Wednesday Oui: Alaskan Cheers

We are slowly making progess with getting our thoughts together enough to blog about our Alaskan Vacation. While I will say part of the lack of blogging has been laziness on my part, it is also extremely difficult to blog about this trip-- not for emotional reasons, but logistically. There is so much to document and so much to share. I had decided long ago that when we did blog about Alaska, Aaron would help me. Now, don't expect to hear from him via written word but, he is helping me to put our trip to paper. Like I've always said, as much as I appreciate people dropping by this blog, it's mostly a place for me to do my "record keeping" so I want to make sure, with this vacation above most, I don't miss a detail! Not an easy task!

Anyway, to dangle a tid-bit (and a few pictures) as a preview of what's to come... here's a Oui to get me started.

Many who know us well know that Aaron and I (more so me) are not big drinkers. This vacation was no exception. While we were away for almost 20 days we kept track of our spendings on alcohol-- in just under 20 days we spent a hair over $100 on drinks. Now, considering most drinks are $5-$7, that's really not a lot per day.

That said, when we did get a drink we relaxed with it and savored the experience. Whether it was on the deck of our ship, balcony of our hotel room, or in a five star restaurant, we took our time. One of the nights we were on our ship Aaron ordered me an Alaskan Mudslide, himself an Alaskan Amber Ale, and met me on a private section of the boat where we had spotted humpback whales earlier in the evening. While looking out into the ocean, our conversation went something like this.

Jessi: Ohh, this is perfect. How lucky are we?
Aaron: (sipping his beer) Pretty lucky, I'd say
J: Heyyyyyy!! (holding my gigantic mudslide in the air) You didn't cheers me!
A: Yeah? (playfully) Well, you never kiss me goodnight.
J: You really care that I don't kiss you goodnight? (somewhat surprised because I actually don't kiss him goodnight, it has never been my style yet, I never knew it bothered him.)
A: Of course it bothers me that you don't kiss me goodnight. I'm deprived of at least one kiss every day of my life. It's horrible.
J: Well, (baffled) okay. I didn't know it bothered you. I'm sorry, Babe. (pause) So, let's cheers then. We never cheers. What should we even cheers to?
A: Here's to kissing me goodnight!


And since then, we cheers and kiss goodnight. Sounds fair to me. Oui?

Belated Honeymoon: Part I

We had originally planned to take this trip, as our honeymoon, in 2010. Unfortunately, we had an incident with a tree during an ice storm and, as a result, significant damage happened to our house. Further, Aaron's car was smashed by the enemy tree so alas, we had to postpone our dream vacation until 2011. We took the postponement, like we are trying to take many things, in stride.

After another year of planning, we left June 30th for the trip of a lifetime. I can't recall a time when I was more at peace, happier, and more relaxed than I was from June 30-July 16, 2011. I had just left my job, Aaron was on school vacation, the pups were tucked safely away with my mother, and our cats and house were under the watchful eye of my father-in-law. We were ready for a worry free vacation.

Because Alaska has such a diverse climate (and we were going to be spending time in Seattle at the end of our trip) we needed to bring an array of clothing to cover the different temperatures. We ended up using space bags. They really do work and enabled us to pack what we needed without bringing several pieces of luggage.

When we booked the trip we were due to fly right into Alaska. Our flight left from Boston --> D.C --> San Francisco --> Anchorage. Unfortunately, our D.C flight was delayed and we missed our connection to Anchorage. Even though we RAN from one gate to the other, we arrived just in time to see our plane leaving the gate... without us. This, too, we took in stride. We had known the connection time was a little tight and, if there was a delay, we would most likely NOT make our connector. Knowing this, we were one step ahead of the travel industry and packed everything we needed for an "unexpected" overnight in a carry-on bag.

Unfortunately, when we went to customer service to explain our situation they were SO rude. I have a pretty high tolerance for rude people but the associate who was dealing with our missed connection was so irritated that she was practically seething when we tried to explain our mishap. I literally had to walk away because if I'm pushed far enough I'll go for the throat and I really didn't feel like being removed from the airport in cuffs. We lodged a complaint against her at the service center and, to make up for her unacceptable treatment of us, we were scheduled for a flight the next day at 3:30 pm (it was exactly 24 hours later), they paid for our hotel (the Westin on San Francisco Bay!!!) and gave us money (vouchers) for food. We hadn't even booked a room in Anchorage that night, "just-in-case", so this actually worked out to save us a bit of money and allow us a night in a city I had never before visited.

We immediately left the airport and, even though we'd been traveling for about 7 hours, (having had to be in Boston for 6 AM) we still managed to squeeze a lot of sight seeing in. We checked into our hotel then set off for Fisherman's Wharf... where Alcatraz, a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, and sea lions are found!

We ate at a pretty amazing restaurant called Pier 23. It had a pin-up girl theme (which Aaron LOVED.)  Aaron noticed an advertisement that had my birthday on it so, of course, he made me get my picture under it.

Alcatraz! Right behind me. Just like that.

Golden Gate... see it?

These sea lions were everywhere. They were bellowing and making so much noise. I desperately wanted one but Aaron said no. Boo!

The Zoltar machine used in the movie Big. I was hoping to find that foot piano thing too but, no luck.

The next morning, with much of the day still ahead of us, we had an amazing breakfast then went for a walk along San Francisco Bay. It was a gorgeous day; the landscaping was beautiful and the palm trees were enormous.

                           

I have to say, I'm glad we missed our flight. It allowed us to take a break in the actual travel time (it's was about 14 hours total to Anchorage) and we got to see San Fran. We are definitely hoping to go back and spend a little more time there but, it was a great preview. I'm really proud that I was able to not even think about missing our flight (normally, a disruption would have severely upset me) BUT, when I left my job I vowed to not sweat the small stuff; at the start of our vacation I swore to do it and I'm still going strong!

(Don't be mistaken, however, when I returned home I let the airline know exactly what I thought of the way we were treated. Let's just say Aaron and I will be flying to North Carolina this November to visit one of my best friends... for free.)

Stay tuned for the rest of our journey.

Photographic Friday: New Beginnings

Before I start blogging about the AMAZING vacation Aaron and I only recently returned from (everyone is hounding me to get blogging about that. There are over 2000+ pictures to sort out! Give me a break, people!) I thought I'd post about something else that happened just before we left for Alaska that's pretty much a big deal.

As y'all know by now, I resigned from my position at my former agency. It was a very difficult decision to make and I have always "prided myself" on being a career monogamist; I will get into a job and stay in it FOREVER. Well, with my last job, forever came sooner than I thought. Around February I started looking for new opportunities. I, for one, wanted to have more free time, I was also thinking about pursuing my doctorate (the program I start this September) and wanted to pick up another teaching class at NHTI, where I'm an adjunct professor. Unfortunately, my current position wasn't conducive with any of those desires.

I was very picky with the places I applied to; they had to meet certain criteria. I knew I didn't want a "boss" nor did I want a schedule that was predetermined. I also wanted the luxury to use the types of therapeutic interventions I wanted to use and I really just wanted everything to be flexible. So, low and behold, I found a position that sounded pretty good and I applied for it (among a few other positions). It had been years, YEARS since I had interviewed or applied for a new job so I figured, if anything else, it would at least allow me to throw my hat in the ring and sand off some of the rust I'd acquired being a career monogamist. The interview at this particular practice lasted 2 hours and, when I left there, I knew it was what I wanted. It felt right and everything about it felt good.

It was about a month before I heard back and the time passing made me nervous. When I got the call asking me to join the private practice, I was elated... and scared. This was a huge change but it would allow me to make my own hours, my own money, and I had the option to decide how many clients I wanted to see, AND when I wanted to see them. I accepted the position and gave my notice shortly thereafter.

I have to say, there isn't anything I have found, yet, that I don't like about my new job. I plan to work about 20 hours per week, I've picked up another class to teach in the fall (two classes back-to-back, I'll be done at 12pm every Tuesday and Thursday) and I'm working toward my doctorate. Currently, I have two days per week off as classes haven't started yet and the amount of free time is such a new concept to me. My house is spotless, I've kayaked more this summer than all the past summers combined, and I'm devouring novels prolifically. I keep waiting for "the catch" and I don't think there is one. I can work as hard as I want to.

So, without further "ado", here is my new office. I picked out every piece of furniture and the practice was more than happy to buy them for me. I am beyond excited and really look forward to this new chapter.

You can't really see it from this angle but, my office overlooks a footbridge over a brook. It's a wooded area, good for bird-watching and I even have a giant Turkey (who I call "Salem") that lives in the woods and is seen from time-to-time.

Nature vs Nurture: Ebenezer

Last Friday I came home from work early because I was exhausted. From the minute I got home and sat on the couch to relax (and hopefully watch someone be named a "Baby Daddy" on Maury Povich) Bing would not leave me alone; begging for a walk. Sigh, fine. On my way back into the house, through the front door, I heard this "peep, peep, peep" noise. Naturally curious, I looked down I see a tiny bird laying on the sidewalk in my lily plants. I looked around to see if I could spot the nest he had fallen from and, when I moved a leaf on my lily, (where he was resting) I saw that he was laying next to an egg and another bird just like him, who didn't survive the fall. There was also a large adult sparrow circling the scene so, I figured this baby was hers.

Of course I did what any animal psycho would do and scooped him up. Frantically, I began making phone calls; the Audubon, my vet, Petsmart, the Human Society... nobody would take him and a couple people even told me, "well, it's just a house sparrow, those are a dime-a-dozen, just lay him back where you found him and let nature take its course." Um, no.

Finally, after several phone calls, I had found a woman who would take him as she rescues birds all over the state but, I would have to immediately drive him over to her work (which was about 30 miles North) and I needed to be there by 5pm when they closed. I put him in a shoe box, threw in a nest I found a few years ago, named the bird Ebenezer and hopped into the car. On my way I called Aaron who was just getting out of school, explained the situation and went to pick him up so he could drive while I held the baby (the only time he didn't peep and seemed calm was when he was in the palm of my hand.)

We arrived just in time and dropped Ebenezer off to some unknown person. I cried a little bit because I'm certifiable and we both left, not knowing the fate of this weak itty-bitty birdy. This morning I called the lady I gave him to and she reported he's doing very well, he is indeed a sparrow, and should be ready for release in a couple of weeks.

With a little help from me nature did indeed take its course.

Fun Fact Thursday: Alaska

I have always, *always* wanted to go to Alaska. When Aaron and I first started talking about our honeymoon and he gave me the option of going anywhere in the entire world, I think he was somewhat surprised to hear me say "Alaska!" without hesitation. His response was, (and this was a couple of years ago so I am paraphrasing) "I can't believe I'm marrying someone who, when given the choice to go anywhere in the world, wants to go to Alaska. Score me!" He was relieved I didn't want to go and lay on a beach somewhere sipping frosty drinks (in all honesty, I wouldn't mind that, but it certainly wouldn't be one of my top 3 vacation destinations).

Our vacation/belated honeymoon is going to be amazing and I am beyond excited. Here are some interesting facts about Alaska:

• Alaska is the 49th State in the Union.
• The state of Rhode Island could fit into Alaska 425 times.
• The state motto is "North to the Future".
• Nearly one-third of Alaska lies within the Arctic Circle.
• 17 of the 20 highest peaks in the United States are located in Alaska.
• Mount McKinley ( 20,320 feet ) in the Alaska Range is the highest in North America.
• The state's largest city is Anchorage; the second largest is Fairbanks.
• In 1867 United States Secretary of State William H. Seward offered Russia $7,200,000, or two cents per acre, for Alaska's almost 400 million acres.
• Alaska has 6,640 miles of coastline and, including islands, has 33,904 miles of shoreline.
• Alaska has areas that get: 24 hours of daylight and 24 hours of night.
• Alaska contains approximately 3 million lakes.
• Alaska is 55 miles east of Russia.