexican (and margaritas!). The restaurant was just down the street from her place so we decided to walk, just in case. Our walks quickly turned into a trot, then a jog as we were slowly losing feeling in our extremities due to the cold weather. We laughed when I realized this was the first time I had ever sprinted to a bar and I’m hoping it will be my last. It wasn’t the alcohol I was after–it was the warmth!

It took us forever to decide on a location after we left the restaurant mainly because we couldn’t just choose anywhere. Fairbanks is fairly small, but it is still a military town full of young guys who patrol the bars off duty like no body’s business. We wanted nothing of the sort! After a phone call to a local, we determined the best place to NOT get hit on was a place called the Boatel. This was an interesting choice. While there were definitely no soldiers in it, there were many other unique characters that looked at us with questioning eyes as the four of us strolled in. Despite our mostly unwelcome entrance, we were able to sit around, talk, and have a good time.

I’d love to tell you about the going away shin-dig that was thrown for us tonight, but this is getting lengthy and I’m pretty tired already so I’ll save that for later. Tomorrow I’m getting my hair highlighted and then I’m off to watch Harry Potter at midnight (and I may or may not be in costume)! That will be the last time we get to see our dear friends we’ve made up here for a long while. 😦

This Alaska girl is Georgia bound in less than 48 hours. Lord willin’!