Post of Pictures

Fist Wildlife Sighting



Headed Home Around 11p.m.




The Train




Cabin in Town




Kids playing in the river





Birch Tree





Spring is coming





Sunset at the River




Celebrating Sunsets





Friday night concerts at the park



Nagley's the grocery store and liquor store

Anchorage for the day

Yesterday I went with two girlfriends into Anchorage for the day. It was so weird to be back to a "normal" life. I enjoyed it but the whole day brought to light the beauty of living simply.

Our day started with a little shopping at JC Penny (cause we all know that's what girls do best),
then onto pedi's,

followed by lunch.....THEY MADE ME EAT SUSHI!!!
and if you know me you know I DON'T do seafood..AT ALL. It's not that I'm allergic to it or it's a against a belief...it's in my head. The ocean is nasty, and so are the slimy, stinky fish that we eat out of it...bleh. BUT in the spirit of my new adventure and to experience it all I gave it a shot.

I struggled with the chopsticks but never once asked for a fork. The entire time in the back of my mind was the scene from Kill Bill..where Uma Thurman is forced to eat with chopsticks or she goes hungry, but I did ok

OK now this is where things start to get scary. Wasabi, ginger, fish eggs, seaweed oh god...

but I'm much happier cause I have chicken on my plate

So apparently you have to put the entire piece of sushi in your mouth at once!! So I balanced it in my chopsticks for a few minutes trying to muster up some courage..

There is no way to pop it and drop it like a shot of alcohol..

It's so large it almost gags me, turns my stomach and overwhelms my senses. It honestly didn't taste like much or that gross..but still one piece was enough for me. But it did make me turn red, laugh my ass off and sweat a little haha
I didn't spit any out. The girls wouldn't let me

OK something a little smaller and manageable...tuna and rice. Popped it without hesitation this time. Tiny tuna and rice is much better.

So I ate my first seafood in Alaska. I don't think I will be ordering sushi anytime soon but this is not the end. I plan on trying everything I can. All fish, moose, bear, elk, caribou, reindeer and whatever else. I'll try..



After lunch we went to the movies and stopped at Fred Myers (equal to walmart) to get some much needed food and supplies. It is very overwhelming to go food shopping or supply shopping. It's not like if you forget something you can just go down the road. So you stock up as much as you can.


This is from the awesome ride home..

MY DREAM VAN!!!!!!!!!!

Almost home...what a long but great day to bond with some really awesome girls who I can't wait to get to know even more.

Alaska you're growing on me

      The past few days have been rather eventful, but like I mentioned before the days run together and I forget what I did on each day. I think I need to blog a little more often to keep track of things.

                          Talkeetna gets into my soul more and more each day.

        Today I got to sleep in finally and man did I...till 1pm!! Last night I finally went out and had so much fun at the local bar. Every Thursday night is hip hop night....yes that means that just about everyone in town (young and old) put on their dancing shoes and try to get down. It was a ton of fun but did get rather hot and smelly in the place..haha. Before all the dancing I got to watch the sun set down by the river. And after all the dancing I got a ride on handle bars courtesy of my friend Christine. Yeah you try to peddle with a little drunk girl (me) on your handle bars hold a giant stick...it's not as easy as it sounds. I'd have to say that was the highlight of my night and I totally laughed my butt off the entire ride home....love this crazy girl!!

      So after waking up this afternoon,walked into town and got a late lunch then hung out at The Roadhouse and relaxed reading some magazines. The local concert series has started and every Friday night in the park a little band plays some really good music. Nothing fancy but it calms the soul when u lay on the grass and stare up at the sky and let go....it's such a great feeling to appreciate the little things.

         After the music I walked over to the airport for the free community BBQ. The food was ok...but I made myself eat all I could, solely based on the fact that it's free. And I got lucky enough to catch the shuttle on the way home cause it was freakin 80 degrees here today.

       Tomorrow I head to Anchorage for the day!!! Myself, Christine and Kelly are having a girls day :)  Going to the movies, getting pedi's, checking out the museum and trying some sushi. Oh and most importantly a WALMART stop on the way home!!!!!!! 

With every passing day I grow to love this place a little more. In the beginning I was so down cause there is almost nothing here to do..but now I'm starting to realize that is the beauty of it. With no distractions of malls, wawa's, movie theatres, walmart, or daily drama you become more happy. You start to focus on the simple things in life and how great things really are. There is nothing better for the heart then to sit by the river and watch it rush by with the awesome mountains in the background. There is gorgeous river rock everywhere and the birds zip all over diving down to catch fish.

Everyone here is so friendly and knows each other. I've met so many locals just by walking around and with each meeting I learn something new.

This is not just a town..it's a giant family.

(gotta run, waiting on my laundry so I can go to bed. but lots more to come along with some pics)

Birds chirp at 2am

Today was another most awesome day.

         I have so much to write about my mind is flooding. I've met some really cool, genuine friends. I have a bike to use for a while (MAJOR plus) and enjoy getting out on it everyday. I've been talking a lot to two of the locals that work with me in the kitchen and ask them a ton of questions everyday about their housing and lifestyle. It just blows my mind...I will definitely have to do a separate blog just on that. And I hope to get to their cabins just to check them out. I've been working almost 10 days straight and can't wait till tomorrow night! Mostly because I don't have to work Friday so I can finally stay up late enough to watch the sunset on the mountain. I've seen some pics and man does it look awesome.
A bunch of the lodgies have off on Friday so we plan to go to the local lake or take a hike to this waterfall nearby, then Saturday I'm heading to Anchorage for the day.

      THEN next weekend I'm headed down to Seward for four days to do some whale watching and visit Fox Island. I can't wait.


       Spring has sprung and with it my enthusiasm and joy for life. Oh and today on the walk home I walked with an older couple visiting from Australia and had a great conversation, along with meeting a townie local and chatting it up some more about the lifestyle. I can't get enough...but that doesn't mean I want to move here (not yet at least..ha ha)

        More to come later, along with some pictures I took today..cause come on I know that's why you all really check out my blog anyway

Ticking away the moments that make up the dawn day

TIME.....

There almost is no such thing in Alaska...

No one ever knows what day it is.

There are no weekends cause every night can be a party night.

And with the sun staying out later and later, I've become victim to throwing caution to the wind and enjoying the much longer days.

The birds chirp all the time even at 1am and that for some reason it still gets me.

MINUS.....

Hmmm can't really think of any. I have a blanket over my bed to block out the midnight sun and ear plugs so I'm good to go on sleeping.

PLUS......

The feeling of freedom.

The carefree vibe is contagious and I can't get enough.

 Feel like I'm falling in love with this place more and more everyday and can't wait to see what the next couple months bring and how full I will feel

It feels good to be feeling a little more confident every day.

Learning to say YES to everything (but still chicken to try seafood)



Pics will do for now. Words another day

First Wedding at Talkeetna Lodge



Dessert Bar courtesy ME



Chocolate Cheesecake Pops

The setup

OOWWWW

Don't have much to write about today except for ouch my feet hurt...worked a 12 hour day with no sit down break. But I did get a good breakfast and lunch for free and munched all day so no dinner needed for tonight :)  For breakfast I had french toast and reindeer sausage and lunch a chicken cesar salad. Then I was munching on chocolate cake and muffins all day.

Work is very busy this week and next, and I'm able to work overtime which I don't mind since I get paid extra and it's something to do. I have next Friday and Saturday off and hope to take an overnight trip or a long day up to Denali or maybe a train ride. I have a friend in Anchorage so maybe I could go down to stay with her.

Plans for an early June trip are in the works. Hoping to get to Seward for four days. Myself and two other girls are going. We plan to go whale watching, stay overnight on Fox Island and go white water rafting, some camping may be involved also but we shall see. I don't have any camping gear with me and they have electric fences around the sites to keep bears out.

Soo plans will be coming together and things are finally looking up. The landscape is getting greener by the day and even though work is crazy busy I'm starting to enjoy it. As for tonight I'm just chillin in my pj's while all the other girls are busy getting dressed up to go out in town. My time for going out will come but just not tonight. Early to bed. 5:30 am comes early

Whistle while you work

So even though I forgot my thermos in the freezer this morn on the way to work and I was soo thirsty all day it didn't matter cause I got to decorate my Alaska cake. Everyone has been asking me about it for the last few days and it's finally done!!

It was a lot of fun and this week is going to be so busy. I have my lists of things to do everyday for the rest of the week so yeay no more standing around at work. We are even so busy that I offered to come in on my day off and help out. It will be nice to get some overtime and it's only for the next two weeks. Bring on the next ten straight days of work.

P.S.

Right on and Flippin'

(that's what everyone says up here. get with it)

Mosey Along

So today was a good day to just mosey along.

  Tried to sleep in but it's hard to do that when all your room mates have to be at work at 8am. Oh well, had a peaceful morning with a cup of tea and leftover chicken sandwich from the night before.
         
                   Hey no food goes to waste here and I don't have any more bagels.

  After breakfast I headed out to town for the day. It's starting to get busy. All the Winnie's and tour buses are coming into town. It's so fun to sit and watch all the old people get off the buses, walk down the main street clicking away and eating ice cream cones. All the shops are open and stocked with Alaskan treasures. I did buy a really cool bracelet and a few post cards.

  For lunch I treated myself to a slice of pizza and a beer then planted my butt on a stump and talked to Dan for two hours :)

   It did not end up being the sunny 60 degree day promised by the weather man but it was a nice day. Layers is the key. I took my time walking back to the lodge just soaking everything in and jamming to some Allman Brothers along the way.

   And to top the day off I got packages from home!! My much needed cake decorating supplies have arrived and just in time for the cake I have to decorate tomorrow but even more special CLOTHES!!! I only requested a few things from home but got sooo much more. I feel complete now and it has totally lifted my spirits. So much so that walking up the hill to do my laundry tonight I noticed that spring has arrived. All the trees and brush have began to bloom and there is a light sheet of green everywhere.

            Almost time to mosey along to the neighbors for game night.

Up and Down

In Alaska there are no days. It is way to easy to loose track of time and almost impossible to remember what day it is. With everybody working crazy hours and the sun going down at 11pm and rising at 6am everything seems to run together....

Work was rather frustrating today. For some reason everyone thinks I'm some great pastry chef and want to do all this fun, creative pastry stuff. Yea definitely don't have a passion for it back in my life yet. I haven't worked in this type of kitchen environment since pastry school and that is pushing eight years. I hate not knowing what I'm supposed to be doing and even more I HATE waiting around for people to come over and train me. I feel like half my day is waisted by standing and waiting. I can't wait till I learn all I need to know and I can make my routine and schedule.

So trying to make myself feel better after work I came "home" and took a hot shower, did my hair and tried to find my most normal me outfit I could. (been stuck in drab outdoors mode, ugh) It did help. I felt better and a bit more cheery, but then it's freezing cold so...back to the layers and drab. Did not pack enough warm clothes so I will walk into town to the free box and try to find some free clothes.

The lodge hosted a scavenger hunt and bbq for dinner to welcome everyone. My team came in first on the hunt and I got a t-shirt from 2003 (cause it has the date on it) that must've been in the warehouse for a while(cause it has a little stain on it). But hey how can I complain, it's a free shirt and I didn't bring enough clothes with me. And the bbq, you can bet we all snuck some food in our pockets to take home with us. Hey food is expensive here and if it's free you take it..haha After dinner a couple of us girls hung out and played cards while most of the others went into town to waste their money on beer.

Oh!! and what you've all been waiting for...I finally have roommates. Seven (still waiting on one more). Wow, already this is a challenge. True lesson will teach me how to become more assertive and stand up for myself. We shall say living is tight.

I'd say overall today was so-so. A lot of up's and down's. Maybe tomorrow will be better. I don't have work and may try to go four wheeling with some of the girls. Also have been waiting on a package sent from home so maybe it will be my lucky day :)

P.S. Today marks one week, and what a week it has been. Up and Down

Walking on Sunshine

   It's been most awesome these past two days. The sky has been clear, sunny and slowly getting warmer, and we are in for another treat tomorrow.

                    I'm finally in the kitchen baking.

    Man I feel like I'm back in school again. That 7 am kitchen smell before the day gets started. I totally forgot the feeling of being in a kitchen (still unsure how I feel about it).That intense rush all day long and pushing to get as much done in that one day.

                                 You can call me The Muffin Lady.

   For the past two days I've made these HUGE muffins that weigh a ton on a hot tray when I'm on my tip-toes trying to heave them in and out of a tiny oven. UGH, I can already tell I will come to loath these muffins. BUT I'm already everyone's favorite person in the morning. Somehow everyone manages to make at least two passes past my station to munch on any "scraps".  And I will be showing off some cake decorating skills this weekend as they already have a cake lined up for me.

      Well the apartment is slowly starting to fill up. I have three rommies with another four to be expected by Sunday. Everyone is very cool and it's been nice having time to get to know the girls before we are thrown into craziness. I'm slowly starting to make some connections with people. Everyone here is very friendly, laid back and almost up for anything. There is ALWAYS someone around to buddy up with.

       Today a few of us hiked down the road half a mile to some awesome lakes. There they have canoes on the bank for anyone to use, you just need a paddle. And if you don't have a paddle, oh well you just grab the biggest stick you can find and use that instead. After a 2 1/2 mile hike around the lakes I was not up for any type of canoeing BUT will definitely go back for another round very soon.

And SCORE!! Someone gave me two pieces of chicken to cook up (since I bought no meat and have been eating like a bird), so I got to cook a half decent meal of pan fried chicken and baked potato. Let's just say I can't wait to go to Walmart again to stock up. It's a little over an hour away and the tiny tiny "grocery" store in town if freakin outrageous!!

               Oh yeah town.....

    Well...um...it's tiny. Nothing like I thought it was going to be according to online research. There are a few places to eat, a few tourist stores, a library, airport,and two main bars. The main drag takes maybe 10 min to walk down, but at the end of the road it opens up to the river. Ah the river, such a sight to see. I can't wait to build fires on the beach and just relax the night away gazing at the mountains. So maybe I will trek down there tomorrow after work to drop off some mail and relax before it gets bombed with tourist.

    Overall I'm starting to warm up and things are getting better. I'm thankful to be here and even though I know I will want to quit some days I'm determined to push through. It's nice to have people around going through the same thing and can help keep me afloat.

                                               What, you want some more pics?...ok

                                                             Hiking around some lakes

                                                               Hiking Views of the Mtn.

                                                                   Down by the river

                                                             The Lodge where I work

There are a bunch more on my facebook :)

No Words Needed

sorry i know it overlaps text but it's too awesome to shrink any smaller

To town and back...TWICE

TODAY'S LESSON:

       HIKING 8 MILES MAY GIVE U A BLISTER BUT BY THE END OF THIS SUMMER I WILL HAVE A KILLER BUTT......haha

Out and About

       Today WILL be a better day.

       This is the first day I have off and am free to do something, and it's supposed to be a nice sunny day. I haven't even gotten out yet to be able to say that Alaska is beautiful. Right now everything still looks dead and like winter. Even some of the lakes and rivers are still frozen.

        So today I will walk into town (2 miles one way) and maybe do the hiking trail around the lodge. Hopefully I can find a buddy to go with. Today sounds like a good picture day to me. It's still a little early in the season for bears so I don't need to worry too much about that yet. And the lodge says that every year a momma with her two cubs lives right near the lodge and that we will def see them. And apparently there are a butt load of wolf up here. Was talking to one guy about his hunting the other day and he was saying they issue permits that allow you to shoot up to 10 wolf a day!! That just blows my mind!! But the wolf put a huge dent into the moose population. They hunt and kill the moose for fun and don't eat them. It's just entertainment for the wolf.

          Yesterday was spent sitting in training classes all day. BORING. I did learn that there are a good handful of people who have come to work at the lodge and they live locally in dry cabins. Dry cabins meaning no electricity or running water. That blows my mind. They have solar panels and a generator when needed. They dig a well for water or have to drive to a spring to haul their own water. I still cannot comprehend what it is like and hope to make friends with a local and visit their cabin to check it out. EVERYONE carries a gun. There is no law here and pretty much anyone can buy a gun. It's actually pretty scary if you think about it and I think it's something to always keep in the back of my mind. OH! and another thing that I'm kind of surprised about...sounds like you can pretty much drink in public anywhere in town. There is A LOT of drinking here :(  with not really anyone to enforce it.

            So time for some breakfast, get dressed and out I go. Time to muster up some courage....

Moment of Weakness but I'm not afraid

So here I am sitting in my hotel room and it’s Sunday morning. I woke up this morning about 6 am local time. I have no idea what time the sun sets but it still does up here. This time change will def take a little getting used to.

I took my time getting ready this morn and in a strange way already feel way out of place here. With my highlighted hair, make up, jewelry, and attire. But I have to learn to be secure in myself and who I am. I really think that thru out this entire journey that is the true lesson that I will have to learn.

I am alone now, and a little lonely to be honest. I think because everything is so fresh. I am timid to go out in town and walk around since I feel so out of place. And with a big honkin’ camera around my neck I don’t need any added attention. I wish Dan was with me to go exploring. There is supposedly a lake near by.

Later today I have to take a taxi to a meeting place downtown where another shuttle will pick me up to take me two hours away to Talkeetna. While I’m nervous at this moment to go explore (cause it is still early only 8:30am) instead I will use my time and try to look at it in a positive light….

Instead of feeling sorry for myself and like I’m doing something wrong but staying in my hotel room, I’d like to think of it as this may be the last real quite  time I get for a while. And this is my trip so I will do whatever feels comfortable to me. So if that means reading up on how to work my camera, or journaling then I will. And I still have plenty of time before I need to check out so I may just take a walk to find this lake or get some lunch.

This is just a few hours of loneliness. Before I know it I will be at my new “home” where I can settle in, meet new people, and unpack.

In the beginning this was supposed to be my personal journal entry and I was only going to blog about my adventures and “cool” stuff but I’m a real person, and while everyone keeps saying to me oh you’re so brave there are true moments of weakness and fear. I know there will be days ahead that I’m overjoyed and won’t be able to get enough of this place and days where I will want to throw in the towel. But I truly think that knowing all this going into it and being realistic will help me push trough it all.

I know there will no greater sense of satisfaction when this journey is over and I can say I DID IT.

Only 20 weeks left….

On My Own

Well I made it....

What an exhausting week this has been.

What an emotional day. I'm drained.

      4:30 am- wake up with knots in my stomach, knowing i have to somehow say goodbye to my love, Dan

      5:15 am- get to parents, chug down some coffee, inhale some danish and give my cats one more squeeze

      6:30 am- check in at the airport, give a tearful fairwell to my parents (who I HAD to hug and kiss three times each)

      7:00 am- almost poop my pants cause I thought I lost my boarding pass....already

                            BUT  I found it, settle into my seat, choke back tears for more then half the flight  and learn it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE to sleep on a plane.

                      LESSON LEARNED:  must get travel pillow ASAP !!!!!

So I make it to Seattle safe and sound, treat myself to a nice lunch and prepare for another four hours on the plane.

            8:00 pm- touch down in Anchorage ( again holding back tears cause I can't believe I'm really here and doing this) and get to my hotel.

          10:00 pm- ahh a bed to sprawl out on, more tears shed, and crushed peanut butter crackers for dinner...yumm-o.

It is really only 6pm here on a saturday night and i'm getting ready for bed. I'll save the eploring for the morning :) Right now it's just me and some Norah Jones helping me through it all.