Leaving Home

One last village walk,
 on our way to the plane

This is a tricky one for me to write about as the reality of leaving Nondalton has not set in yet. Our last days in the village were packed with final visits, walks, and last minute packing. When I say last minute, I mean down to the wire, plane was coming and we were finishing up our packing and cleaning. Talk about stressful! I tried to soak it up as much as I could, and of course the last night at home brought the gasping-for-breath-ugly-crying kind of tears, but it still didn’t feel as if it were really happening. It still doesn’t. I am friends with quiet a few women from the village and am able to see their pictures, and it seems just like any other summer. I’ll finish up in Juneau and head back to the East Coast for a visit, just as I did last year, and then head home. Except this summer it will be different. This summer, home will become somewhere new. New buildings, new views, everything new. All of those things are exciting because it’ll be a new chapter, but oh how bittersweet it is to bring a close to this current chapter. 

Somewhere near Girdwood

Alright, since I can feel tears building up and my breathing is getting heavy with the weight of soon to be crying, I’ll share some of the fun things we did after leaving the village. Sam and I wanted to be tourists for a few days and travel around Alaska in ways that we rarely got the chance to, as Anchorage trips were often for doctor’s appointments and shopping. Luckily, Cessna’s puppy sitter was available and our girl stayed busy during our trip! She got to go camping and play with tons of other dogs during her few days with the sitter. Another thing we were grateful for was our friends Michael and Kitza (my first principal in the bush) opening up their house to us. Summer time hotel rates are no joke in AK and though Kitza was out of town, we were glad to spend time visiting with Michael. He and Kitza have been way too good to us these past 4 years. During our few days in town, we visited shops in Anchorage and bought some things to help fill our new home. Seriously you guys, I am going to be that annoying and crazy woman who talks about Alaska for the rest of her life. So clearly my house will be filled with Alaskan memorabilia. I am not sorry about this one bit, I am just warning you in advance as a courtesy..

So much yum, so much love

Something that Sam and I had really been looking forward to was taking the train to Seward. We had a very early morning drive into Anchorage and then had a 4 hour journey to Seward. The views were incredible and we got to see parts of the state only witnessed by train or plane. As we were being tourists, we splurged quite a bit that day and I am so glad we decided to go all out. We had a delicious breakfast in a dining car as our train traveled passed waterfalls, soaring eagles, and whales traveling in the water. IT WAS AWESOME! Even better was the fact that it was a narrated trip and the train would slow down for points of interest and for animal sightings. We saw quite a few moose and bear during our journey there and back. On our trip back, we were not even two minutes out of Seward when the train slowed and we got to watch a Momma moose help her probably hours old baby walk around. IT WAS ADORABLE. 

SO MUCH FUN!

Once in Seward, we had a quick snack before heading out of town a bit to go zip-lining. Neither Sam, nor I had ever been and it was something we both wanted to do. Where better to go right?! Just to paint a picture for those who have not been, Seward has a large rainforest and it’s climate reminds me very much of what Seattle is like (and I know that thanks to my time spent with the Grey-Sloan Memorial crew). Anywho, as we drove up, I was questioning all of my choices that had led me to that moment and cursing the fact that the other members of our group consisted of two manly-men type of guys. Surely, I thought, I'd be surrounded by all men as I had a panic attack and needed to be rescued from a tree. Luckily for me, one of our two guides was a woman and she could see the fear in my eyes, and connected with me instantly. The other guide was great as well and was super encouraging. Before I knew it, we were harnessed up and I volunteered to go first, because I just wanted to rip the band-aid off. Just as I thought, it was so much fun and the fear was much less intense after that first zip. The next 7 varied in length, speed, and intensity, but it was so exhilarating and the scenery was incredible. I did have a minor panic attack when it came to the first of 2 rappels, but my awesome guides and Sam pep-talked me into stepping off the platform and dangling in the air… and I soon found myself safely on the next platform. Before I knew it, we were back on solid ground and I was wanting to go back and do it all again! Once again I felt grateful to have found someone who is not afraid to gently push me out of my comfort zone because “it’s good for you” and so I can have unforgettable experiences. Also shoutout for his patience as I pester him with questions, worst-case scenarios, and irrational fears leading up to said experiences.. you’re the bomb dot com my love. 

Only took about 5
minutes of pep-talking..

After another beautiful ride back to Anchorage with some even more delicious food for dinner on the train, we were ready to sleep for days. However, we had a long day ahead of us that started pretty early the next morning. Emily, Caitlin, and Maverick joined us in Anchorage and after running errands we took them up to Palmer to settle in before turning back around to make the hour long drive to Anchorage to pick up Cessna. We were able to spend a few hours playing with her and walking her around a dog park before I took her and Sam to the airport for their journey to Florida. Cessna was such a brave puppy and travelled very well on her first big planes! I was a wreck and hope to never have to put her on a plane again, but was so glad that both she and Sam arrived safely in Florida. Now I am counting down the days until I can see them again and savoring all the pictures I get each day! 

Off to Florida!

The next few days with the girls and Mavvy were full of wandering around and visiting some friends. We took in some of our favorite sights, ate some yummy foods, and just enjoyed being able to relax for a bit. Our last full day before flying to Juneau brought with it a spontaneous train trip from Wasilla to Talkeetna because why not right? Seriously though, we need to tone it down because we're all unemployed now and like I said earlier, summer adventures in Alaska don't come cheap. Once we got to the train station, we asked for directions to town and walked about 10 minutes into this quaint little downtown. We spent the afternoon walking around, seeing incredible views of Denali, and soaking up the sun. It was a great day spent with great people! We were all feeling rather reflective that afternoon as we took in the fact that we had just gotten on a train to a place we knew nothing about, walked ourselves into town, and occupied our time until the trip home. I know for sure that I would never have felt comfortable doing that before moving to Alaska. 

Walking into Talkeetna<3

Once again, before I knew it, we were hopping on a plane and flying to Juneau. Though we flew on a commercial flight, we stayed pretty low to the ground which allowed me to see some fun things. What I found to be so much fun was as we flew over a glacier that looked familiar, I knew instantly it was one that we’d seen on our train trip to Seward. Sure enough, I glanced to the right and was able to see the train tracks that traveled by it. Had I not gone on the train, I probably wouldn’t have thought those were even train tracks below us. Random fun fact for you! 

Look closely for the glacier and train tracks!

Since arriving in Juneau, we’ve been able to get outside a bit and I am glad to be surrounded by familiar faces. I think part of the reason my move doesn’t yet feel real is that I’m living with Emily, Caitlin, and Maverick. They’ve been my day-to-day colleagues, friends, and walking partners for years now and are a big part of Nondalton for me. To still be around them makes everything seem normal. There will be some serious withdrawals in July, that’s for sure. Luckily, I have the final semester of my graduate program to remain focused on and one of these days I’l get around to planning the wedding that’s rapidly approaching (just kidding it's all planned out.. okay maybe not.. let’s just not talk about it..I’m not worried..it’ll be great!). We're already one week down and have only 3 to go! That means I should probably get back to the assignments that I am avoiding in order to write this...