We're going to get this blog rolling again in the next few weeks!
For those who don't know, my grandfather died about two months ago. In the intervening time, it was decided that, instead of spending a lot of money to fly one or two of us to Cleveland in order to attend a funeral and then turn around and come right back to Alaska, we would save up our money a bit and make a family road trip this summer. Our plan is to load the car up with four humans and a dog and ferry to Prince Rupert, BC, then to drive across Canada to Niagara Falls, ON, where we will meet up with my parents and sister for a couple of days. This will mark the first time in two years that all four of us have left Sitka at the same time and also the first time that more than two of us have visited any family members outside of Sitka since we moved here. Our plan for the month or so following our time in Niagara Falls is to help sort through my grandfather's house, preparing the estate for its final resolution and preparing the house to change hands. We also intend to take some time to visit with family and friends in the Midwest. We will then get back on the road in order to return home with a bit of time before school starts back up for everyone.
While we are away from Sitka, we will be taking pictures and video to share here. We will also be posting daily updates from the road and occasional updates while we are in Cleveland and visiting with loved ones.
Over the next week or two, look for some cosmetic changes to occur on this blog! We'll be giving it a bit of a facelift and getting everything ready for a new travel adventure!
Showing posts with label Alaska. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alaska. Show all posts
11 May 2012
21 March 2011
reflections on elders
One of my favorite things about Alaska is that elders actually exist here.
It took some getting used to, as I've heard my whole life that I should respect my elders, but in a context vastly different than the way it works here. In Alaska, elders aren't just old people, they are people who act in the manner of an elder. There is a dignity attached to it that automatically engenders respect, regardless of age or the mandates ofmy mother society. This is the classic concept of an elder that all societies have celebrated, yet which is so rare in the remainder of this country.
I went to a function at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall a couple of weeks ago*, and at the beginning of the event, food was served to the assembled guests. Venison soup and fry bread had been prepared, among other items. When the Master of Ceremonies asked for some youth volunteers to serve the elders first, not only did seven or eight teenagers jump up immediately to help, but they then circulated through the room making sure that everyone had a bowl. At this event, the first few rows weren't explicitly reserved for elders, but I saw several people get out of their seats and stand to make room for someone who was having difficulty walking.
More recently, while sitting in the car in a parking lot, I saw a van from the Swan Lake Senior Center here in town come pick up an older lady from the grocery store. Emblazoned on the back of the van was "proud to serve our elders" or something similar. It struck me that that isn't just a slogan here. Yes, children are reminded that their elders should be respected and that attention should be paid to them, but I think they innately understand that in a way that nobody I knew growing up understood it. Here, it's an agreement between the younger and the elder: the younger will respect and honor the elders, but the elders will carry themselves in a manner befitting that honor and respect. I normally like knowing that Alaska is a bit different from the rest of the world, but I wouldn't mind exporting a bit of this.
*non-Alaskans: This event celebrated the life and work of Elizabeth Peratrovich. I know you've never heard of her because I hadn't before moving here. Look her up.
It took some getting used to, as I've heard my whole life that I should respect my elders, but in a context vastly different than the way it works here. In Alaska, elders aren't just old people, they are people who act in the manner of an elder. There is a dignity attached to it that automatically engenders respect, regardless of age or the mandates of
I went to a function at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall a couple of weeks ago*, and at the beginning of the event, food was served to the assembled guests. Venison soup and fry bread had been prepared, among other items. When the Master of Ceremonies asked for some youth volunteers to serve the elders first, not only did seven or eight teenagers jump up immediately to help, but they then circulated through the room making sure that everyone had a bowl. At this event, the first few rows weren't explicitly reserved for elders, but I saw several people get out of their seats and stand to make room for someone who was having difficulty walking.
More recently, while sitting in the car in a parking lot, I saw a van from the Swan Lake Senior Center here in town come pick up an older lady from the grocery store. Emblazoned on the back of the van was "proud to serve our elders" or something similar. It struck me that that isn't just a slogan here. Yes, children are reminded that their elders should be respected and that attention should be paid to them, but I think they innately understand that in a way that nobody I knew growing up understood it. Here, it's an agreement between the younger and the elder: the younger will respect and honor the elders, but the elders will carry themselves in a manner befitting that honor and respect. I normally like knowing that Alaska is a bit different from the rest of the world, but I wouldn't mind exporting a bit of this.
*non-Alaskans: This event celebrated the life and work of Elizabeth Peratrovich. I know you've never heard of her because I hadn't before moving here. Look her up.
26 October 2010
going inactive
This is the post that surprises nobody. It is the one in which I observe that it's been nearly a month since JoElle or I posted anything, and that we don't seem likely to post again soon. It's the post in which I mention that there is plenty going on, but that we don't have the time nor motivation* to share with the frequency that we once did. It is also the one in which I mention that we don't want to kill the blog, but do want to assemble a list of people to notify when we post new things (seriously, email me or the wife or leave a comment here with your email address [don't worry, we'll read and delete your comment so that your email address isn't on the internets for holycrapeveryspambotintheworld to steal it] if you want to be put on the mailing list for new posts).
Since you, dearest reader, have put in the effort to come here and see what I had to write, I might as well go ahead and give you a mini-update! Today marks the culminating day of the Region V Southeast Honor Fest, better known as Honor Band or Honor Choir to the participants. I brought one student, a tenor, and have had a great time interacting with students and colleagues. This is the second time that I've gotten together with the music teachers of the region and the second time that I've loved working with my peers this year! This trip has been lots of fun and productive, considering I've managed to meet two of the titans of music in Sitka (the local guitar and music studio guru and the middle school music teacher who is widely considered the backbone of the public schools' music program). I've also gotten to perform in a mens' ensemble (they made me sing a brief solo, even!) and to play claves on a choir piece.
I love my job/Alaska/this region/my colleagues.
*Quick note on motivation: With the way that our schedules have rapidly filled up, JoElle and I have both found ourselves frequently mentioning that we should post about something in here and then not getting to it for long enough that it loses its freshness. It's hard to write something urgent, interesting, and good when it feels like old news.
Since you, dearest reader, have put in the effort to come here and see what I had to write, I might as well go ahead and give you a mini-update! Today marks the culminating day of the Region V Southeast Honor Fest, better known as Honor Band or Honor Choir to the participants. I brought one student, a tenor, and have had a great time interacting with students and colleagues. This is the second time that I've gotten together with the music teachers of the region and the second time that I've loved working with my peers this year! This trip has been lots of fun and productive, considering I've managed to meet two of the titans of music in Sitka (the local guitar and music studio guru and the middle school music teacher who is widely considered the backbone of the public schools' music program). I've also gotten to perform in a mens' ensemble (they made me sing a brief solo, even!) and to play claves on a choir piece.
I love my job/Alaska/this region/my colleagues.
*Quick note on motivation: With the way that our schedules have rapidly filled up, JoElle and I have both found ourselves frequently mentioning that we should post about something in here and then not getting to it for long enough that it loses its freshness. It's hard to write something urgent, interesting, and good when it feels like old news.
26 September 2010
a primer on music and travel in Southeast Alaska
I got to take my first flights since we arrived in Alaska this weekend. This also marks the first time that I've left Baranof and Japonski Islands since our arrival in Sitka nearly three months ago. This ALSO marks the first time that I flew on Alaska Airlines, which experience I cannot recommend highly enough.
Some reflections and observations:
Music is very different in Alaska.
This isn't just a matter of the distances or the directors or even the students. The whole system is different. Southeast Alaska is a region that runs from Skagway to Metlakatla (an area similar in size to New England), and there were about 15 band and choir teachers present at our meeting. Two schools also have strings programs and there were one or two people potentially missing. The ethos of this group is something quite special. Over the day and a half that I was in Ketchikan meeting with everyone, there were numerous times where people openly imposed on each other and it was fine because of the trust and friendship that existed. If someone had access to a resource (such as a car), that resource was made available to anyone else in need. My impression is that this attitude is not limited to this one meeting, but persists throughout the school year as well.
We were meeting to conduct auditions for the Honor Choir and Honor Band for the festival in Wrangell next month. Where I've previously been involved in music (Ohio, Michigan, and Arizona), these auditions would involve bringing every student to a central location for live auditions in front of individual adjudicators. Based on one expert's opinion, the students would be ranked and selected. Here, the expense of moving all of those students and the lack of availability of sufficient adjudicators has resulted in an interesting system. Each director brings a stack of CDs, representing the best efforts of each student who auditions. In groups ranging from two at a time to five or more, the directors listen to the CDs, discuss their merits, and rank them. This results in an amazing amount of fairness and consistency in ratings, as evidenced when two different groups rated five or six duplicate Soprano I and Soprano II auditions in the exact same order (some students submitted multiple CDs for different voice parts or instruments). By using this system, we didn't have to provide chaperons, lodging, or transportation for students and were able to spend some very good time getting to know each other when most Outside directors at similar events just run around in circles, nodding at each other in passing.
Next month, we will be bringing over 100 students to Wrangell, where a relatively typical Honor Festival will occur, led by guest conductors and involving intense rehearsals capped off with a performance. Students will homestay with families in town, though, resulting in a very different experience than in most other places. Because of the unusual nature of travel here, the Juneau and Prince of Wales Island programs will be arriving at 1am on Friday morning by ferry (the festival starts Sunday and runs until Tuesday) and they won't be leaving until Wednesday. The best times and rates I can find for myself and the others traveling with me appear to be $1200 for four people (we're flying about 40 miles).
In the spring, we all get together for another big festival. Most places hold two different spring festivals, one focused on large ensembles and the other focused on solo and ensemble performances. Both are competitive, and solos and ensembles that get high ratings can travel to other competitions. Here, the competition is completely gone and both events are combined into one. From Wednesday through Saturday, there are morning adjudicated performances by soloists and small ensembles. These are frequently well-attended, because all of the large ensembles are also in town at the same time. The adjudicators award two scores: "S" for truly superior performances and "C" for comments, given to everything else. Following the morning performances, the adjudicators meet up and select the best three solos or ensembles to present command performances at the evening concert that night. In the afternoon, all students and directors have the ability to attend a series of clinics, and the evening culminates in a concert featuring several large ensembles and the command performances. This repeats every day except Saturday, where the morning is devoted to jazz ensemble performances from those programs that have them. Again, students will homestay with local families. Because of the non-competitive nature of this event, students and directors both look forward to it as an opportunity to meet up with old and new friends without the pressure and rivalry so frequently present elsewhere. The students are truly excited to see and hear each other's performances and appreciate them for the musicality presented, not for the ability to tally up mistakes in an attempt to one-up each other. The anecdote was shared yesterday of several members of a Juneau-Douglas High School choir who approached the Sitka High director and requested to sit in on his dress rehearsal because they wanted to hear his choir and would have to miss the performance for their own warmup. Students just don't do that anywhere else.
Flying is very different in Alaska.
People fly in Alaska like they take the bus or light rail in most other places. I flew three planes this weekend (SIT-KTN, KTN-JNU-SIT), all 737-400s with 50% occupancy or far less. On my second two flights, the boarding announcement went something like this: "Alaska Airlines welcomes to you flight XX, service to XX. At this time, we'd like to begin preboarding for our Gold Star customers, passengers in need of assistance, families with small children, and our first class customers and all rows." I'm used to "all rows" coming a few minutes after the other groups, but it was really all said in the same breath last night. The gate agent welcomes each person by name, passengers board quickly, the safety instructions are given quickly, and the flight proceeds uneventfully (usually). Upon landing (usually a hard landing in order to rapidly decelerate the light plane on a short runway), the plane taxis to the gate with no wait (after all, JNU is a large airport here because it has 5 gates, all right next to each other) and the flight attendants are nowhere to be seen once the seatbelt sign goes off, because they know that everyone will be up and out fast and don't want to be in the way. Two of the three terminals I waited in were empty of passengers save for me at some times, as people don't show up any earlier than they need to for their flights. If you show up late enough, the personnel at the ticket counter will identify you by name when you walk in the door, as experienced by one of my colleagues!
A word on turbulence: if you've never flown in Alaska, chances are you've never experienced real turbulence. On the flight from SIT to KTN, we took off in ~25mph winds and landed in ~50mph winds with driving rain (small water spouts were observed in Sitka Channel later the same day). There was serious discussion of what would happen if we couldn't touch down on Gravina Island*. The descent was so rough that I felt actual pain in my head and back later on Friday as a result. Not only was the plane bouncing in the air, but it was fishtailing. It's not easy to impress Alaskans with your prowess as a pilot (again, they use airplanes like others use buses), but there was spontaneous applause at touchdown.
*Bridge to "Nowhere" interlude: Having now flown into Ketchikan and taken the ferry to and from Gravina Island, I can vouch that a) the ferry isn't bad, but it is kinda crappy and b) Gravina Island may be a junky airport and gravel pile, but a bridge would save a lot of hassle in the long term and, with the number of tourists who come in here (it IS the "Tijuana of Southeast Alaska"), it's worth the expense, John McCain and Sarah Palin be damned.
Fun note: my flight from JNU to SIT was on the Salmon-Thirty-Salmon! The overhead compartments behind first class are all decorated with native Alaskan sea creatures, which I thought was a nice touch.
Some reflections and observations:
Music is very different in Alaska.
This isn't just a matter of the distances or the directors or even the students. The whole system is different. Southeast Alaska is a region that runs from Skagway to Metlakatla (an area similar in size to New England), and there were about 15 band and choir teachers present at our meeting. Two schools also have strings programs and there were one or two people potentially missing. The ethos of this group is something quite special. Over the day and a half that I was in Ketchikan meeting with everyone, there were numerous times where people openly imposed on each other and it was fine because of the trust and friendship that existed. If someone had access to a resource (such as a car), that resource was made available to anyone else in need. My impression is that this attitude is not limited to this one meeting, but persists throughout the school year as well.
We were meeting to conduct auditions for the Honor Choir and Honor Band for the festival in Wrangell next month. Where I've previously been involved in music (Ohio, Michigan, and Arizona), these auditions would involve bringing every student to a central location for live auditions in front of individual adjudicators. Based on one expert's opinion, the students would be ranked and selected. Here, the expense of moving all of those students and the lack of availability of sufficient adjudicators has resulted in an interesting system. Each director brings a stack of CDs, representing the best efforts of each student who auditions. In groups ranging from two at a time to five or more, the directors listen to the CDs, discuss their merits, and rank them. This results in an amazing amount of fairness and consistency in ratings, as evidenced when two different groups rated five or six duplicate Soprano I and Soprano II auditions in the exact same order (some students submitted multiple CDs for different voice parts or instruments). By using this system, we didn't have to provide chaperons, lodging, or transportation for students and were able to spend some very good time getting to know each other when most Outside directors at similar events just run around in circles, nodding at each other in passing.
Next month, we will be bringing over 100 students to Wrangell, where a relatively typical Honor Festival will occur, led by guest conductors and involving intense rehearsals capped off with a performance. Students will homestay with families in town, though, resulting in a very different experience than in most other places. Because of the unusual nature of travel here, the Juneau and Prince of Wales Island programs will be arriving at 1am on Friday morning by ferry (the festival starts Sunday and runs until Tuesday) and they won't be leaving until Wednesday. The best times and rates I can find for myself and the others traveling with me appear to be $1200 for four people (we're flying about 40 miles).
In the spring, we all get together for another big festival. Most places hold two different spring festivals, one focused on large ensembles and the other focused on solo and ensemble performances. Both are competitive, and solos and ensembles that get high ratings can travel to other competitions. Here, the competition is completely gone and both events are combined into one. From Wednesday through Saturday, there are morning adjudicated performances by soloists and small ensembles. These are frequently well-attended, because all of the large ensembles are also in town at the same time. The adjudicators award two scores: "S" for truly superior performances and "C" for comments, given to everything else. Following the morning performances, the adjudicators meet up and select the best three solos or ensembles to present command performances at the evening concert that night. In the afternoon, all students and directors have the ability to attend a series of clinics, and the evening culminates in a concert featuring several large ensembles and the command performances. This repeats every day except Saturday, where the morning is devoted to jazz ensemble performances from those programs that have them. Again, students will homestay with local families. Because of the non-competitive nature of this event, students and directors both look forward to it as an opportunity to meet up with old and new friends without the pressure and rivalry so frequently present elsewhere. The students are truly excited to see and hear each other's performances and appreciate them for the musicality presented, not for the ability to tally up mistakes in an attempt to one-up each other. The anecdote was shared yesterday of several members of a Juneau-Douglas High School choir who approached the Sitka High director and requested to sit in on his dress rehearsal because they wanted to hear his choir and would have to miss the performance for their own warmup. Students just don't do that anywhere else.
Flying is very different in Alaska.
People fly in Alaska like they take the bus or light rail in most other places. I flew three planes this weekend (SIT-KTN, KTN-JNU-SIT), all 737-400s with 50% occupancy or far less. On my second two flights, the boarding announcement went something like this: "Alaska Airlines welcomes to you flight XX, service to XX. At this time, we'd like to begin preboarding for our Gold Star customers, passengers in need of assistance, families with small children, and our first class customers and all rows." I'm used to "all rows" coming a few minutes after the other groups, but it was really all said in the same breath last night. The gate agent welcomes each person by name, passengers board quickly, the safety instructions are given quickly, and the flight proceeds uneventfully (usually). Upon landing (usually a hard landing in order to rapidly decelerate the light plane on a short runway), the plane taxis to the gate with no wait (after all, JNU is a large airport here because it has 5 gates, all right next to each other) and the flight attendants are nowhere to be seen once the seatbelt sign goes off, because they know that everyone will be up and out fast and don't want to be in the way. Two of the three terminals I waited in were empty of passengers save for me at some times, as people don't show up any earlier than they need to for their flights. If you show up late enough, the personnel at the ticket counter will identify you by name when you walk in the door, as experienced by one of my colleagues!
A word on turbulence: if you've never flown in Alaska, chances are you've never experienced real turbulence. On the flight from SIT to KTN, we took off in ~25mph winds and landed in ~50mph winds with driving rain (small water spouts were observed in Sitka Channel later the same day). There was serious discussion of what would happen if we couldn't touch down on Gravina Island*. The descent was so rough that I felt actual pain in my head and back later on Friday as a result. Not only was the plane bouncing in the air, but it was fishtailing. It's not easy to impress Alaskans with your prowess as a pilot (again, they use airplanes like others use buses), but there was spontaneous applause at touchdown.
*Bridge to "Nowhere" interlude: Having now flown into Ketchikan and taken the ferry to and from Gravina Island, I can vouch that a) the ferry isn't bad, but it is kinda crappy and b) Gravina Island may be a junky airport and gravel pile, but a bridge would save a lot of hassle in the long term and, with the number of tourists who come in here (it IS the "Tijuana of Southeast Alaska"), it's worth the expense, John McCain and Sarah Palin be damned.
Fun note: my flight from JNU to SIT was on the Salmon-Thirty-Salmon! The overhead compartments behind first class are all decorated with native Alaskan sea creatures, which I thought was a nice touch.
_in_%22Wild_Salmon%22_colors.jpg)
03 August 2010
four weeks
Today marks our fourth week in Sitka. In some ways, it feels like we've always been here. In others, well, there's a lot still sinking in.
JoElle has gone off to work for the first time since before Seren was born. She worked largely out of the home where we last were, but now she's in a job where she's being paid an hourly wage to work somewhere that has a dress code and everything. She's working for the Russian America Company at Random House downtown here, and seems to really enjoy the work and her bosses (although adapting to the hours has been tough on all of us).
Porter seems to be really settling in and enjoying himself. We set his crib up as a daybed, which he hated for one night and then realized that he could roll himself out whenever he gets bored with napping. This has resulted in FAR shorter naps. He's also getting around well enough that he is being a real pain to his sister.
Seren has been loving it here. Whether she's going for short walks to the store or the mail or whether she's heading out to pick salmonberries or play with the daughter of our landlords, she loves where we live. Every couple of days, she begs us to go to the library, which is her favorite spot in town! She also loves the Whale Park.
I've been working on setting up our house since Thursday, when all of our worldly goods were delivered in brown paper wrapping. Almost everything arrived undamaged, and I've been going around seeking out places to store things and trying to figure out where all of our things are (not all of the packing was done in the most logical manner). I've also been working on figuring out a day care/preschool solution for the kids, as Seren is of preschool age (although the cost of sending her may be an issue - is it really $250-$300 a month everywhere for only 10 hours a week?). Since our household showed up, my work getting my classroom and office inventoried and set up has taken a back seat, but I'm glad to have my bike back so that I can start commuting.
Music teachers: Alaska has some of the simplest standards I've ever seen. On the one hand, this is awesome because it means that the bar is set low. On the other hand, there are detailed standards for math, science, social studies, and English. I guess at least I know what the priorities are here?
I know that it's going to sink in at some point that we actually live in Alaska, and the huge distances are going to become a reality instead of just something that I understand intellectually. For now, every time I open up a library book or get a piece of mail and see "Sitka, AK" written, it throws me for a little bit of a loop. In a good way.
JoElle has gone off to work for the first time since before Seren was born. She worked largely out of the home where we last were, but now she's in a job where she's being paid an hourly wage to work somewhere that has a dress code and everything. She's working for the Russian America Company at Random House downtown here, and seems to really enjoy the work and her bosses (although adapting to the hours has been tough on all of us).
Porter seems to be really settling in and enjoying himself. We set his crib up as a daybed, which he hated for one night and then realized that he could roll himself out whenever he gets bored with napping. This has resulted in FAR shorter naps. He's also getting around well enough that he is being a real pain to his sister.
Seren has been loving it here. Whether she's going for short walks to the store or the mail or whether she's heading out to pick salmonberries or play with the daughter of our landlords, she loves where we live. Every couple of days, she begs us to go to the library, which is her favorite spot in town! She also loves the Whale Park.
I've been working on setting up our house since Thursday, when all of our worldly goods were delivered in brown paper wrapping. Almost everything arrived undamaged, and I've been going around seeking out places to store things and trying to figure out where all of our things are (not all of the packing was done in the most logical manner). I've also been working on figuring out a day care/preschool solution for the kids, as Seren is of preschool age (although the cost of sending her may be an issue - is it really $250-$300 a month everywhere for only 10 hours a week?). Since our household showed up, my work getting my classroom and office inventoried and set up has taken a back seat, but I'm glad to have my bike back so that I can start commuting.
Music teachers: Alaska has some of the simplest standards I've ever seen. On the one hand, this is awesome because it means that the bar is set low. On the other hand, there are detailed standards for math, science, social studies, and English. I guess at least I know what the priorities are here?
I know that it's going to sink in at some point that we actually live in Alaska, and the huge distances are going to become a reality instead of just something that I understand intellectually. For now, every time I open up a library book or get a piece of mail and see "Sitka, AK" written, it throws me for a little bit of a loop. In a good way.
11 July 2010
a little bit of catching up
The last real update we gave you was from Watson Lake, YT, so I'm going to attempt to fill in the blanks between then and now.
We made it to Skagway, AK pretty easily, taking in the scenery all along the Alaska Highway. I want to pause here for a moment and talk about plants. All through British Columbia and Yukon Territory we saw some of the most beautiful plants and trees. Shaggy White Spruce is most common along this route, but there are more than a few Birch trees as well. The sheer size of these trees took me completely by surprise. In some of the older parts of the forests, there were trees that easily reached 60-100ft into the air. It was sad to see large areas in between these ancient giants that were just starting to grow back after being clearcut for lumber. There were fields upon fields of plants with yellow blooms. We also saw a plant that showed off its purple blooms and wild roses. The roses were very tight bushes with far more thorns than what we are used to in commercial plants. The blooms were smaller and had fewer petals than any other rose I have ever seen, but the scent would make any flower shop variety envious. So strong was the odor that even just having rubbed one of the petals between my fingers caused my hand to smell sweet and rosy for the next few hours.
We had planned plenty of time in our schedule, just in case we had any issue at US Customs, but there was no trouble at all and we were waved through in a matter of a few minutes once our passport cards were swiped into the computer.
Next stop was Skagway, AK. We arrived in Skagway on the evening of July 4th. It's a cute little town with its downtown built in the 1800s and wooden sidewalks. All of the townsfolk were gathered for a rubber ducky race at the river, so the narrow streets were very quiet and we were able to get a rare peek at the town without the bustle of cruise ship tourists. There are several restaurants and bars and five or six inns, but we couldn't believe how many diamond stores there were! Both sides of the main street (Broadway) were lined with jewelry store after jewelry store advertising diamonds and "Northern Lights" pendants. For dinner, we stopped at the Bonanza Bar & Grill, where we had elk burgers. I was later told that the elk used at the restaurants is not local, but farmed.
The next morning we packed up our car and headed to the ferry. Once we checked in, we had plenty of time to go back into town and scratch up some breakfast. To our dismay, two huge cruise ships had disembarked for the day and the streets were filled with every sort of tacky tourist, each clad in his or her own sweatshirt, jacket, or hat embroidered with ALASKA in large letters. Cars couldn't drive the streets for all the people with no regard for traffic laws. Sidewalks were overflowed with people stopped in crowds in front of stores and restaurants. Any stragglers from the groups seemed to be wandering with no apparent direction or purpose. There were three open-top carriages drawn by ponies in front of the Bonanza Bar & Grill that morning, their drivers taking advantage of the tourists. We ate breakfast at The Sweet Shop across the street and watched those poor ponies get poked and prodded, pet and photographed for over an hour before we left and headed back to the ferry.
Once we were finally on the ferry, a calm came over us that we hadn't felt in quite some time: we were almost there. Seren and Porter slept most of the ride away. It was a big boat and there was little motion, but what motion there was in combination with the soft rumble of the engines lulled them right to sleep. I'll let Stephen post more about the ferry itself on his next post, as I'm sure he'll be able to give far better descriptions than I would on that subject. We had a 4-berth cabin that was simple, but didn't leave us wanting for anything. The views were spectacular and there was plenty of food and sights inside the boat if water and mountains aren't your thing.
At 8:30am, July 6th, we docked outside of Sitka and drove into town. We spent about an hour and a half just driving around and looking at our new home. We'll have to tell you all about Sitka, but I think I'll save that for another post. :)
Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake, YT.
More Sign Post Forest.
We made it to Skagway, AK pretty easily, taking in the scenery all along the Alaska Highway. I want to pause here for a moment and talk about plants. All through British Columbia and Yukon Territory we saw some of the most beautiful plants and trees. Shaggy White Spruce is most common along this route, but there are more than a few Birch trees as well. The sheer size of these trees took me completely by surprise. In some of the older parts of the forests, there were trees that easily reached 60-100ft into the air. It was sad to see large areas in between these ancient giants that were just starting to grow back after being clearcut for lumber. There were fields upon fields of plants with yellow blooms. We also saw a plant that showed off its purple blooms and wild roses. The roses were very tight bushes with far more thorns than what we are used to in commercial plants. The blooms were smaller and had fewer petals than any other rose I have ever seen, but the scent would make any flower shop variety envious. So strong was the odor that even just having rubbed one of the petals between my fingers caused my hand to smell sweet and rosy for the next few hours.
Pretty purple flowers.
Wild roses (we think).
White Spruce trees.
Pine cones.
Pretty much all of the Alaska Highway looks like this.
Or this.
We had planned plenty of time in our schedule, just in case we had any issue at US Customs, but there was no trouble at all and we were waved through in a matter of a few minutes once our passport cards were swiped into the computer.
Welcome to the U.S.A.
Porter's passport (info blurred for security).
Welcome to Alaska.
Port of entry.
Next stop was Skagway, AK. We arrived in Skagway on the evening of July 4th. It's a cute little town with its downtown built in the 1800s and wooden sidewalks. All of the townsfolk were gathered for a rubber ducky race at the river, so the narrow streets were very quiet and we were able to get a rare peek at the town without the bustle of cruise ship tourists. There are several restaurants and bars and five or six inns, but we couldn't believe how many diamond stores there were! Both sides of the main street (Broadway) were lined with jewelry store after jewelry store advertising diamonds and "Northern Lights" pendants. For dinner, we stopped at the Bonanza Bar & Grill, where we had elk burgers. I was later told that the elk used at the restaurants is not local, but farmed.
Elk burgers.
The next morning we packed up our car and headed to the ferry. Once we checked in, we had plenty of time to go back into town and scratch up some breakfast. To our dismay, two huge cruise ships had disembarked for the day and the streets were filled with every sort of tacky tourist, each clad in his or her own sweatshirt, jacket, or hat embroidered with ALASKA in large letters. Cars couldn't drive the streets for all the people with no regard for traffic laws. Sidewalks were overflowed with people stopped in crowds in front of stores and restaurants. Any stragglers from the groups seemed to be wandering with no apparent direction or purpose. There were three open-top carriages drawn by ponies in front of the Bonanza Bar & Grill that morning, their drivers taking advantage of the tourists. We ate breakfast at The Sweet Shop across the street and watched those poor ponies get poked and prodded, pet and photographed for over an hour before we left and headed back to the ferry.
The cruise ships.
Seren being cute while waiting for the ferry.
More cuteness.
Our ferry rolling in (small in comparison to those cruise ships!).
Our ferry, M/V Columbia, docked in Skagway, AK.
Seren said the ferry had a "big gray hat."
Once we were finally on the ferry, a calm came over us that we hadn't felt in quite some time: we were almost there. Seren and Porter slept most of the ride away. It was a big boat and there was little motion, but what motion there was in combination with the soft rumble of the engines lulled them right to sleep. I'll let Stephen post more about the ferry itself on his next post, as I'm sure he'll be able to give far better descriptions than I would on that subject. We had a 4-berth cabin that was simple, but didn't leave us wanting for anything. The views were spectacular and there was plenty of food and sights inside the boat if water and mountains aren't your thing.
Zonked.
At 8:30am, July 6th, we docked outside of Sitka and drove into town. We spent about an hour and a half just driving around and looking at our new home. We'll have to tell you all about Sitka, but I think I'll save that for another post. :)
09 July 2010
we're in!
Hi, everyone!
First, we're really glad to hear from so many of you and to see so many visits from all over during this past week. We keep hearing the same thing: "When will you be posting more pictures/stories?" Well, the answer to that is: soon!
We've had a very busy week getting settled in. On Sunday, we drove into Skagway and have been without a normal internet connection since then. We've both been checking our emails on our phones, so we've been in the loop with the absolute basics but not much else. We got into Sitka on Tuesday and everyone is doing well. The past few days have been a combination of running around getting ourselves set up in town (utilities, etc.), exploring the place we now live, and getting me set up at work. Today, we finally got our internet turned on, but it still took a few hours before we were able to get the computer plugged in.
Expect us to post more this weekend with pictures and reflections. There's a lot to say, and the adventure is just beginning!
First, we're really glad to hear from so many of you and to see so many visits from all over during this past week. We keep hearing the same thing: "When will you be posting more pictures/stories?" Well, the answer to that is: soon!
We've had a very busy week getting settled in. On Sunday, we drove into Skagway and have been without a normal internet connection since then. We've both been checking our emails on our phones, so we've been in the loop with the absolute basics but not much else. We got into Sitka on Tuesday and everyone is doing well. The past few days have been a combination of running around getting ourselves set up in town (utilities, etc.), exploring the place we now live, and getting me set up at work. Today, we finally got our internet turned on, but it still took a few hours before we were able to get the computer plugged in.
Expect us to post more this weekend with pictures and reflections. There's a lot to say, and the adventure is just beginning!
01 July 2010
...because I'm talkin' about The Road!
Long day today. We covered almost 900 km from Brandon MB to Lloydminster AB, completely crossing Saskatchewan and seeing its biggest cities (Regina and Saskatoon). We spent about three hours loving the CBC Radio 2 coverage of Canada Day, featuring a bunch of Canadian musicians.
We just set up our hotels in Fort St. John BC (about 11.5 hours away) and Watson Lake, YT (about 12 hours past that), so that we can be in Skagway on July 4, dashing my hopes of a Canadian Independence Day. JoElle has been busy on the phone while I've been using Google Maps on my computer and we've been busting our butts trying to reserve the few remaining hotel rooms that will allow our pets in these remote locations. Oddly enough, Skagway is proving to be our biggest challenge in this regard.
The next two days will hurt, but then we're only doing 7 hours to Alaska (plus whatever occurs at Customs) and we will be able to have a long night's rest before loading up for the ferry ride to Sitka.
The end is almost in sight, but I don't dare start thinking of it. There's work aplenty to be done when we get to our new home (utilities, moving in, setting up an entire music program from scratch), so there'll be no rest for the wicked.
We just set up our hotels in Fort St. John BC (about 11.5 hours away) and Watson Lake, YT (about 12 hours past that), so that we can be in Skagway on July 4, dashing my hopes of a Canadian Independence Day. JoElle has been busy on the phone while I've been using Google Maps on my computer and we've been busting our butts trying to reserve the few remaining hotel rooms that will allow our pets in these remote locations. Oddly enough, Skagway is proving to be our biggest challenge in this regard.
The next two days will hurt, but then we're only doing 7 hours to Alaska (plus whatever occurs at Customs) and we will be able to have a long night's rest before loading up for the ferry ride to Sitka.
The end is almost in sight, but I don't dare start thinking of it. There's work aplenty to be done when we get to our new home (utilities, moving in, setting up an entire music program from scratch), so there'll be no rest for the wicked.
10 June 2010
getting there...
So far, we have managed to find other homes for the following items:
I took down the swing in Seren's room and broke down our dining room table, so we'll be eating off of a folding table for the next week.
We view laundry and dishes as things to try to keep up on as much as possible, but there'll be a cleaning blitz on those items in the last day or so.
There are still a few things that we need to get rid of. In particular, if you're interested in
We have booked the movers and we have booked the ferry from Skagway to Sitka*.
We've set up our going-away party (see Jo's previous post) and we've notified everyone of our travel plans.
The task ahead of us is still insane and monumental in scope, but it's not as bad as it could be, nor as bad as it was!
*If you're curious about visiting Alaska at all and are considering a cruise, I recommend checking out the Alaska Marine Highway System as a possible option. We're traveling on a boat that has two dining options (cafeteria and Alaska-formal restaurant, and yes, Alaska-formal is tolerant of athletic shoes and jeans), we've booked ourselves a four-berth cabin for the night, and we're taking our car on board. For the 18 hours we'll be traveling this way, we get a window to watch all of what we're passing, we'll have a private bathroom, and it's for under $500. I know that's not amazingly cheap, but a significant chunk of that is the car. We'll be stopping for an hour and a half in Haines and for four hours in Juneau, giving a decent amount of time for other dining options, basic shopping, and possibly a bit of sight-seeing before we head to our new home.
- living room couch set (single seat, recliner, angle couch, loveseat/hide-a-bed)
- self-lifting recliner
- double stroller
- bike trailer
- Wurlitzer Electronic Piano (I'll miss the sound of this one, but it's just enormous)
- child slide
- hammock (that one hurts)
- brass lamps
- patio set
- a child-size school desk (elementary school style, with the lifting top)
- a very good charcoal grill
- a swively rolly computer chair
- a five shelf bookshelf
- pre-lit Christmas tree (only used once)
- a vintage hand-made wooden high chair
I took down the swing in Seren's room and broke down our dining room table, so we'll be eating off of a folding table for the next week.
We view laundry and dishes as things to try to keep up on as much as possible, but there'll be a cleaning blitz on those items in the last day or so.
There are still a few things that we need to get rid of. In particular, if you're interested in
- a corner computer desk (warning: it's moved once before and won't take a lot of jostling)
- an old school office desk (solid wood, with nine drawers)
- a nice wooden coffee table
We have booked the movers and we have booked the ferry from Skagway to Sitka*.
We've set up our going-away party (see Jo's previous post) and we've notified everyone of our travel plans.
The task ahead of us is still insane and monumental in scope, but it's not as bad as it could be, nor as bad as it was!
*If you're curious about visiting Alaska at all and are considering a cruise, I recommend checking out the Alaska Marine Highway System as a possible option. We're traveling on a boat that has two dining options (cafeteria and Alaska-formal restaurant, and yes, Alaska-formal is tolerant of athletic shoes and jeans), we've booked ourselves a four-berth cabin for the night, and we're taking our car on board. For the 18 hours we'll be traveling this way, we get a window to watch all of what we're passing, we'll have a private bathroom, and it's for under $500. I know that's not amazingly cheap, but a significant chunk of that is the car. We'll be stopping for an hour and a half in Haines and for four hours in Juneau, giving a decent amount of time for other dining options, basic shopping, and possibly a bit of sight-seeing before we head to our new home.
things i've learned or observed recently
In no particular order...
1. Moving sucks
2. Moving is made only a little less sucky by paying someone else to pack for you
3. People will often surprise you
4. Family members are not often among the people referred to in item 3
5. Alaska is really, REALLY big
6. Alaska is really, REALLY far away
7. Kids are made of rubber
8. No matter how minimalist you try to be with your possessions, you still end up with more than you need
9. Family is stronger than distance and sometimes they just need to be reminded of that fact
10. It's only money
11. Alaskans are more friendly/helpful than the average American
12. There will ALWAYS be unexpected expenses (refer to item 10)
1. Moving sucks
2. Moving is made only a little less sucky by paying someone else to pack for you
3. People will often surprise you
4. Family members are not often among the people referred to in item 3
5. Alaska is really, REALLY big
6. Alaska is really, REALLY far away
7. Kids are made of rubber
8. No matter how minimalist you try to be with your possessions, you still end up with more than you need
9. Family is stronger than distance and sometimes they just need to be reminded of that fact
10. It's only money
11. Alaskans are more friendly/helpful than the average American
12. There will ALWAYS be unexpected expenses (refer to item 10)
08 June 2010
Just want to point this out...
Man, moving is expensive! It's enough of a hassle to move anywhere at any time (it cost us a few hundred dollars in gas and Penske rental* to make it only 200 miles for our last move), but going almost 3000 miles away (with a 2000-mile detour!) is no joke. Aside from the expense, we're left doing all of our apartment-hunting by phone and email, I'm setting up a music program via email, and we're trying to coordinate with a moving company that has two offices in Arizona, a delivery and storage facility in Sitka, and the person responsible for our move is in Anchorage! This experience makes me really glad that I was rejected for the job in Christchurch, NZ.
*I don't endorse many companies, but Penske is one that I've never had reason to fault. If Penske is available where you are or where you are going, don't even look at U-Haul.
*I don't endorse many companies, but Penske is one that I've never had reason to fault. If Penske is available where you are or where you are going, don't even look at U-Haul.
07 June 2010
raison d'être
This blog will exist for the sole purpose of documenting our adventures Up North. Since JoElle has never lived outside of Arizona for more than 6 weeks at a time and I've never been to Alaska, this entire excursion to the 49th state will be new to us both. In the coming weeks, expect us to begin uploading stories about our move (including cross-country treks of both the US and Canada!) and pictures that we think capture the spirit of what we (and, of course, our kids) are up to.
If you like what you read, please feel free to leave comments. If you want to pass it on, we appreciate link sharing, but don't want anyone copying our text or images without permission.
If you like what you read, please feel free to leave comments. If you want to pass it on, we appreciate link sharing, but don't want anyone copying our text or images without permission.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)