It's been nearly two weeks that we've been here, and I have some reflections to share.
It's amazing to live in a place like this. JoElle and I are constantly awed by the natural beauty of the Sitka Sound, the Tongass rainforest, the mountains, and the weather. We can look out our front window and see the Pacific Ocean, replete with fishing boats, cruise ships, and recreational vessels, Seren gets to watch planes all day taking off and landing at Rocky Gutierrez Airport, and we can walk to the back of the house and see a mountain covered in forest. Beyond the physical beauty of this place, there is so much more going on.
On Saturday, we had to rush through the first Farmers Market of the summer so that we could get over to the library in time for a children's program. I've been to many farmers markets before, but never one where you could buy fresh-caught seafood, sea asparagus, and salmonberry jam in addition to the usual fresh breads, locally-roasted coffees, and fresh produce. I just made dinner tonight out of black cod and sea asparagus from that market, and it was amazing (not intended to be self-congratulatory). Side note: if you like to cook fish and haven't tried black cod, DO IT. It's creamy and buttery and amazing, and almost the same size fillet and cooking time as you're used to for salmon.
We have yet to meet an unfriendly person here. Almost nobody here wears a tie to work. When they say "Alaska formal" means jeans and a collared shirt, they really seem to mean it. The only thing you need to say to get twice the help you were already getting (which is usually already twice what you'd get in the contiguous 48) is that you're new in town. That immediately leads to questions about where you live, how much you like it, and a sincere wish that you'll stick around. I've been asked a few times what brought us to Sitka, but never once have we been asked that in an incredulous tone. The people here know how good they have it, and are simply interested in knowing what excuse you have for living in such a great place.
Seriously, we've been pleased to find almost everything we've found here. Good Asian food and Mexican food restaurants that deliver, electronics shops where you get real help from the knowledgeable staff, great parks, tons of places to walk or run or bike or simply sit and relax and watch the activity around you. The drivers on the biggest road on the island will actually stop of their own volition to let pedestrians cross the street! For a brief while, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to indulge two of my favorite vices here, though. In my mind, there's little better than a good local microbrewery and an old (think Big Lebowski) bowling alley. Before we left, I looked on BeerAdvocate and Google and everywhere else I could, and it seemed like there was a chance that a brewery might exist in town. The other day, we located it! Baranof Island Brewing has only been in business for part of the summer according to its staff, but it is worth knowing of! When I stopped in, they were out of three of the four brews that they normally keep on tap, but their Baranof Brown Ale was almost perfectly balanced for me: thick (not watery at all), smooth, a bit creamy, with plenty of malt and only enough hops to keep it tasting like beer. This is the beer I kept hoping that Prescott Brewing Company would figure out how to make.
I'm still looking for a place to bowl in town. If we can't find one, we may have to build one. Until then, I can settle for a place that's 99% perfect.
19 July 2010
15 July 2010
stats and trivia
There have been a lot of comments made about how we ever survived such a long road trip with seven bodies in such close proximity. Well, it wasn't easy, but it wasn't as bad as one might think. There was a learning curve, for sure.
When we started out, the car was packed to the gills, there was a highchair strapped to the roof, the kids were in their car seats, Stephen & I were in the front, Nika (our dog) shared the second row with the kids, and the cats were in individual crates. By the time we got to Cleveland, though, one of the cats (Rosie) had made it widely known that she preferred to roam about the car, so we let her do so as long as it did not interfere with the driver's perspective or reflexes. After we left Cleveland, we discovered that our other cat (Al) had become acclimated to traveling enough that he also preferred to roam about, and since we had a little more room at that point, we allowed him to do so as well. The only difficulty with doing things this way was that we had to make sure the litter box was accessible in the car at all times. There was no smell, since Stephen did well to scoop it at almost every stop, but it does take up quite a bit of otherwise stackable space that way. I had Rosie in my lap and Al was under the driver's seat for probably a third of the total trip or more. All of the animals were very well behaved and we had little trouble with them at all.
Seren & Porter were happy enough in the back seat. We had a tote bag full of books, coloring books, crayons, and small toys for Seren to occupy herself with. Of course, this didn't keep her busy the whole way, but it was a big help. Once the contents of the bag started to lose her attention altogether, we had to be more creative and draw her attention to sights and sounds outside of the car. By the end, she was pointing out every train, track, boat, bridge, body of water, and wild animal that could be seen from the car. (Seren also did quite well with some of her favorite music. By the end of the trip, we could ALL sing almost all of the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack as well as her favorites by Peter, Paul, and Mary, Tenacious D, Queen, and Simon and Garfunkel. Naturally, I'm very proud of her musical tastes. --Stephen) Porter was a little more difficult, as he is not yet of an age where his attention can be captured for any extended period of time. We had a few toys in the car for him, but he was happier just to sleep away the miles. When he was awake, we tried to let him have healthy snacks (apple chips were a hit!) or play with Seren as well as he could with the limited range of vision that his car seat affords. Most difficult was trying to find ways and places to get them out of the car to get the exercise, stimulation, and interaction that they both needed. Canada has some very nice rest stops with playgrounds, but we were never able to stay very long and it always felt as though we were tearing Seren away from much-needed play time to get back on the road. Porter would get very upset if he didn't feel like he was able to romp and play with us and Seren enough. As I said, his car seat doesn't allow him to see much more than the seat directly in front of him, so there were a few stops made just to take some face-to-face time with him. All in all, they both did very well and made us both very proud parents for the way they behaved for the majority of the trip.
Stephen and I whiled away the hours taking in the scenery and talking about any silly thing that popped into our heads. We both enjoy road trips, so we didn't have many issues - with each other, or otherwise - the entire way. Sometimes we preferred silence, but mostly we had the radio* on in the background. We talked and played with the kids from the front seat as much as we could and I took a few naps in the passenger seat. We laughed at billboards, enjoyed weather changes, and dreamed together about the end of this long, long road to Sitka.
*By radio, I don't mean broadcasted stations. That would have been far too much work, considering all the areas we were passing through so quickly. Instead, I loaded over 1,000 songs onto a hard drive and plugged that into our stereo receiver. Once in a while we would tune in to see what kind of local stations there were, but never for long. We had the music we liked to listen to with us and it only just started to get old by the last leg of the trip.
Another thing we did was count license plates on the highway. Here are the game rules:
Finally, for all of you who have been with us since mile one, here's our total mileage. We left Orme with 78780 miles on the odometer. We arrived in Sitka with approximately 84650 miles. That's a grand total of...
When we started out, the car was packed to the gills, there was a highchair strapped to the roof, the kids were in their car seats, Stephen & I were in the front, Nika (our dog) shared the second row with the kids, and the cats were in individual crates. By the time we got to Cleveland, though, one of the cats (Rosie) had made it widely known that she preferred to roam about the car, so we let her do so as long as it did not interfere with the driver's perspective or reflexes. After we left Cleveland, we discovered that our other cat (Al) had become acclimated to traveling enough that he also preferred to roam about, and since we had a little more room at that point, we allowed him to do so as well. The only difficulty with doing things this way was that we had to make sure the litter box was accessible in the car at all times. There was no smell, since Stephen did well to scoop it at almost every stop, but it does take up quite a bit of otherwise stackable space that way. I had Rosie in my lap and Al was under the driver's seat for probably a third of the total trip or more. All of the animals were very well behaved and we had little trouble with them at all.
Seren & Porter were happy enough in the back seat. We had a tote bag full of books, coloring books, crayons, and small toys for Seren to occupy herself with. Of course, this didn't keep her busy the whole way, but it was a big help. Once the contents of the bag started to lose her attention altogether, we had to be more creative and draw her attention to sights and sounds outside of the car. By the end, she was pointing out every train, track, boat, bridge, body of water, and wild animal that could be seen from the car. (Seren also did quite well with some of her favorite music. By the end of the trip, we could ALL sing almost all of the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack as well as her favorites by Peter, Paul, and Mary, Tenacious D, Queen, and Simon and Garfunkel. Naturally, I'm very proud of her musical tastes. --Stephen) Porter was a little more difficult, as he is not yet of an age where his attention can be captured for any extended period of time. We had a few toys in the car for him, but he was happier just to sleep away the miles. When he was awake, we tried to let him have healthy snacks (apple chips were a hit!) or play with Seren as well as he could with the limited range of vision that his car seat affords. Most difficult was trying to find ways and places to get them out of the car to get the exercise, stimulation, and interaction that they both needed. Canada has some very nice rest stops with playgrounds, but we were never able to stay very long and it always felt as though we were tearing Seren away from much-needed play time to get back on the road. Porter would get very upset if he didn't feel like he was able to romp and play with us and Seren enough. As I said, his car seat doesn't allow him to see much more than the seat directly in front of him, so there were a few stops made just to take some face-to-face time with him. All in all, they both did very well and made us both very proud parents for the way they behaved for the majority of the trip.
Stephen and I whiled away the hours taking in the scenery and talking about any silly thing that popped into our heads. We both enjoy road trips, so we didn't have many issues - with each other, or otherwise - the entire way. Sometimes we preferred silence, but mostly we had the radio* on in the background. We talked and played with the kids from the front seat as much as we could and I took a few naps in the passenger seat. We laughed at billboards, enjoyed weather changes, and dreamed together about the end of this long, long road to Sitka.
*By radio, I don't mean broadcasted stations. That would have been far too much work, considering all the areas we were passing through so quickly. Instead, I loaded over 1,000 songs onto a hard drive and plugged that into our stereo receiver. Once in a while we would tune in to see what kind of local stations there were, but never for long. We had the music we liked to listen to with us and it only just started to get old by the last leg of the trip.
Another thing we did was count license plates on the highway. Here are the game rules:
- Collect as many license plates from as many different places as possible.
- Plates only count if you are inside the vehicle when you see them.
- Plates on large commercial trucks (semis) do not count, but those on passenger buses do.
Finally, for all of you who have been with us since mile one, here's our total mileage. We left Orme with 78780 miles on the odometer. We arrived in Sitka with approximately 84650 miles. That's a grand total of...
5870 MILES!
(2 oil changes, 1 tire rotation, and too much gas to even think about)
new look!
If you're a regular reader, you'll notice that there's a new look to the blog today! JoElle took a series of pictures around town and I sat down and played with Blogger until we got it looking almost how we want it to look. Obviously, we can only make it look OK for ourselves, though. We'd love it if you'd look over the blog a bit and comment on this post to let us know if you're having any readability issues or if something looks broken.
Thanks!
Edit: Google, you have failed me! Whereas neither Picasa nor Google Docs were letting me host the background image in a fashion that would scale it to full-size on this page, ImageShack (of all places) has done the trick. For those who were wondering what was so great about "poo brown on the brown that they took away from M&Ms," I'm sorry and I think it should be fixed now.
Thanks!
Edit: Google, you have failed me! Whereas neither Picasa nor Google Docs were letting me host the background image in a fashion that would scale it to full-size on this page, ImageShack (of all places) has done the trick. For those who were wondering what was so great about "poo brown on the brown that they took away from M&Ms," I'm sorry and I think it should be fixed now.
13 July 2010
the house
We were so excited to see the "real" Sitka when we got off the ferry, we spent the next hour or so just driving around and checking things out. We weren't without aim or purpose, though. One of our first stops was at the Post Office to make sure we had a working mailing address. (If you want the address, please email or call me.)
USPS Sitka, AK.
We went into the downtown area and saw all the shops and tourist attractions. We went across the bridge to see where Mt. Edgecumbe High School is and get a feel for how the campus is set up. We went up some streets and down others until we felt we had satisfied ourselves for the moment, before finally contacting our new landlords and heading home.
O'Connell Bridge, passage to/from Japonski Island.
Finally able to hang up our coats in our new home.
I guess the most difficult part of being here right now is that our house hasn't arrived with us. If you'll remember back before our road trip began, we had sent all of our belongings via Allied Alaska while we made our way across more than 5,500 miles of the U.S. and Canada. It turns out that it can take a really long time for everything to reach its destination that way, so we won't be seeing our furniture, clothes, or toys for about another 2 weeks. That's ok, though, because Sitka has a number of retailers who were happy to sell us air mattresses!
I imagine you want to know what accommodations we found for ourselves, sight unseen... Well, we weren't disappointed. We rented the lower lever of an up/down duplex. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, and includes stove, fridge, microwave, washer, and dryer. It's not as much space as we're used to at Orme, but it's more than sufficient for our needs. Seren & Porter even have bigger bedrooms than they had in Arizona! (Sorry for the blurry pictures. I took them with my phone.)
I imagine you want to know what accommodations we found for ourselves, sight unseen... Well, we weren't disappointed. We rented the lower lever of an up/down duplex. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, and includes stove, fridge, microwave, washer, and dryer. It's not as much space as we're used to at Orme, but it's more than sufficient for our needs. Seren & Porter even have bigger bedrooms than they had in Arizona! (Sorry for the blurry pictures. I took them with my phone.)
Our new house.
Kitchen.
Living room.
Seren's room.
The kids' bathroom (washer & dryer are behind the towels).
Porter's room.
Master bathroom.
Master bedroom.
After we unloaded the car, we discovered we still needed a place to sit, so we bought a couch.
Couch.
So that's it, that's how we're living right now. We're not uncomfortable, but we're living slim. Since we've sorted out the living spaces, Stephen and I frequently talk about how we wish we'd gotten rid of more stuff before we left Arizona. To that, I say "We still can!"
...............................
As a side note, I want to address a concern we've heard from a few of you who are following along with our adventure. We are not giving up the blog just because we've arrived in Sitka. As far as we're concerned, the adventure has just begun and we are very happy that all of you are interested in what we are doing and staying connected with us in this way. We intend to keep the blog going as long as we feel we have interesting things to share with you, as long as it is entertaining for us as writers and for you as readers, and as long as it continues to have value as a historical account of this time in our lives. Thank you all for your love and support, but also for the little comments and stories you've shared with us along the way. Your active readership helps to make this blog worthwhile.
12 July 2010
The ferry!
I've been informed that it is my duty to elaborate on our journey by ferry, so here goes.
It turns out, the Alaska Marine Highway System has been around about as long as the state, largely due to the fact that Alaskans are nothing if they're not practical about their situation. Faced with a state way bigger than Texas where only two of the four largest cities can be reached by road, it was decided that car-carrying ferries would have to do instead. The system has been expanded to the point where almost every port on the southern coast of the state is connected, from the western tip of the Aleutians to the southeastern port of Bellingham, in Washington state.
Our ferry was the M/V Columbia. She is currently the flagship of the fleet, making the run up and down the Inside Passage from Skagway to Bellingham. When we were waiting to board in Skagway, there were indeed brave individuals booking passage all the way. I believe that meant that they were in for 4 days' sailing. More importantly, that can't be cheap. For us to take a 4-berth cabin, two adults, and a car it cost just over $450 from Skagway to Sitka (three stops down the way). The people next to us were going to Bellingham with an RV and a Suzuki Samurai.
The Columbia is actually a pretty neat ship. She has two decks of vehicle storage, complete with a car elevator. In addition to two decks of cabins, she has several lounges with comfortable chairs and a few diner-style benches and tables. She also has a "movie theater" that is also referred to as a recliner lounge because of the nicer furniture in it. While we were onboard, they showed Alice in Wonderland (no, I don't know which version). She also has an area referred to as a "solarium" that is basically a covered outdoor deck with windscreens on the sides and heater lamps overhead. The solarium is also equipped with stacking lounge chairs so that people can sleep out in sleeping bags. Beneath the solarium is a deck reserved for people who want to sleep out in tents (experienced travelers were obvious for their use of duct tape for securing tent flies). Again, Alaskans are nothing if not practical about their situation. I could see similar ferries in the mainland US discouraging these people from sleeping in deck chairs and in tents, but the Alaskan ferries provide safe, out-of-the-way space for them. Over the 18 hours we spent on-board, it was common to see people sleeping anywhere that was comfortable or warm.
On top of all of the other amenities, the Columbia also features a cafeteria and a full-service restaurant. After looking at prices, we opted to pass on the restaurant.
While I was exploring the ship at night, I actually discovered an interesting citation that had been awarded to the captain and crew a few years earlier by the Coast Guard. Apparently, they were involved in a rescue effort for one of those ridiculously overpriced cruise ships full of tourists* (contemporary account to be found here) and were recognized for their efforts. I like knowing that the ship I sailed on saved the butts of a bunch of Floridians in silly sweatshirts.
*Important note: though we were taking in the sights as we traveled and made a side trip or two along the way, we were TRAVELERS, not TOURISTS. A traveler is looking for the good, interesting, and useful things along the way in an unobtrusive manner. A tourist is tacky, noisy, inconsiderate, in the way, generally only good for milking for money, and gloriously unaware of any of this.
Only about an hour after we boarded, our first stop was at Haines. I'm sure it's a nice enough place, but the ferry terminal was about five miles out of town and we were all too busy resting to care about checking the place out. Though the animals were in the car two decks below us, we figured Nika (our dog) would be fine until we got to Juneau in a few hours.
Juneau was an interesting stop. When I realized that we were drawing near, I went up to the boat deck to catch the views without disturbing sleepers. Aside from nearly freezing my ears off, I discovered that the skies are pretty light at 10pm, although none of my pictures turned out at all. Nika appreciated getting out and I didn't mind the walk either, but again, the ferry terminal was too far from town for me to introduce myself to Sean Parnell.
We all slept very well on the trip from Juneau to Sitka and woke up with plenty of time to catch a quick breakfast and pack up our things before they opened up the car deck. All in all, this was a very comfortable way to travel (and customizable by budget - with no kids, pets, car, or cabin, it would have been $76 per adult) and we've already started seriously considering taking a "cruise" on the AMHS to see the Inside Passage.
While I was exploring the ship at night, I actually discovered an interesting citation that had been awarded to the captain and crew a few years earlier by the Coast Guard. Apparently, they were involved in a rescue effort for one of those ridiculously overpriced cruise ships full of tourists* (contemporary account to be found here) and were recognized for their efforts. I like knowing that the ship I sailed on saved the butts of a bunch of Floridians in silly sweatshirts.
*Important note: though we were taking in the sights as we traveled and made a side trip or two along the way, we were TRAVELERS, not TOURISTS. A traveler is looking for the good, interesting, and useful things along the way in an unobtrusive manner. A tourist is tacky, noisy, inconsiderate, in the way, generally only good for milking for money, and gloriously unaware of any of this.
Only about an hour after we boarded, our first stop was at Haines. I'm sure it's a nice enough place, but the ferry terminal was about five miles out of town and we were all too busy resting to care about checking the place out. Though the animals were in the car two decks below us, we figured Nika (our dog) would be fine until we got to Juneau in a few hours.
Juneau was an interesting stop. When I realized that we were drawing near, I went up to the boat deck to catch the views without disturbing sleepers. Aside from nearly freezing my ears off, I discovered that the skies are pretty light at 10pm, although none of my pictures turned out at all. Nika appreciated getting out and I didn't mind the walk either, but again, the ferry terminal was too far from town for me to introduce myself to Sean Parnell.
We all slept very well on the trip from Juneau to Sitka and woke up with plenty of time to catch a quick breakfast and pack up our things before they opened up the car deck. All in all, this was a very comfortable way to travel (and customizable by budget - with no kids, pets, car, or cabin, it would have been $76 per adult) and we've already started seriously considering taking a "cruise" on the AMHS to see the Inside Passage.
ON TO THE PICTURES
I probably could have watched them loading and unloading for hours.
The inside of our cabin. There were four of these berths, two on each side, and they were surprisingly comfortable.
A very economical bathroom in our cabin, but I liked that it was all one piece and that there were drains on both sides. I could see myself cleaning a bathroom like this with bleach and a hose. They requested that showers only be used while at sea because then "dispersal" wouldn't happen in port.
Man, these guys are dedicated.
The kids loved it, when they weren't too busy being passed out.
Alaskans like their flag.
Yeah... I don't think this conforms to the Flag Act, but it's pretty awesome (not sure why there are only 11 stripes...).
Spending the night the cheaper way!
Juneau at night. 10:00 at night.
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!
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