sibling visits alaska

Another week I've been looking forward to for about six months has come to a close. My younger (and only) sister came to town for eight days looking for some Alaskan adventures! I surprised her with the plane tickets for Christmas and have spent the last half of the year waiting to pick her up at the airport and show her around this new place we're calling "home".

Her flight didn't come in until late Friday night/early Saturday morning so our first real adventure day was Saturday. We all slept in a bit then grabbed bagels at our favorite Anchorage bagel shop in midtown before heading downtown to the farmers market. It was an overcast day and kind of breezy so we weaved our way through the booths for a bit then sought reprieve between the high-rises and snooped around the solstice celebration on 4th. After we grew tired of the crowds and the chilly temperature, we ran back home to pack up our stuff and head north to mammaw's! I was excited for Kara (the sibling) to see the beautiful scenery in the MatSu valley but a) it was cloudy and pretty socked in and b) she was pooped and ended up sleeping a good chunk of the drive. Oh well! Just another reason to get her to come back! We had dinner at mammaw's and took Remy on a walk around the "neighborhood" then played cards until late. It was nice to be able to show her where we spend our relaxing weekends in the woods!

We were treated to mammaw's special biscuits and gravy on Sunday morning then hopped in the car to head to Talkeetna for the day. It was a long drive made longer due to partial road closures because of the wildfire that has been ravaging the Willow area for the past week. Luckily it's all contained now but unfortunately a lot of damage was done. It was sad to drive past all the scorched trees and mounds of what used to be homes. Talkeetna was bustling due to it being both Fathers Day and the solstice. Garrett, Kara and I walked down one side of the main drag down to the riverbank then found a restaurant on our way back with a nice outdoor patio to eat lunch in the sunshine. We had delicious fish and chips made with Alaskan halibut and a salad with local veggies. We all also tried the beer brewed with fresh-picked Alaskan blueberries and it was the perfect touch to the meal. We sat around and chatted for a while and enjoyed people watching in the sunshine before we decided to head back to mammaw's. One of mammaw & Bills' neighbors live right on the edge of Cheri Lake and have a bunch of water toys such as kayaks, paddle boards and a paddle boat. Kara mentioned she wanted to try paddle boarding on a lake while she was here so I set out to make that dream a reality! She and I hopped in the paddle boat first while Garrett tried out the board. It was his first time and of course he was a natural! He went pretty far into the lake and only fell when he started to get adventurous. Luckily the lake is fairly shallow so it was warmer than the typical Alaskan glacier lakes, but the bottom of it is silty and gooey! His reaction to falling in (the few times that he did!) was pretty funny. I decided to give the board a shot even though I was wearing jeans but fortunately didn't fall in! The breeze didn't seem strong when we were in the boat, but it really pushed and pulled you around when you were trying to maneuver the board! I didn't stay out too long and convinced Kara to try it. She was a natural, too! It was fun to watch her try it for the first time and to see her enjoy it. We headed back to mammaw's for dinner then took Remy on another walk before playing cards on the porch for a while. It was the night of the solstice so we wanted to do something different and special at sunset, which wasn't to be until 11:46pm! Garrett brought his drone and Kara had her GoPro camera so we hooked them up to each other and Garrett flew it high above the house to record the sunset and how light everything still was at midnight. As much as I love daylight, it'll be nice to get back to having at least a few more hours of "night"!

Garrett took Monday off of work so we could do some more adventuring around the MatSu so we packed up our stuff and headed toward the Willow end of Hatcher Pass on Monday morning after thanking mammaw & Bill for a fun weekend. It was once again overcast but we hoped it'd clear up once we climbed higher into Hatcher Pass so Kara could see the amazing views. Unfortunately we just drove deeper into a thick, heavy cloud and didn't get to see much of the best parts of the area, but Kara was still impressed with the scenery. Everything was so green and lush! We took our time winding into the mountains and pausing here and there to take it all in. I guess she'll just have to come back to do that drive again, too! We popped out of the pass in Palmer and decided to grab lunch at the Colony Inn. It was delicious and not what we expected at all! I'd go back there just to have the meal I had again - so good! We then stopped at the Palmer Reindeer Farm so Kara could see a real-life reindeer! We did the whole tour and got to feed and pet a bunch of friendly reindeer and their babies. We also played with bunnies, fed grass to some elk, and tried to get Dolly the bison to eat some red cabbage before heading back to Anchorage via the Old Glenn Highway. Kara once again fell asleep during the ride but I don't blame her - there's something about that back seat! We went to the Moose's Tooth for dinner and definitely pigged out on the amazing pizza and some rootbeer floats. She was just as impressed with the pizza as we are! 

Garrett had to go back to work on Tuesday but since I took the entire week off, Kara and I got to have some girl time. I took her downtown so we could do some shopping at the 5th Avenue mall and at the little shops near it. She treated me to lunch at Urban Greens (so good!) then we made our way to the mall where we spent hours and hours window shopping and day dreaming - just what we like to do! We casually stopped into one beauty product store called Lush and since the shop was slow, we got movie star treatment and were given a demo of their foot and skin products! We got scrubbed, massaged, and moisturized for free and had a great time doing it! Basically an entire pedicure but without the nail polish! We then had drinks on the roof of the Snow Goose in the sunshine then walked a good chunk of the Coastal Trail to Westchester Lagoon so she could see how cool Anchorage's geography is. The trail and parks were full of people biking, running, canoeing, roller blading, walking, and relaxing on the grass so it was a cool way to show Kara the culture of the city, too. We then weaved our way back to the car downtown then stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick ingredients up for dinner. We made shrimp pasta alfredo with garlic bread and sat outside on the deck resting our weary feet!

Wednesday got off to a late start but Kara and I grabbed breakfast at a cafe south of town before driving around some ritzy neighborhoods in Anchorage. We found some cool backroads that provided a great view of the ocean while high up in the mountains and happened upon some massive homes! Sometimes I forget how much money is hidden around this town. Then we traveled further south toward Beluga Point in hopes of seeing some beluga whales along the Turnagain Arm but unfortunately couldn't spot any. We clambered around on the rocks of the point and took some great pictures, though, so it was worth the trip. We drove back into Anchorage toward the Botanical Garden afterwards and took a nice walking tour through the beautiful flower beds. Kara had her fancy camera with her so we spent time photographing the various types of intricate plants bathed in the midday sunlight. For lunch, we went to Middleway Cafe in midtown and split a sandwich and had smoothies on the patio. It's amazing how much a meal costs when it's just two girls...much less than when Garrett and I eat out! My coworker Paige had a going away gathering downtown that evening so Kara and I went home to freshen up before heading back into town so I could say goodbye. It was nice for Kara to get to meet the people I work with! We didn't stay long due to it being a long day already and headed back to the house. Because it stays light so late, we all loaded up into the car once again and went to Kincaid for a bit to show Kara the awesome forest/desert/jungle/mountain terrain of the park! It was windy but still fun!

Thursday was the longest day by far! Kara and I had to get up at 4:30am to be at the train depot downtown by 5:30. We boarded the big, blue Alaska train headed toward Seward and were excited for the journey that awaited us! We had comfy seats on the main level of the train but quickly discovered that there was open seating on the second level of a different car with way better views! We snuck up there for the second half of the four hour journey and saw plenty of moose, a few glaciers, and gorgeous views of the mountains. We arrived in Seward at about 11:00 and started hoofing it from the train station to "downtown" where I know all the shops and restaurants were. We had lunch at a quaint but extremely overpriced cafe then browsed some giftshops before heading to the SeaLife Center to check out the exhibits. We saw seals, sea lions, octopus, a ton of sea birds, starfish, anemone, salmon, and walked through a cool shark exhibit. It was way nicer than I thought it would be! It was a cold and windy day in Seward so we ducked in and out of more giftshops before finding a nice coffee shop to hunker down in for a while. The train back to Anchorage didn't board until 5:00 so we had a lot of time to kill and not much to do. I'm pretty sure we went into every store downtown before slowly making our way back to the depot. We walked back along the harbor toward the marina hoping to spot seals or otters but the water was too choppy to see much. We walked along the boardwalk and oohed and ahhed at the fancy yachts and fishing boats before boarding the train for the long journey back. We broke up our seating arrangements during the trip by spending some time on the second level with the views, had dinner in the dining cart, had a drink in the loft in the bar cart, then found a table in a cart without many people but with a great view of the water for the rest of the ride back to Anchorage. We were so tired by the time we got home! Kara took some great pictures, though, and it was nice to have so much time to catch up.

Friday was Kara's last full day and we wanted to drag it out as long as possible. The two of us had breakfast at House of Bread then went next door to a shop where you pick out and paint ceramic pieces that you can take home! Kara painted a cute sugar bowl and I picked out a set of measuring spoons. It took quite a while to paint them and unfortunately they won't be ready for 7-10 days, but it'll be a fun thing to ship to her when the time comes! We headed to Pro Nail in midtown for pedicures afterward and had an amazingly relaxing experience! The women that treated both of us were great and did such a good job. I'd go back again in a heartbeat! We drove around midtown and Spenard for a while afterwards before heading home to change for our fancy dinner reservation downtown at Sullivan's. We got all dressed up and had a delicious (& extremely expensive!) dinner complete with drinks, appetizers, and an extravagant main course. It was a really fun meal and I was happy to spend the time with both Kara and Garrett. We chickened out on dessert and instead stopped at Tastee Freez on the way to Kincaid after stopping at the house to change out of our fancy clothes. We went to a different entrance to the park and walked around for a bit, enjoying our last evening together. I didn't want it to end!

Kara's flight left at 12:30pm on Saturday so we got a few hours together in the morning. We went to the bagel place again because she liked it a lot then went to Target for a couple travel items she needed. We showed her the neighborhoods we're interested in then had to come home so she could finish packing her things. The morning went so quickly and before we knew it, we were saying "see you later" at the security line in the airport. It was really hard to see her go but because Garrett and I will be back in Montana in September, it wasn't as difficult to say goodbye as it was last fall. The week went way too quickly but I guess that's what happens when you're having fun! I'm hoping she'll come back again soon because there's still so much to see and do here!

Post-Vacation Post

Our long-awaited Mexican vacation has now come and gone. We came back tan, happy, and rejuvenated. We also realized just how far any tropical place is from Alaska - hooray for entire days dedicated to flying! 

We left late Saturday night/early Sunday morning and caught a redeye out of Anchorage to Seattle to start off our journey. We had to board Remy while we were gone which really pulled at my heartstrings, but she did just fine. From Seattle, we unexpectedly ended up having a short trip to San Francisco that was not originally on our itinerary. We just went with it and crossed our fingers we'd end up where we wanted to! From San Francisco we went directly to Puerto Vallarta and that was a looong flight. Garrett bought little inflatable headrests for us because we realized we should probably try to sleep as much as possible to avoid wasting any trip days on catching up. We both slept off and on and landed in Mexico without any issues at about 4pm. Puerto Vallarta is 3 hours ahead of Alaska so that was a little weird to get used to! Our transportation to the resort was all taken care of so we easily slipped into a cab and were shuttled right to our final destination. We were informed that our hotel was not actually in Puerto Vallarta but in Nuevo Vallarta, a town about 20 miles north of the city. 

After checking in at the hotel and being greeted with fresh mango cocktails of some sort, we called our friends' room (Joey and Ashley) to let them know we had arrived and then had the greatest reunion! It was so good to see them after almost a year of only texts and phone calls. They gave us a tour of the massive resort since they got there a day earlier and had the lay of the land. We then hung out in the sunshine and caught up before heading to one of the four restaurants for our dinner reservation they set up. We stayed up late playing gin rummy and having some tropical (free!) drinks while enjoying our first night in Mexico!

Monday

   We all met at the buffet for breakfast and decided it was going to be a day full of playing in the ocean, laying around, catching up, and soaking in the sun. The resort had free boogie board rentals so the guys went straight for those and mastered their technique. Ashley and I switched back and forth between girl talk on the beach under the palm trees and trying boogie boarding for ourselves. The water was so warm and the waves were the perfect size! Not too small but not too terrifying. We made dinner reservations at one of the fancier restaurants and were informed we'd have to dress up a little more (basically, no tank tops and short-shorts!) so we went back to our rooms to freshen up and hide from the heat for a while. It's amazing how the sun just sucks the energy out of you even when you're not doing anything strenuous! Especially coming from Alaska where we haven't even hit 75 yet - at least not that I know of. I was definitely happy about spending some time in the heat, though. Dinner was delicious and we had a great time watching the sun go down and reminiscing about fun times in Bozeman. We noticed a tiny black cat curiously watching our table and realized it was probably feral and slunk around the half-inside half-outside restaurant waiting for people to drop food. I didn't realize it but the people that ate at our table before us had dropped some shrimp under my chair so the tiny little scavenger bravely made its way over and stole them! It was a funny reminder that we were definitely in a different country because the restaurant staff didn't seem to mind its presence at all. In fact, I saw one of the busboys drop a few extra shrimp on purpose! That night we might have had a few drinks between the four of us and decided to walk down to the beach in our nice clothes and stick our toes in the water. The night was so peaceful and warm. Suddenly we were all clasping hands and ran straight into the ocean! We played in the waves for a second, laughing and trying to grope for each other's hands in the dark, obsidian water to make sure we were all accounted for. It was such a random but memorable part of the trip! My dress still has absurd amounts of sand in it.

Tuesday
   Tuesday was our day out on the town. We caught a bus into Puerto Vallarta from the resort, then another bus into the heart of the city so we could go to the markets. The town was so beautiful! Every building was a different color and so much attention was paid to the tiniest of details. Wrought iron verandas with flowers spilling out of their baskets, every window painted with an intricate border and streets made of smoothed rocks layered with concrete. The sun made the colors pop out at you around every corner and the slightest breeze made our wandering a little less grueling. We found the markets and weaved through the carts and displays of traditional Mexican souvenirs in every color - ceramic hand-painted lizards, Day of the Dead clay pocket-sized sculptures, cigars of every size, thick woven hooded sweatshirts, and more handmade string bracelets than you could imagine. Ashley and Joey found a few things that caught their eyes and Garrett managed to find himself a bullwhip (to complete his Indiana Jones outfit, presumably) while I searched for something to memorialize our trip in one simple object. We were almost through the market when I saw a display of these little paintings mainly consisting of the intricate doors and windowsills of the buildings we'd been passing by all morning, but each painting had a tiny black cat perching somewhere in the simple scene. I immediately thought of the cat that had provided us with entertainment at dinner the night before and decided it was the perfect thing to bring home! I picked out my favorite one but, since I knew we'd still be walking around for a while and didn't want to be responsible for it all day, said I'd come back for it before we caught the bus home. We had lunch at Burro's restaurant right on the beach and watched people play in the waves and parasail over the water. Other than the frequency of being bothered to "take a look" at all of the "almost free" souvenirs being sold by the local beach vendors, the meal was perfectly pleasant and delicious. We wandered around the city center a bit more until we  needed refuge from the heat and found the Las Muertos brewery. Joey and Garrett enjoyed a cold brew while Ashley and I attempted to beat the world record of rehydrating ourselves - too much sweating! We were pooped and mutually decided to hit the market for my painting then find a bus back home. We went right back to where the display had been set up and it was gone! I was pretty devastated. I really had my heart set on the tiny souvenir and thought I'd blew my chance. But everyone said we could come back another day to find the woman again so my hopes were reinstated! We rode the one bus back to the outskirts of town and stopped into the Walmart for some water and foreign candy to bring back to the resort. As much as I hate going to Walmart, I was extremely appreciative of it's air conditioning and cheap bottled water! We all passed out on the longer bus ride back to the resort and spent the rest of the evening lounging around, drinking and playing cards. There was live music every night and the hotel lobby had two walls completely open to outside, so you could sit inside in cushy chairs with table side service but still feel like you were enjoying the Mexican evenings outside. It was perfect.

Wednesday
   Another down day at the resort. We spent a fair amount of time on the boogie boards and after we grew tired of salty water up our noses and sand in foreign places, we headed to the pool and swim-up bar. They had activities going on throughout the afternoon and Joey actually participated in one! It was some quality entertainment that I'm sure none of us will soon forget! We chatted up people from the UK and other parts of the US, found a shady part of the pool, and drank margaritas out of freshly cut coconuts from palm trees right next to the pool! We all tried the coconut water thinking it would be the best tasting, most refreshing natural beverage ever but were quickly disappointed. I honestly don't know what the craze is with that stuff - it's not very yummy! We had another dinner reservation at the fanciest restaurant at the resort so headed back to our rooms to freshen up and rid ourselves of sand. Dinner was pretty good but we were all so tired from spending so much time in the sun that it was a challenge to make it through the four courses! All we wanted was water and some good ice cream! We spent that night doing our traditional activity - cards in the lobby, live music, beach breeze, and some smuggled candy!

Thursday
   Our "adventure" day! We got up super early to get a taxi to the Vallarta Vacations office just outside of Nuevo Vallarta. We had a quick breakfast of fruit, pastries, coffee and lots of water before boarding the giant catamaran headed to Las Marietas islands. Ashley knew she might get seasick so she took some dramamine before the hour and a half long trip through the bay. I love love love being on the water so I stood up, looking out at the beautiful scenery the whole time and really enjoyed the ride. Garrett and I saw probably a billion tiny jellyfish! The geography of Puerto Vallarta is breathtaking with all the greenery and the mountains that cup the whole coast. I loved feeling the sun on my skin and the misty spray from the boat as we grew closer to the islands. Our two fellow travelers, however, did not enjoy the bumpy ride as much and spent most of it lying down with their eyes closed. Quite a few people onboard got sick unfortunately! But it was all worth it when we got to the island and hopped into the warm, Pacific water to swim toward the "hidden beach" inside one of the rocky mounds! It was pretty stressful trying to swim a) against the current and b) with 150 panicky tourists flailing around you as you try to navigate to a tiny cave covered in bird poop. I think that was one of the most humorous parts of the trip! And most painful as we were all kicked numerous times by rogue flippers or, in Joey's case, climbed on by nervous foreign people. The beach was really cool but way too crowded to truly enjoy. It was also a lot smaller than I anticipated! After making it back to the catamaran, we "sailed" to another area and donned our snorkel gear for some underwater exploring. Even though the water wasn't very calm or clear, we still got to see some beautiful sea life! A lot of huge, bright blue fish and tiny yellow and purple ones that swam up to us curiously. We spent quite a while with our faces in the water until we got sick of people swimming into us and Ashley and I decided to try paddle boarding instead. Having never done it before, we both did surprisingly well! We both got up on our first attempts and never fell in! It was really fun despite the ridiculous life jackets we had to wear the whole time. The boat ride back seemed to take forever as we were all so tired from our explorations. Luckily the crew had some entertainment for us so it never got boring! We got back to the resort and just ate at the buffet for dinner. The guys played in the water a bit while Ashley and I just relaxed and chatted. We played pool and air hockey a bit, then our traditional cards and drinks to finish off the long day.

Friday
   Our last full day of the trip consisted of venturing into town once again to retrieve my coveted cat painting! It was a shorter trip since we'd already done most of the exploring that we could on foot but we figured we might as well have lunch on the beach again while we were there. The artist fortunately had her display up again so I finally got my souvenir! I was thrilled. We roamed the markets and streets a bit more then went to some other lunch spot just a few yards away from the one we tried on Tuesday. It was essentially the same experience but with better ceviche and wifi! Still the same local beach vendors that obviously didn't think anything of interrupting your meal and conversation to show you their suitcase full of "silver" jewelry or their risqué magnets. We then rode the bus to Walmart again, let the boys load up on Kinder candy and Gatorades, then we all passed out on the bus ride back to the resort. Deja vu! We spent the afternoon lounging around on the beach and in the pool, trying to do everything at least one more time. We made reservations at the less fancy restaurant for dinner again and got to eat on the top floor! It was a gorgeous night and we all had a great time laughing, drinking, reminiscing, and planning for the next Morcuso (Morris + Mancuso) vacation. We decided to take a sunset walk along the beach after dinner and the sunset was so breathtaking. So many colors in every direction! I felt like I lived in a pink and orange globe of sand and ocean. We took a ton of pictures then hunted for tiny crabs along the shore as the night grew darker. We probably looked like a group of weird, hunched-over silhouettes as we used cellphone flashlights to find the critters before they scurried back into the safety of the ocean. It was a fun and odd way to spend our last night together but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Cards and drinks again accompanied with some music before we all ran away to bed.

Saturday
   We all met for one last buffet breakfast (phew!) then had to pack up our rooms to be checked out by 11. Joey and Ashley's flight left earlier than ours so we said our goodbyes in the lobby before they caught their shuttle to the airport. It was so hard to watch them go! I wish we lived closer. Maybe someday. And at least we have our next trip to look forward to! Garrett and I tried to fill our time with walking around, playing fusball, sitting on the beach, and chatting before it was our time to be whisked away. We had some interesting airport incidences that will have to be in a different post, but were able to board our flights back to the US then onto Alaska on time and safely. We got back at about midnight that night and were definitely happy to be in our own bed! We had Sunday and then Monday to recover from a) the travel and b) the not-so-great food before having to head back to the real world on Tuesday. We also celebrated our two year wedding anniversary on Monday so the timing all worked out perfectly! All in all it was such a great trip and I am so glad we were able to make it come to fruition despite the distance between us and the Mancusos as well as all the crazy stuff that has happened since we left Bozeman last September. We are so fortunate to have such great friends! 

Spring Is Here

Busy season has been over for...a while now. April 15th came and went and nothing drastically changed. I work slightly fewer hours, the office is a bit more laid-back, and the sun is already illuminating the 6th floor by the time I get to work at 7:30. I'm working on two big projects this month and next so it's been a nice change of pace from the six or so returns I was involved with a month or so ago. I feel a lot more comfortable in my abilities to do what I need to do and I got good feedback during my interim review so everything seems to be going well work-wise.

Garrett got a promotion, a raise, and a work truck to drive everyday! Apparently he's kicking butt and taking names at his job and likes it a lot more. We've been taking Remy to doggie daycare once a week to socialize and burn off energy but we still try to get her out once a day on a nice long walk or run. She's a pretty low-key puppy, though, so she doesn't complain. 

Our backyard is beginning to transform into a mini forest and I couldn't be happier. The grass is slowly turning green and the leaves on the bushes that border our fence seem to unfold by the minute. I used to think fall was my favorite season (and I'll probably rescind my next statement in a few months when fall rolls around again), but spring is really tickling my fancy right now. Maybe it's because I used to be so swamped in spring due to school and whatever else I had going on that I never appreciated how pretty it really is. Or maybe springtime in Anchorage is more dramatic than springtime in Bozeman. The entire valley here really transforms into a forest almost overnight. Soon it will be more like how I remember it being when we lived here a couple summers ago - everything is lush and full of life all through the summer. I can't wait!

Speaking of things I'm anticipating, Garrett and I head off to Mexico in only two more weeks! This trip has been a long time in the making (almost seven months since we booked the dang tickets) so we're basically boiling over with excitement at this point. I check the weather almost every day and am so relieved to know we picked the best time of year to visit. Sunny and mid-80s - yes please! The only thing that's bringing me down about it is that we'll be boarding Remy for over a week. That's why we've been taking her to daycare once in a while so she won't be thrown off completely when we leave her there during our trip. My family always had friends or neighbors watch our pets when we'd go out of town so the concept of tossing my fur baby into pet jail for seven whole days really pulls on my heartstrings. Garrett just keeps reminding me that she'll have plenty of friends who will distract her from our absence. That and dogs probably don't have a very good sense of time. What seems like eternity to me might feel like an irregularly long night to her! Who really knows?

Garrett and I have been house hunting a bit and even found ourselves a realtor. We drive around for a few hours every weekend, familiarizing ourselves with different parts of town. So far we've really fallen for the south and west sides of Anchorage but...so has everyone else. Anything that is for sale is at least twice our budget or a disaster. We don't mind fixer-uppers because Garrett is a handyman at heart, but something that doesn't scream "drugs were done here on a daily basis" would be nice. Our lease isn't up until the end of September so we definitely have plenty of time. We're just excited, I guess. We don't see ourselves in this rental house anymore because it doesn't fit who we are and what we like to do. The backyard isn't fenced, we're right next to a busy road, there are hardly any windows, we don't even use two of the bedrooms which make up a lot of the square footage of the place, and we're paying WAY more than we want to. As fun as it is to pay someone else's mortgage every month...

I've been getting out on runs at least four days a week now which is way more than I ever used to. I went on a two mile run yesterday and it really wasn't bad! I'm sure my pace wasn't noteworthy but I'm adopting the attitude of "at least I did it". I've never ever ever been a runner but have always wanted to. It's such a cheap and rewarding sport. There's no better feeling than getting back after a nice run all sweaty and tired and with a big smile on your face. I'd really like to participate in some 5ks this summer but wish I had someone to do them with. Garrett is not a big "let's go run just because!" kind of dude so he will not be joining me. Sigh. I wish friends grew on trees.

seal in Seward 

morning view from my cube

new running shoes from Garrett

silly Rem-dog

Hatcher Pass

first buds of the season

moose friend failing at hide & seek

pretty neighborhood path

Definitely Busy Season

Things are starting to warm up here! We have long, sunny days and all the ice is slowly melting away from our yard. The Park Strip, which has long been a precarious frozen pond that I have to traverse twice a day, is now a slushy soup of old leaves and new blades of grass. I get a good dose of direct sunshine in my cube and thoroughly enjoy watching the yellows turn to pinks and the pinks turn to purples when the sun peeks up over the mountains every weekday.

I've been working much more than I used to. I get to work sometime after 7:00am and usually don't leave until after 7:00pm. It might sound awful but I'm definitely not the only one that keeps those hours right now, so I have good company. Every other Wednesday we have tax department busy season lunches and we all eat yummy food together that has been delivered to our specifications. We also have a busy season friendly competition that an ex-KPMGer (she just left to start a family) came up with for us. Basically every day we have little challenges to accomplish (and no, they are not all tax-related!) We mark our points down on a giant board and are on teams. It's been a nice way to keep things fun and upbeat. We're on mandatory 50 chargeable hours right now but it hasn't been too difficult. When I first started the job, it was next to impossible for me to get 40 chargeable hours. I worked 40 hour weeks but a lot of that time was spent doing trainings or other administrative stuff around the office. Now, I get to work and can charge my time to a project for the entire day. My days go by really quickly because of that but I don't mind. It's nice to know I'm getting things crossed off my to-do list and I feel accomplished when I wrap up a week of work.

I bring my laptop home with me every weekend but I haven't had to work too much on Saturday or Sunday yet. Today I worked an hour only because I knew it'd help me to do it today instead of tomorrow. I truly feel like I made an awesome choice to work at the Anchorage office because, from what I've heard, it's unlike any other KPMG office. It's as if I work at a local accounting firm because I know everyone's name, I feel important and that the work I do actually matters, the office is small and comfortable, and my coworkers are also my friends. I also get the prestige of working for a Big 4 firm, though, so it's a great combination. Busy season will last until 4/15 so I'm sure things will continue to pick up for me until then, but it's only a little under a month away. I'm fairly sure I can handle it!

Garrett has been working a few jobs in Anchorage so our schedules still match up well. He gets home around 4:00 and since it's been so warm, he and Remy get a good chunk of time outside. I'm looking forward to getting back to a work schedule that allows me to come home in time to do a run! Although, it's already staying light so late that I could probably go on one at 8:30 or 9:00 right now if I wanted to.

We've been trying to be more social lately because it hit us not too long ago that summer is our favorite time of year, but that this summer is going to be different than what we've been used to. We had our core group of friends back in Bozeman that we could count on to do hikes, go camping, get our dogs together, have dinner and drinks, or just hang out and watch movies with. We don't really have that here yet and we'd like to change that. My office has Happy Hours every Friday at differing bars so we've been making an appearance at those whenever possible. We've already successfully been invited to a huge 4th of July camping/hiking trip with some folks! We're also thinking about joining a co-ed softball league for the summer. Having to find new friends has definitely been the hardest part about this move. I thought it would be adjusting to my job but that has been a breeze. I also thought it would be leaving my family, but I talk to them so much and I had already been away from home for years that it hasn't been too different. I mean, this is the longest I've gone without physically seeing my parents and sister, but family is forever and I'm sure we'll see each other plenty in the future. It's different with friends, though, because we're all going separate ways. Either school, work, or family is causing our group to migrate all over the country and it makes it hard to connect like we used to. Phone calls are nice but even those get fewer and far between due to schedules and time differences. It's weird to think that the old Bozeman days are technically over and that even if we were to teleport back there it would not be at all the same. Change is good, though, so no complaints, just observations.

Some fun things we've been up to consist of driving down to Seward last weekend with our friend Bri to see what it was all about. Unfortunately it was a freakishly cold and windy day despite the abundance of sunshine so we mainly did a driving tour of the cute little town and the inlet. We had lunch at a taco shop and pretended like we were in Mexico then drove out on a little dirt road along the water to see the breathtaking sights. We unexpectedly spotted a few otters floating on their backs, riding the wind-driven waves and bathing themselves! They were the cutest things EVER! We also saw a seal hanging out by the rocks just playing in the water and diving under the waves. I was so excited! It reminded me that we really do live in an oceanic place and I think that's so cool. I never thought I'd live someplace where I'd see wild seals and possibly whales! Pretty neat. 

Last night, we were invited to join one of my coworkers on a Northern Lights hunt to Talkeetna. The lights have been really active in the Anchorage area lately and the farther north you go, the better they become (hint the name!). We left at about 7:00pm and began the trek up the Parks highway before veering off to Palmer for dinner. We got back on the road via the Palmer-Wasilla highway when it got dark and continued north for an hour and a half or so. It was a loooong drive! We became a little discouraged when we saw a giant, dark, thick cloud cover move in and erase any light whatsoever. We didn't want to give up too early so we pressed on and arrived in Talkeetna at 11:00pm-ish. We thought the sleepy tourist town would be quiet but we were definitely wrong. Apparently there was a massive cross-country ski race held there this weekend and all of the tired racers were sticking around town to have a few drinks. Every place was packed! There was live music and people dancing around in the streets despite the near freezing temperatures. It was trying to snow but the stars were beginning to peek out from the cloud quilt we cursed earlier. We decided to stop into one of the holes-in-the-wall and wait a bit until giving up on the lights altogether. We saw Mayor Stubs, the mayor of Talkeetna...that is a cat. I'm not kidding. We also laughed at the peculiarity of being in a bar at midnight in Alaska with multiple children running around as their parents sat nursing locally brewed beers and mysterious mugs. When it became apparent that sleep was nearing us, we headed toward the car and scanned the sky for any sign of the dancing lights. I saw nothing until my eyes adjusted and then...there they were! Faint but visible, misty and green. It stretched like old cobwebs across the sky, weaving in between the spattering of stars. The more our eyes adjusted, the more we were able to see. We spun in slow circles and tried to find its beginnings and ends. They weren't the magical wavy ones or the multicolored strings, but they were definitely out and we definitely saw them. As we drove back to Anchorage at 1:00am, I thoroughly enjoyed observing them from the rear window until they disintegrated into the glossy sky. Supposedly we'll be able to see them from Anchorage tonight, too!

Just Settling In

Things have been pretty busy around the little Morris household lately. Garrett had to work in Wasilla a few days this past week which meant leaving at 6:00am and enduring that painful drive. I've had longer days at work and usually get home around 6:00 or 6:30pm. It hasn't been so bad, though, because we get our evenings together at home to eat home cooked meals, spend time with Remy, and do whatever else we feel like doing (me = watching Gilmore Girls while on the elliptical, Garrett = play some new video game thing) until we have to go to bed. Apparently we've turned into "people with careers" and have to do things like go to bed at 10:00pm. Funny to think that last year I would stay up until midnight studying for school/CPA exams and could still function the next day. I guess I wasn't waking up at 5:45am, though. A year changes a lot!

Work has been going well for me and I still don't have any complaints. I like what I do and it seems like I'm good enough at it because I haven't been fired. I like my little routine and the people I work with so it's all good. I got this awesome french press mug from REI that I keep at my desk so every morning I get a nice, fresh cup of my favorite coffee to start my day. The sunrise is always breathtaking and it's starting to creep earlier into the morning hours. Pretty soon it'll be over with by the time I even get to work! The sunset is already much later and I actually get to enjoy it during my drive home. Definitely a perk of my little "commute". 

We spent last weekend up in Houston with Mammaw & Bill and it was so nice to get away for a couple days. We love staying at their little house in the woods where you can't hear traffic and can see only trees and lakes for miles. Last week it was the coldest that it's been since we got here - only a few degrees above zero as the "high" - but it didn't really stop us from spending time outside. Bill got their dogsled out of storage so Remy could strap on the harness and give it a shot and she did pretty well! She was a little wary of the tension of pulling the thing around but finally figured it out toward the end. She'd make a good sled dog if we had another dog show her how it's done! 

We had today completely free and wanted to go adventuring to somewhere we haven't yet been. We started off with a relaxing Saturday morning of fresh coffee and an episode of a show on Netflix called Departures that we really like then headed to Harley's Old Thyme Cafe on Old Seward for a late breakfast. We like that place because a) they have really good coffee, b) it's close to our house, c) the service is really fast, and d) we can get out of there with spending less than $20! The food is also delicious but we're both breakfast people so any breakfast is basically a good breakfast in our book. Garrett surprised me with a Valentine's Day CD he made with all of my favorite love songs - including the one we first danced to way back in 2006 at the Sweetheart Dance I asked him to and our "first dance" song at our wedding - so, needless to say, I was touched. We listened to it during our drive past Eagle River to Thunderbird Falls where we planned to hike with Remy. Neither of us have been there but we see the sign whenever we head to Mammaw's so we figured it'd be worth a shot. Despite the "warm" temperature - about 35 degrees - not many people were at the trailhead so we took full advantage of letting Remy run around like a wild thing. The lookout was only about a mile up so it wasn't much of a "hike" but definitely worth the outing. I don't even know how to describe the falls! Basically everything was covered in a thick layer of barely-blue ice. From one angle it looked opaque but from another it looked turquoise. It protruded from the carved-out crevice in giant frozen blobs of tiered crystals. The only thing that revealed it's hidden identity of a waterfall was discovered with sleuthing eyes. If you knew where to look, you could see the water moving beneath the cascading shelves of ice. Once you saw the phenomena in one spot, you began to notice other movement occurring behind the scenes. The waterfall was in full motion. It was a waterfall in a silent movie. All sound was contained behind a giant sheet of irregular glass that clung like a thin layer of plastic wrap. The water surged out of the bottom of its prison into a small pool then rushed back into covertness once more, this time beneath our feet. You could hear it gurgle and feel the ground pulse as the gallons of fresh mountain water moved along its precise course to who knows where. There were spots along the trail where it looked like the water had seeped above ground to create slippery ice sculptures of blue and green hues. To get the the falls, you had to crouch to pass under the willow-like branches laden with glittery chunks of ice and snow - forming a sort of wonderland tunnel that led you to the magic of the frozen falls. But still there was no sound except for the activity under our feet. No matter how close you stood to the 200-foot-tall falls, the most you could hear was a slight gurgling and some curiously-timed splashes. It was beautifully eerie.

We drove around Eagle River a bit afterwards after stopping for a warm beverage and got to explore the other side of the mountains we're so used to seeing in Anchorage. It's so gorgeous back there yet so remote. I would not want to make the drive from there to Anchorage every day yet some people definitely do. It reminded me of Montana with the land surrounded by mountains and pines but I'm sure it transforms into a whole new kind of terrain in the summer. There's a lot more water up here! When things are green, they are GREEN. I'm excited to making that same drive in a few months.

Garrett heads to Georgia next week for his cousin's wedding and unfortunately I wasn't able to join him. Tis the life of a tax accountant - no travel during busy season! Luckily we have our trip in May to look forward to! 

A Little Busier

My work schedule has informed me that busy season is officially upon us. Gone are my 40 hour work weeks with only 25 of them billable, in come 55+ hours of chargeable work. It's definitely a change of pace. I've been getting to work at about 7:30am and leaving at 6:00pm five days a week and not taking an official lunch. Honestly it hasn't been discouraging, though. I am a creature of routine and find comfort in it. I get to work, turn on my favorite Pandora station (a customized Mumford & Sons one), check my email, write a to-do list for the day, and get started. Coffee is always close by. The mornings go by really fast and I feel really accomplished by the time I get hungry for lunch. I also try to get up and walk around every 45 minutes or so because I'm terrified of the health consequences of sitting for 10 hours straight. Afternoons go a bit slower because my brain gets tired and I realize how much I still have to do before I can go home. Luckily a lot of the work I've been doing is new and exciting to me so each project has its own perks. For example, I got to actually call a client and ask her questions as I worked on her tax return! Pretty neat. 

Busy season will last until at least April 15th. I thought it'd only go until March 15th for us because we deal mainly with corporate tax returns, but I was informed that we also have a TON of partnership clients whose deadline is the same as individuals (4/15). It's going to be a long two and a half months but I think I'll be able to handle it. Supposedly we get spoiled to make up for our long weeks and are provided with a lunch at least once a week as well as snacks of our choosing. I asked for a lot of fruit and veggies! So help me if the other tax associates asked for donuts and candy...

I'm hoping to stay healthy during this hectic time of year. It's already hard that it's winter and outdoor activities are limited, but then only getting a few hours a night to be active makes it even more difficult. Luckily Garrett and I bought an elliptical, some weights, and a weight bench after Christmas during some great sales so I have options. I actually like coming home and hopping on the elliptical for a half hour or so as I watch an episode of one of the shows I enjoy but Garrett doesn't! It helps relieve tension and make me feel better about the day before I have to go to bed. There's a big "busy season" joke in the tax world about gaining 10 pounds and never sleeping and I really hope that's not the case for me. I hope to keep up some sort of routine and eat healthy so I not only feel better during busy season, but so I don't have to spend the next few months undoing all the damage! This girl's gotta be beach ready for our trip in May!

One thing I really like about my job right now is how easy it is to become involved in different projects and committees. I've discovered that I really like to be part of something that doesn't necessarily have to do with what I do for work. When I was in college, I was really involved in an accounting club but moreso for the social aspect and the community service. I loved thinking of new projects and ways to get more people involved. I was worried that I'd get sick of this job if all I ever did was come to work, do what I had to do, then go home. I need something to work different parts of my brain! I've been able to participate on the Christmas party planning committee and the KPMG Network of Women (KNOW) group but now I'm part of something new to our office. Before Christmas, we partnered with the Anchorage School District and donated some items and food for a program they were hosting. I helped deliver the stuff to the district office with a group of three other people and on our way back we talked about other ways we could donate in our community. We thought up a really cool idea about "adopting" a family from the area and it's actually been quite a hit in the office! I'm now part of the "core" committee and was appointed the position of Vice President by the other core members - I'm so excited about it! I love being part of something big and I can't wait to see what we make happen. It makes coming to work more inspiring because my job puts me in a position that I am able to give back and there's nothing I love more than helping people.

It's getting really cold here now and we have at least four inches of fresh snow (finally!). I'm excited about the snow but not about the temperatures. It's supposed to warm up again in a few days but it's keeping us from playing outside very much. I'm hoping we can get some exercise and outdoor time today and tomorrow if we just bundle up well! Too bad we don't have snow shoes or cross country skis yet!

Denali from the office!

Seeing Some Sights

The transition back to work last week wasn't as tough as I thought it might be. For a few days, I was the sole representative of the tax department because everyone else was either at training, at client sites out of town, or still on PTO. I was a little nervous about not having any resources in the office, but luckily I had some training to catch up on. I think this next week is going to be more of a transition because everyone will be back in the office and my projects will get kicked into gear. I hope they ease me into 45-50 hour weeks and don't just start piling it on! It's been so nice having to try to get to 40 hours...

My New York City friend I met in October at training came for a visit this weekend! She initially visited one of her college friends in Fairbanks and figured she'd come down to Anchorage to check things out and see me. I thought it was so cool that someone I met less than four months ago was willing to stay with us! It was fun having a guest. She came to work with me on Friday since she also works for KPMG and it was cool to see her in my office. Usually we just chat throughout the days on the interoffice instant messenger! 

I left work a bit early so I could show her around downtown Anchorage before it got too dark. We walked the main blocks and I pointed out some cool restaurants and landmarks. We walked to the coastal trail and killed some time before going to the happy hour event planned for my office. We hung at that for a while and I introduced her to some of my audit friends before heading back to the house.

I had a ton of stuff planned for Saturday because I wanted her to see as much of Anchorage as possible! The three things I promised her were:

1. See pretty scenery

2. Go to Kincaid Park

3. Find a moose

Fortunately you don't need to wake up very early right now to be able to see the sunrise, so we slept in until about 8:30. We got bagels from our favorite bagel place in midtown then got on the highway to head south of town. It was such a beautiful morning to see the sunrise! The sky was filled with pink, purple, and blue clouds and the water was crystal clear and calm. We pulled over in almost every viewing point and took pictures as the dawn colors continued to morph and extend across the sky. It was definitely one of the prettiest the inlet has been that I have witnessed so far. We all took our fair share of pictures.

We continued on past Girdwood and decided it'd be a good day to visit Whittier. We drove through the long tunnel and were happy that it wasn't raining on the other side (which is rare). It was foggy but so peaceful and stunning. We pointed out glaciers and waterfalls as we drove around the bay and up to the creek Garrett and I stopped at a couple years ago with Mammaw and Bill. We walked along the shore and out of the cove until we were at the edge of the bay and could see all of Whittier. We scanned the glassy water for signs of otters and I swear I saw some! We all admitted we would have no problem staying there all day enjoying the tranquility of the ocean and the slowly moving fog atop the glaciers but there was still so much to do. 

After leaving Whittier, we stopped in Girdwood for some donuts and made our way back to Anchorage. The lighting was beautiful and it was amazing to see how much the tide had gone out since that morning. We went straight to Kincaid to show her the beautiful views and to hopefully see a moose. We went to the main entrance to first time and began walking along the Planet Walk/Coastal Trail but it was busy and we doubted we'd spot any wildlife. We cut off after a while and began trekking through a more dense and remote area but still didn't see a thing. I was not satisfied so we tried the other entrance that we have used the most and made it there just in time to watch the sunset! We all ran up the dunes to the best viewing spot and got to watch the sun slowly sink across the inlet. The sky was filled with oranges and pinks. If I had some sort of chair, I would've sat there for eternity. It was perfect.

Unfortunately we still didn't see any moose. Every other time we'd visited Kincaid there was at least one moose ambling about nearby but of course they were elsewhere when we actually wanted them around. We had basically just given up as we were driving back home from Kincaid when I spotted two young ones laying in the trees a little ways from the road! We stopped and I pointed them out so Michelle could see them but I really wished they would have been standing so she could get the full effect. She was happy enough with that viewing but as we drove down the road a bit further, there were two more munching grass! We backed up and were within throwing distance from a mama and her baby. Michelle was so happy! We all took plenty of pictures and were finally satisfied with the moose sightings for the day.

We dropped Remy off at the house then took Michelle to Cabela's because we figured it would be interesting for her to see all of the wildlife native to the western US. I'd never paid much attention to the displays before (I'm not big on dead animals...) but it was fun walking around the store like it was a museum. After that quick jaunt it was off to Tommy's Burger Stop for delicious burgers and fries followed with a semi-relaxing evening of checkers battles and reviewing our pictures from the day. We had to drop her off at the airport around 10:00 last night so it was a very full day but so worth it. We're hoping we convinced her to come back again!