So I said I was going to keep a blog, let you all know how the trip up went, and stay in touch... it's been what, 3 1/2 months since we got here?!? Yikes, I need to get this going!
Our trip up was great. After a few very hectic days before we left of finishing packing and cleaning, we hit the road. Justin, the dogs, and I hit the road July 1st around noon hauling a 12 foot trailer behind the Forester. That didn't last long - it wasn't but 30 miles or so down the road we decided that the load was too much for the Subaru - so we ditched the trailer and packed all of our stuff into a U-box in Grand Island, NE. From there, they shipped our stuff up and we had a much more relaxing, white-knuckle-free drive the rest of the way. And that was possibly the best decision we ever made. It was so nice to not have a trailer on many of the winding and steep roads through the Rockies. After passing through Rocky Mountain National Park, Teton national park, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, and Banff National Park in British Columbia, Canada, we made the rest of the haul north and west to Alaska. Our only regret was not having enough music on our ipod or on CD's... not too many radio stations in the Yukon territory. None, to be exact. But the drive was great, no regrets. We had a great time camping each night the way up and taking in the scenery along the way.
We arrived into Anchorage late evening Friday the 8th. We were sore, tired, cranky, and needed a shower. We got a dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in town then got a hotel and crashed. The next day we were able to get into our apartment and started to get settled. That night our friends threw a "Welcome to Alaska" banquet of smoked salmon, halibut, salmon fillets, and tons of other yummies. We probably had salmon smell coming out of our pores. I started work that Monday, and Justin began his job hunt. My new clinic is great, very challenging, and I am rewarded nearly every day. My colleagues are very talented and brilliant PT's - I will have much to learn! Justin found a job at SGS Environmental, and is working in a lab setting very similar to his work in Omaha. He seems to like it quite a bit, and looks forward to learning more about the type of work that is specific to Alaska.
We absolutely love it up here. It has been quite a transition, but it still feels surreal. I'm not sure if it has truly sunk in to either of us that this is home yet. We are still in the process of making our apartment a home. We just got an entertainment center this past weekend, our TV is no longer sitting on the floor. The daylight is definitely starting to decrease - the sun is coming up around 8:30 and sets around 7. It's not too bad, I try to make sure I get out over my lunch break to enjoy a bit of daylight each day. Izzy and Hondo seem to have no problem adjusting, Izzy has even trimmed down and is looking pretty lean from going up and down 2 flights of stairs every time we go outside! Justin is becoming quite the Alaskan - he has been biking to work nearly every day. He will probably continue once the snow comes as well, he got studded snow tires for the mountain bike! :) We have seen tons of moose, some were even a bit too close. Justin and I have each had some close encounters while riding along the paths through town. They are magnificent animals, I just don't want to piss off a bull moose right now during rutting or get between a cow and her baby!
For those of you who do not have Facebook, here is a link to the album that we posted. It's only a few of the hundreds of pics we took on the way up, but you'll get the idea.
We will continue to keep you updated and share our adventures with you. We also hope to hear back from our friends back in Omaha and elsewhere, so keep in touch!
Erin, Justin, Izzy and Hondo
