Home Sweet Home

I have now been back for 10 days and it feels like forever. Alaska really seems ages ago, most likely because I have been on the go since I returned. Greeting me at the airport on my return was my sister and nieces along with KB, which was a huge surprise. From there on it was a whirlwind.

• Visiting with my nieces and nephews, oh yeah and their parents.
• Biking, biking, biking.
• Eating home cooked food, especially TD's.
• Football Sunday.
• A ton of work on the schedule for October.
• Many days of weather above 75 degrees.
• Redecorating my room and getting it organized...though that isn't done yet.
• Lots of Grey's Anatomy with KB.
• A fridge drawer full of various cheeses. Yes, I relish the small things.
  

Things like sleeping in my own bed and not living out of a suitcase are nice but I am just fine having that be a small part of my life. Thanks for reading about my first huge adventure. I do intend to continue this blog, I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for reading.

Solitude and Recovery

So I ran off and hid for two days. I am now ready to face the world in California again. I rented a car and drove down the Kenai Peninsula, all the way to Homer. The drive was amazing, the accommodation's were interesting and the time was well spent. Now you might be preparing yourself to read some deep insights that I gained while being off by myself. But no such luck. I did look back over the summer to see if things went like I had hoped. For the most part they exceeded expectations. I loved the job and can handle the time away from home. I enjoyed the challenges of the job and just like any other place of work there are problems and things that need to be improved. However, as I suspected, I have made the right decision for my life at this time in it.

The driving was my favorite part. I hadn't driven in 3 months and to be able to go where I want and listen to the music that I want was great. The first day, the weather was perfect. I stopped by Kenai Lake, one of the beautiful glacially fed lakes that we passed making the weekly trip down to Seward. I was able to see Mt. Redoubt and the other huge mountains that sit across the Cook Inlet from the Kenai Peninsula. I found a funky little place to stay outside of Homer, it is a working farm with some small cabins and a main house that has been converted into rooms to rent on the main floor and a in the basement. Mossy, the owner, also had an organic raspberry patch that you could pay and pick but the best part was access to the water. She had a nice quiet beach on Kachemek Bay with great views of the glaciers across the way. On day 2 I had a late start, a wonderful lunch (halibut), drove back along Kachemek Bay and then took a long walk along the Homer Spit. The last day, the weather wasn't great but as I drove up to the City of Kenai for lunch I stopped to see some of the old Russian Othodox churches then through Soldotna and on to Anchorage. The weather in Anchorage was crummy but I spent the late afternoon in my favorite coffee shop, then had dinner at Tito's, a great gyro place and then returned the car to the airport and settled in for a long wait until my 1:20 am flight.

The last few days in Alaska were important in preparing to return to California. I am glad I spend the time and saw an area of Alaska that everyone talks about. Unfortunately, I was a little late to get out fishing, though there were still a few out on the river. Maybe next year.

Thanks for reading.

Termination Dust

It is almost the end. You know how I know, I saw snow falling on the top of the Kenai Mountains. Around here they call it termination dust signaling the end of the summer. Many at Holland America called it that since it is the end of our contracts. The other sign is that most of the tour directors have flown south for the winter and there are a sparse few us left. My time up here has been amazing and I wouldn't change it for everything but the time has come to return home. I still love the guests and the traveling, even to places I have been to 12 times or more. However, my hermit side is getting the best of me. I miss the time when I can get away from all people. Every night when I am done with my guests, I return to a busy apartment, a hotel room with a roommate or the sourdoughs where everyone is in everyone's business. So to combat that problem, before returning to the loving harms of my friends, I am taking off for two solitary days on the Kenai Peninsula. They call the Kenai Pen. the place Alaskans go for vacation, so I am going to check it out and actually be on vacation. I plan on giving a full report when I return.
As for the future, October is filling up with reacquainting myself with small children that may have forgotten my name, meeting a new addition to the extended family, biking, oops, I mean working in Napa and last but not least, finishing the plans for the big trip in November. Stay tuned, I don't anticipate my new life becoming dull anytime soon.

Thanks for reading.

Random pictures to enjoy:
Pic. 1 - Kenai Mountains with termination dust.
Pic. 2 - Top of Denali Peak.
Pic. 3 - Chena River in Fairbanks.
Pic. 4 - "First Family" statue in Fairbanks.
Pic. 5 - Mileage marker, yes Paris is only 1000 miles farther from Fairbanks the SF.
Pic. 6 - Two black bears up in the same tree.
Pic. 7 - The Nenana River just outside of Denali National Park in September.
Pic. 8 - The Volendam cruise ship at the Seward dock.
Pic. 9 - A Stellar sea lion posing for a photo.
Pic. 10 - Aialik Glacier from 3 miles away.
Pic. 11 - Three hole rock in the Kenai Fjords National Park.