oh play me some mountain music

dad woke me up AGAIN to see that stinkin' moose.
i sent him with my camera.


i went back to sleep. i dreamt that someone was upstairs walkin around shaking the house. i woke up to an earthquake.


woohoooo!


i fell back asleep. :)


woke up to some delicious coffee and some eh eggs.


we tried driving up to the glacier but dad got scared so we turned around.
you think i'm kidding, don't you?
i'm not.
he couldn't look at the road.
he was getting all panicky and sweaty.
the whole nine yards.


mom and i laughed so hard that i cried.


we went to wasilla instead (and no, we didn't see sarah).
mom stopped at DQ and got us all sundaes.


we jammed a little on the way there.


we stopped at a few junk shops, just for fun.


we're home now for the night, about to cook us up some supper and have a chill night.


hope everybody's alright. i can't wait to get home.


love love love you.

dad's moose.

"that looks like a horribly painted old western scene."

this is about where dad started getting a little nervous.

and here's where we had to turn up the AC for him. bless it.

cutest little post office eevveerrrr. 

oh, this is how it starts. lightning hits the heart.

today:


dad woke me up to look at the moose in our front yard.
i didn't get any pictures.
i went back to sleep.
i woke up to pancakes and coffee.
i took a shower. (whoa, i know.)
i wore my lumberjack shirt.
we drove around.
we stopped on the side of the road to take lots of pretty pictures.
colbie caillat came on the radio.
we panned for gold.
i found a gold speck.
i was hoping for a big nugget so i could quit my job.
not that lucky, i suppose.
i whined about being hungry a good bit.
dad cooked me a steak.
mom cooked me a potato.
i ate them both, accompanied with SWEET TEA.
ohh yeaahhhh.
we all walked down to the lake.
it was nice.
dad tried to push me down a hill.
then he punched me in the arm.
he's a very sweet, loving, affectionate guy.
really.
i ate three chocolate chip cookies.
i creeped some people on Facebook.
probably you.

the water is gorgeous here.

this place was exactly as sketchy as it looks.

dad. being, well, dad.

awesome building

our view from our front porch

that's pretty much my day today. it's been amazing and i'm loving the simplistic part of the vacation.

somewhere over the rainbow

lies heaven. wanna know how i know?


i decided to write this blog after driving the fourth most beautiful drive in the US-the Seward Hwy- and seeing rainbows all along the way.


rainbows are kinda my thing.


when i was little, my mom and i went to Johnson City, TN, pretty regularly to visit her aunt and uncle-my Nana Jane and Papa Sam. for those of you who know me, you probably know my middle name is Jane. this came from quite a collection of family members on both my mom and dad's sides of the family.


anyways, they were always my favorites- they were like grandparents to me in more ways than i probably know. i can remember nana jane sitting in her chair telling mom and i stories about our ancestors and where we came from. she knew it all when it came to family history. papa sam and i used to always get into some kind of trouble for bouncing on the beds or climbing up on the roof. i haven't been to their house in TN in quite a few years but i can still close my eyes and see everything crystal clear.


My nana died a few years ago. the last time i saw her we went to a family reunion in Big Stone Gap, where my grandpa's family was from. as we left i can remember turning around to watch them wave goodbye as we drove away. i turned around to find mom crying as well. i remember my naive little self asking her, "why is everyone crying?" she replied something along the lines of,


"well honey, we cry because we don't know when we'll see each other again."


then i cried too.


i remember mom coming home a few months later and pulling her car into the garage. she didn't get out and come right in though. i went out to her car and found her crying. i started crying soon after.


we drove down to Jacksonville, Florida, where Nana and Papa's two children live and where they went during the summers to escape the cold. i got to meet the rest of Nana and Papa's family.


As mom and I left for the funeral home, we drove through a beautiful rainbow. mom told me that it was Nana Jane looking down on us.


Nana Jane seems to look down on me a lot. She's right here in Alaska with us.


See?

love.

here comes the sun

doo doo doo do.


i'm blogging today, as promised. i haven't blogged since Seattle? wow.


we left Seattle around noon Saturday and flew over to Anchorage, AK. rented a car and drove about three hours south to Seward where we spent the past few days. we had a cute little bungalow right close to the bay with mountains in the background--unbelievable. the scenery here is incredible. almost indescribable, so i took lots of pictures for you guys.


we got up Sunday and didn't do much of anything. we walked down to the docks and explored for a few minutes and then went on a "glacier cruise" with all you can eat salmon and prime rib (yum.). it wasn't much of a glacier cruise though. we saw lots of bald eagles, mountain goats, sea lions, and a huge group of humpback whales. that was super fun. we did see a couple icebergs but it was too cloudy to see the glacier they came off of. i got some pretty neat pictures and sat next to a precious little boy named Matthew, who, I'm proud to say, became a Junior Park Ranger. :)


i also cut up his prime rib for him because, "knives are for adults." he was adorable.


we got home sunday night and packed everything up and loaded the car up. woke up monday morning a little after 5, grabbed breakfast and made our way down to the docks again. we left for an all day fishing trip at 6:30. awesome! i slept the whole way out (about 3-3.5 hours) and woke up just in time to grab a rod and some bait.
dad got the biggest two fish of the day (and there were 14 people fishing)--both were halibut.
i caught two rock fish-one was yellow-eyed, which was apparently impressive.
mom caught a salmon but it slipped off the hook :(
the guy next to me puked the whole time.
mom and i reeled in a nice sized halibut but threw it back because we'd reached our limit. (you can only catch 2 halibut per person). and i when i say "we" reeled it, i mean i held the pole while mom reeled. we were worn out and our arms were about to give out.
nobody fell overboard. we thought we were though with the seven foot swells rocking the boat.
i stood in a puddle of blood and fished. i saw fish beaten and stabbed and did not throw up nor did i pass out.
i slept the whole way back in to the dock as well.
we grabbed our fish, threw them in the cooler and took off! headed north.
on our way to the final destination, THE SUN CAME OUT. first time i'd seen the alaskan sun.


we got to our beautiful log cabin on the lake near Palmer, AK around 11ish last night. we have no cell phone service again so my phone is off and in my suitcase again :) if you need me, email or Facebook is about it. i slept all morning and half the afternoon. i feel great!


mom and dad both woke me up at different points to make sure i wasn't "itching or swollen." mom had an allergic reaction to the dramamine (seasick medicine) and her whole face and hands had swollen up and she itched all over. kinda made my day :)


i dreamed about home and friends last night, or this morning rather. i'm enjoying myself but i'm ready to be home. that's for sure.


we don't have much else planned but i'll be sure to keep you guys posted.

can you spy the starfish?

bald eagle, meet mountain goat.

reason number 1 why i need a larger lens. these are the humpbacks i was telling you about.

its a tail of a whale.

and a whale of a tale.

icebergs

i thought i knew what love was. what did i know?

have i mentioned that I LOVE SEATTLE?


well, i really love seattle.


we woke up this morning and went down to pike place market. i got to see lots of amazing artists and their art. i also got to see a lot of really talented young artists playing street music.


i got to go to the original Starbucks. a caramel macchiato and greek yogurt parfait later, i was a happy girl.


we walked back and stopped at some shops. came back to the hotel for some naps and relaxation. (my parents really really really like their naps.)


we went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse tonight. holy cow that was amazing. one filet later i'm a super happy girl :)


we just got back from supper, headed to an improv comedy show tonight.


i'll let you guys know how that goes tomorrow. we're also getting up tomorrow morning and heading to the airport-next stop: Seward, Alaska.


get ready.


here's some old pictures while you wait:

dad and i after our emergency beach landing

we saw this same lighthouse kayaking--just a different view

i must admit, this view was my mom's idea.

my precious parents.

pretty bumblebee