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!