Sister Soiree

A month or so ago, I got a phone call from M.  As we were chatting, she mentioned that she might be able to come visit me this summer.  SO *stoked*!!!  I was able to visit for a bit with M last October, but I always enjoy visits from my sisters.  I'm fortunate that Jeannea and Sara work in Alaska for the summers, so I get to see them two times a year.  Not so fortunate with Sheri and Amy.  If I'm lucky, I might see them once a year or every other year.  The added bonus for this visit is that Sheri was able to come for the weekend too.  Sweet!

So what do you plan when you're having family visit for a while and want to do something fun?  Well... camping, of course!  I've been able to take Sheri camping before (when I was lucky enough that her work sent her to Alaska for a short while), but this is the first time we've gone camping with M.  Yay!!

 M loves the morning

 Sheri only looks like she's blowing me a kiss - really she's making a

smartass comment because I'm taking her picture

 Some of my most favorite people

Summit Lake from the campsite

I had so much fun with both my sisters.  It's always a blast.  I horde each day and the time we spend together, knowing that it'll pass all too quickly, they'll be gone soon, and it'll be an inordinately long time before I get to see them again.  Camping, hiking, rafting (for M and Greg), shopping, and visiting.  We talked about how nice it would be to live closer together.  How we'd have spontaneous barbecues, go shopping together, call each other for help with the little things...  It's such a lovely vision, and I hope that someday we all live closer together.

 Lake view from the hike

 M getting ready for rafting

 Two of my girls

M making delicious s'mores for us

So much laughing; so much companionship; so much love.  I had such a good time with my sisters.  Every morning, I'd think about how time was going too fast and I'd better hang on to every precious minute.  Every night I was content with a day well spent, but sad that I have one less day to spend with them.

 

I'm so glad Amy and Sheri came to visit me.  I always suffer from a little depression when my family leaves me, and this was no exception.  My only consolation is that I'll be seeing Jeannea and Sara when they get done working for the summer.

Squirrel Creek, Finis

Ah, the last bit.  Sad to see a fun weekend come to an end, but at this point I'm definitely looking forward to a shower...

We made it back to camp, only to find that Squirrel Creek wasn't near as rainy as Valdez - which is a good omen for a BIG fire!  It helps that we've got a lot of wood left, and the goal is to burn the box before we go too.

It was a weekend filled with friends and visiting; games and geocaching; fun and relaxing.  How can you beat that?!?  We even had some tunes and dancing...

 

The last day, we took our time packing up - mostly because it was nice to not be in a rush, but also because we had to finish burning the box.  The journey home was peppered with stops - for geochaching, of course.

 

All in all, a beautiful weekend (even with the rainy bits), spent with family and friends.  I can't think of a better way to spend my time...

Squirrel Creek, Part II

One of the reasons I enjoy camping at Squirrel Creek is that we usually take one day and go road-trippin' to Valdez.  We stop along the way to see Worthington Glacier and get pictures at the waterfalls.  And I have the extra special added bonus of getting to see Sara for a little while.  Yay!

The glacier has receded significantly over the last few years.  Used to be that you could walk 5 minutes off the paved trail and be standing next to blue ice taller than you.  Now it's a bit of a hike before you get close - but it's still visible (unlike Portage Glacier, where you have to take one of the little cruises to get within binocular distance).

Nita and I opted to wait at the car for the hikers, and to pass the time she fed the birds.  Seagulls.  A whole herd of them.  Not sure what seagulls are doing hanging out at a glacier, but it was fun to watch.  I admit to ducking a couple times, and covering my head.  Didn't want to get pooped on when it's going to be a while before I could get cleaned up...  (Well, really didn't want to get pooped on at all, but especially not if I have to wear it for another hour or two.)  I overheard some tourists talking about how it feels just like home, because Utah's state bird is the sea gull.  I wanted to rush over and see if they knew any of my family that's from there, but I refrained...  =)

Valdez is absolutely beautiful - even in the rain.  We've been lucky some years to have sunshine, and then the vista is stunning!  But I wouldn't live there in the winter.  I've heard they can get 10 - 20 feet of snow - so much that people have to tunnel out of their houses to get anyplace.  No thanks!

 

Sara's work is in the lower right corner of the 2nd picture

We visited, did some sight-seeing, and got to eat dinner with Sara.  Through it all, there was a fine mist - not really rain, but grey clouds and enough dampness to eventually bead up on our clothes.  When it was finally time to say goodbye, the heavens opened up and there was torrential rain.  Methinks that might've been the elements expressing my emotions...  =)  Anyhow.  I intended to get our picture with a nice background (like a scenic mountain or somesuch), but settled for the parking lot with the burger joint where we had dinner.

Heading back to camp the weather got milder and milder, until it was cloudy with no rain at all.  Which is perfect weather to have a fire and roast marshmallows.  And that's the way we ended our road-trippin' day.  I've got a few more photos to share, so it looks like there'll be one more post about this utterly fantastic weekend.  Yay!!

My Sister Sara

Spring really is here - even without green grass or leaves on the trees.  When it's time for my sisters to come visit, I know that I've finally made it through the winter.  Whew!

Sara's visit this spring is going to be a short one, but she's promised to spend more time with me on the way back in September.  In Tuesday evening, gone again by Friday morning.  What a terrible way to spend Tax Day.  But I'm getting ahead of myself...

I was going to try to take a day off, since she wasn't able to spend any weekend days with me, but we're short handed at work and behind schedule.  I settled for leaving early on Wednesday and Thursday, then staying late on Friday.

We discovered that in all the years Sara has been coming to Alaska for the summer - and in each of those years she stops (twice) to visit me - we've never taken her to Double Musky.  Oh, how can that be?!?  We've seriously neglected our hosting charges.  We've been derelict in our duties!  We've been lax in our responsibilities!!  One might wonder why that were so, if one were unfamiliar with Anchorage and the Double Musky.  The reasons are two-fold: the drive to Girdwood is absolutely beautiful; and the food is magnificent.

 

We've now rectified our gross negligence.  Apparently Thursday nights aren't as busy as weekends.  We were anticipating at least a half hour wait once we got there, but were seated almost immediately.  With such savory fare, you would think I might've had a variety of the dishes, but you'd be wrong.  I'm a creature of habit mostly, and only sometimes do I break out of my mold to try new things.  It doesn't help that my #1 choice is a melt-in-your-mouth pepper crusted steak.  Why should I try something new when I've got such a heavenly option awaiting me??  Maybe because the jambalaya is exquisite, as are any number of the other menu items...  If you come to visit us, don't let us forget to take you to the Musky!!  (Here's a short NextStop video about the restaurant.)

Because it's getting lighter and lighter, the sun was still up after we'd finished dinner.  (I absolutely love how much sunlight we have right now.  But I have to keep myself from thinking that in only two months it's going to start going away.  O, Summer Solstice, how I hate thee!!)  Sunset along Turnagain Arm is breathtaking.

 

We stopped by the snow blower on the way home - which is just past the bird refuge if you're heading south, where you can see pretty birds and people canoeing in the summer.  (It's a bit early for that, yet.)  I figured that Sara would have seen one of these monstrosities already, since Valdez gets buckets more snow than Anchorage.  But then I remembered... there's no train to Valdez.  Hence no railroad snow blower.  I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but you're facing what seems like an engine, with massive blades and chutes to clear avalanche snow from the tracks.  If Snidely Whiplash were around - and you were Nell - you'd likely be tied to the tracks in the first picture, wailing for Dudley Do-Right and thinking: Ah, shit. This is the end, then. while campy piano music plays in the background.

Ahem.  Two afternoons and an up-before-the-buttcrack-of-dawn-for-breakfast-before-she-goes morning fly by way too quickly.  My first indication of spring has come and gone.  On the bright side, Jeannea will be here next week - so I still have another visit to look forward to.  But on the dark side, half my spring visits are over, and the rest (all ONE of them) will be just as fleeting.  Fortunately this is spring, not fall - it's much more depressing then - so I can look forward to another visit from Sara in a few short months.  Yay!!

Flatlands - Traveling Between

It's finally here.  We've had an absolutely incredible time visiting with Shawn, and now it's time to begin the next part of our trip.  Bittersweet, yet again.  I totally meant to get a picture of the three of us, but got distracted.  We don't have any pictures of the three of us - it's either Greg and Shawn, or Shawn and I.  Next time I'll have to remember...

We had breakfast together before going our separate ways; Shawn to work, Greg and I to get a couple pictures, fill up on gas, then hit the road back to Springfield.  We've had such a great time visiting that it's hard to leave... but we'll be seeing Shawn again in July, so that makes it a little easier.

Omaha has been very interesting.  Lots of fun - because of the time we've spent with Shawn - and fascinating.  One of the interesting dichotomies of any large city (to me, anyway), and this was true of Omaha as well, is the old and new buildings - sometimes almost side by side - that exist as the landscape of the area.

I suppose I don't really mean "old" and "new", since one of my favorite places was the Old Market - a collection of shops set up in an old section of town.  (Come to think of it, when we go to Albuquerque to visit family, I love to go to Old Town to wander in and out of the shops.)  Anyhow.  What I really mean is that some old buildings are well-kept and maintained, while others are let go.  The ones that aren't re-purposed and remain empty become vandalized husks, ghosts hinting at the glory and industry of days gone by while displaying the sadness of reality.

In direct contrast (and just down the street) to the old train station with busted windows and graffiti is the building - and area - in the picture above. There's even a park with a playground in the background, and the view extends into an old but well-kept section of downtown Omaha.  I wouldn't be anxious walking around this area, wondering what's through the next door or around the corner, wondering if we're either going to be accosted or asked to leave.  A sense of welcome versus disinterested weariness.  Fascinating.

The trip back to Springfield was pleasurable.  We stopped off in Kansas City, this time for some geocaching, lunch at Grinders (made famous on Diners, Drives, and Dive-Ins), and a stopover at the Boulevard Brewery gift shop.  When we're traveling, we like to get the earth caches.  They're alluring because they're educational and interesting.  The historic flood levels of the Missouri are amazing.  Thirty-four feet.  That's almost six of me, standing on top of each other.  The bottom five of me would drown.  That's two complete stories in a building, plus most of a third.  I'd hate to be around for that type of disaster.  We also stopped at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers to learn more about natural history - which included a spectacular view of the city skyline.

As we continued our journey southward, I found Shawn's real town.  If he's going to be in the Flatlands, at least he's close to home (away from home).  It's a town called Peculiar.  When we're trying to make a choice - maybe for food or entertainment - Shawn will say, I'm not peculiar.  Oh, Shawn.  Yes.  Yes, you are peculiar.  But we love you anyway.

One more stop at the Osceola Cheese Factory to stock up on cheese, and we're almost there.   It was amazing to see that in just the few days we've been in Nebraska, the landscape in Missouri has greened up tremendously.  I know it'll be a month or more before this transformation happens back home, but Oh! I do love the growing season!!  We're getting closer and closer to our next destination.  I'm getting excited to see Chris and Janet.  Chris doesn't know we're coming.  Janet's been working and planning for a long, long time to throw him a surprise party for his 40th birthday.  (Yes, Chris.  I just announced your real age to all my various and sundry - count them, 13 - readers.  Are you ready to start asking for senior discounts? *grins*)  This is going to be fun!

Flatlands - Hangin' with Shawn, Day IV

Today  is bittersweet.  Our last full day in Omaha - but if I change my focus, we've got a whole day to spend with Shawn visiting and making memories.  Another day - yay!!  Today's sojourns took us to all-you-can-eat sushi for lunch.  Oh. My. Goodness.  It was phenomenal!!!  I've never been to a sushi restaurant where you can pick anything off the menu, have it made just for you (no conveyor belt), and do it over and over again until you just can't move.  We ordered three times, not including dessert.  Granted, each successive order got smaller and smaller, but we packed away a whole lot of fish!  We ate enough that I was starting to get just a little bit proficient with my chop sticks - a feat unto itself, that.

After so much food, it's good that our next destination was Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.  We definitely needed to do some walking around - otherwise we might've succumbed to food comas.  It's been a long, long time since I've been to a zoo, and somehow the Anchorage zoo doesn't come remotely close in comparison.

I made it over the rope bridge - proof in the picture above.  Most likely because it was a short bridge and the ground wasn't that far below - meaning I would survive the fall, should a board snap beneath my foot or the rope fray beyond measure and give out, regardless of the vise-like death grip that I had.  I didn't even cry.  Yay!

 

As usual, most of these pictures are courtesy of Greg and his fancy-pants camera.  I do have a couple - and it's probably easier in this post to mention which are mine rather than which are his (since I got a few of his before he had a chance to mark them up).  Any pictures that have Greg in them (like the first one in the post) are obviously taken by me.  The other two that are mine are pictures of monkeys... go figure.  The monkeys in a tree (above) is mine, and I'll claim one other monkey picture below - you'll know it when you see it.  So nice to have the fancy-pants camera along on this journey (and Greg too, of course!) - there's no way I would've been able to get pictures of most of this stuff (and there are oh, so many more - I just picked a few to whet your appetite).

 

We spent about 3 hours at the zoo, and weren't able to see everything there.  Not only that, but there were several exhibits that were empty (either due to the cool Spring weather or remodel/construction work).  Definitely another reason to come back a little later in the season - not mid-summer, as I think we'd be miserable trying to adjust to the temperature differences, but maybe later spring or early fall.

My favorite exhibits were all the various monkeys.  Big ones, small ones, baby ones, orange ones, grey ones, multi-colored ones, lazy ones, pensive ones, tree-swinging ones, smart-ass ones...  Who doesn't like monkeys?!?  Lemur Island was one of the displays that was empty.  I was going to get a picture for James to show him what his home-away-from-home looks like, what with all his cousins swinging on the trees and all, but alas {smacks myself on the forehead with the back of my hand} it just wasn't meant to be.

That's the best shot I could get of the fellow above (yes, this picture is mine, not Greg's).  No matter where I moved, he arranged himself to put his hairy ass in the middle of my picture.  Alrighty then.  If that's the best I can do, who am I to argue with fate??  At least Greg was able to get some more thought-provoking poses from the various primates.

Shawn had to go to class, so after the zoo we dropped him off and headed to Jones Bros. Cupcakes to while away some time (and indulge in some cupcake decadence, of course!).  We just had to try the red velvet, sweet and salty, Guinness, tiramisu, and lemon cupcakes, as well as the coffee cake (not all at once, mind you! - we had a couple hours to kill before dinner).  After perusing the menu online, I see that they have a maple bacon cupcake they make on Fridays.  Damn!  Missed it by two days.  Maybe I can get Shawn to give it a try and send me a review...

For dinner, we went to The Pizza Gourmet Co.    They have good pizza, yummy garlic rolls, and tasty jalapeno cheese balls.  Shawn became the mayor there a few days after we left.  Being mayor has something to do with checking in online so many times, then once you've hit some pre-determined threshold you become mayor.  I wonder if you can be mayor of more than one location?  It'd be cool if he gets to wear a crown and eat at an elevated table in the middle of the room with flashy strobe lights and wait-staff dedicated just to him that refer to him as Your Mayor-ness, but I think they settle on some kind of discounts instead (or maybe even just bragging rights).  I'd be mayor of Olive Garden, if we had one.  Speaking of... that's one restaurant we didn't make it to on this journey.  Probably the first time ever we've traveled Outside, had an Olive Garden in the vicinity and didn't go there to eat.  Oh well.  We made it to lots of other tasty venues!

Another fabulous day with Shawn.  I don't want to think about tomorrow.