Alaska Adventure Begins!

After a long day of traveling, Kaden and I arrived in Anchorage Alaska. Kaden had slept most of the way from Houston to Seattle and then he slept all the way from Seattle to Anchorage, Except for the first 30 minutes that he kept eying the man I call the “Bryce Kessler Evil Twin”. His face looked just like Bryce, except that this guy had tattoos of Demons and Devils up and down his arm, and he was about 6’5” and about twice as wide as Bryce. But even with the scariness he was actually a nice guy. But Kaden was not too sure and kept scooting closer to me. He eventually fell asleep and didn’t wake up till we touched down in Anchorage. We had a happy reunion with Keith which we had not seen for a month and a half. After retrieving our entire luggage, putting on all our snow gear, and loading the car we were off to our hotel. ON the way Kaden commented “Mommy there is a Christmas tree, there is another Christmas tree. Wow! There are Christmas trees everywhere.” Who knew we were moving to a state that could be a Christmas tree farm with all their spruce. Poor boy you can tell who he hangs around with.

Our hotel that we stayed at was the Hilton. Keith had a conference there for a week with people from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Our room was on the 18^th floor and when we arrived the lights from the city were amazing but not nearly as amazing as returning from breakfast when the sun finally came up. Our room had a panoramic view of the mountains.

And one day when it was clear we could see Denali from our room. I thought everyone had this view but later a friend Holly Sloan came to visit with me and said their room did not have this view. I guess God just wanted me to fall in love with Alaska right off. It worked I love it already . Here are some sights around town in Anchorage. 

Keith and Kaden playing in the Snow

Kaden loved the Snow

Being in Alaska my first week has taught me a lot already, Such as:

1. ALWAYS wear wool socks no matter if they are itchy. Itchy feet are far better than frozen feet.

2. Mt. McKinley is the name of the tallest Mountain in the United States, but if you want to be known as a local Alaskan person call it Denali. Only tourist call it Mt. McKinley but judging by the looks I got with my 4 layers of clothes I am still a tourist in Alaska. Plus Kaden and I were the only people playing in the beautiful 2 feet of snow so we pretty much stood out like a tourist.

3. Try all the local cuisine. Reindeer pizza was Delicious! And the Beer-battered Halibut is AMAZING!

4. Don’t open a window when a moose is eating the shrubs outside. They might and probably WILL stick its head in to get some attention. (ask Kenton he has the pictures to prove it)

5. When flying in Alaska always be prepared for emergency. Wear your snow gear on the airplane in case something should happen, you will be warm but also it makes the seats so much more comfortable.

6. ALWAYS pee before you get on an airplane in Alaska, most planes here are small and have no bathroom in them.

We left Anchorage on Saturday the 13^th at 6:45 in the morning. I was amazed at the lack of security to get on the plane. You walk in from the street, Check in walk down a hall and walk out on to the plane with no security check point. As Keith said “Babe, this is Alaska, EVERYTHING is different out here!”The plane was actually worse than most planes I have flown across Africa. It had 35 seats in it and got freezing cold inside by the door, it must not seal real well. But the flight was nice and we arrived in Fairbanks around 8:00am. We had about a 5 hour wait for our flight to Galena to leave so we stayed in the airport with Kenton Moos who is Keith’s new supervisor. Another thing I learned: Pizza Hut will deliver a pizza to the terminal gate. So we ate pizza in Fairbanks while waiting for our plane. When our plane arrived I had a good laugh. It seats about 15 people. And there was strict enforcement of weigh distribution. Let me say for once in my life I am so glad I am heavier then I should be! I got to sit near the front. This plane was small enough that you can’t stand and the Pilot was the one to give the typical Safety on board speech. The whole flight to Galena I was praying that the plane would stay up in the air and that the Pilot had calculated the weight distribution correctly. I was also praying that I would not get sick since my barf bag had gum inside and would not open up. I was very pleased with myself that I did not get sick all the way from Houston to Galena. Maybe I am out growing it!

We landed in Galena after flying over some beautiful country. The airport is a one room waiting area that you wait for your luggage to get off. The town is fun. Everyone rides snowmobiles and everyone knows everyone. Except me, but they do know I am new and that I am Keith’s wife. We finally got moved into our house, which was being repair because on accident the oil which provides the heat in the house ran out and so all the plumbing froze and busted. But all is fixed now and we have all our stuff in here. I have been busy unpacking boxes and can see the light at the end of a VERY LONG tunnel. Kaden has been happy he has found he train table and all his old toys seem new with them being gone for a while. I found this is a good way to keep them entertained….just hide their toys for a while. When you get them back out it feels like Christmas all year round.

 I have learned how to drive on Snow and to drive the Snowmobile. It is so much fun that I wish gas was not so expensive. We filled the truck up $104 with gas being $5.80 a gallon. Kaden loves to ride and we take a ride after Keith gets home from work and drive to Grocery store to get a snack. Kaden thinks it is fun and even though the snack is expensive it is a treat and Kaden loves to get them every once in a while.

Galena is a happening place. We went to Church on Sunday and that was so nice. The people are so friendly and I got to meet most of the members. And for Valentine’s Day the Church put on a Valentine’s dinner. It was great to have a “dress up” meal with my husband. I say dress up because most people still wear their insulated jeans and parka and snow boots. Keith and I did change our shirt and socks if that counts.

We are finally in our house and busy unpacking boxes and organizing our pantry. How do you organize a years worth of food? I will let you know when I figure it out! This is our house. It really is a nice house. I am enjoying decorating it. I will post pictures when I have it done.