The Great Adventure: 2010

Denali Aurora 09-17-2010

>> Tuesday, November 23, 2010 – Alaska

After driving through Denali National Park on 09-17-2010 (Justin's Birthday) we stayed up to enjoy the show. Justin set our camera for a long exposure and we were pleasantly surprised when this is what we got.

Justin's Birthday Gift 09-17-2010

>> – Alaska

Burke Turns One!

>> – burke

Happy First Birthday, Burke!

We celebrated Burke's birthday on Saturday, October 2nd. My mom flew in right before the party and Justin flew out the next day for Sri Lanka and The Maldives.

Burke quadrupled his toy stash and didn't really care for his birthday cake. He had a blast following all the big kids around.

On Burke's actual birthday we were sick as dogs. Thank goodness my mother was here to care of us. Burke and I took a three hour nap and we woke up to some homemade chicken noodle soup...definite goodness.

Burke's one-year stats:

20 lbs 7 ozs --10-25%tile
30 inches -- 50%tile
Head: 45.7 cm --75%tile

Definitely Not Alaska

>> Sunday, October 3, 2010 – Travel

Beer tasting in San Luis Obispo

Off on adventure at the California Science Center

Our gracious hosts, Chris and Karen

Look a bird

Time to get dirty

Burke's winning!

One of our favorite pictures

SoCal

>> Sunday, September 26, 2010 – Travel

Thank goodness I had the forethought to join Justin during his TDY to California. Burke and I desperately needed to actually experience summer. This summer in Alaska was rainy. Gray and wet. We found the sun in Southern California.

We spent a week at Port Hueneme near Oxnard. The sun was out and the temperatures were perfect. Justin was out around 2 or 3 pm daily which gave us plenty of time to take Burke to the pool or time to drive to nearby towns.

After our week at Hueneme we moved southward to stay with our friends, Chris and Karen Hetz, in Santa Monica. And then we all turned right around and headed back up north to experience Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispol. the Hearst Castle and some wine tasting.

Santa Barbara is absolutely beautiful. With the help of Google Maps we pinpointed our lunch stop - Three Pickles. The food sounded amazing. We found our destination and the place was closed. Lesson learned - check the hours before driving all over. Maybe next time we go we can try Three Pickles. While in Santa Barbara we went to the Old Mission and walked the busy downtown shopping district. Then we drove to Vandenberg AFB. That place is so out of the way! But it was $39 a night compared to $180 at nearby hotels.

Sunday morning we headed to San Simeon to explore the Hearst Castle. Absolutely stunning. My favorites were the outdoor and indoor pools. We ate lunch at Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill where they served complimentary sparkling wine. The buzz hit quickly on an empty stomach. After checking out our dream home and getting tipsy we headed to Paso Robles in search of wine. We found yummy wine. That area is gorgeous and full of many wineries. You could spend a week tasting wine. Maybe we'll go back for a 21+ vacation.

On Monday it was back to Santa Monica via Solvang to check out a bit of my Danish heritage. We had our famous persons sighting - Adam Goldberg at Paula's Pancake House. Justin and I were on our own to explore the area until Friday. We hit up the beach and the pier, walked in the sun, visited the Getty Villa, drove around looking at gates shielding the view of behemoth mansions, and relaxed.

Fabulous time with great friends. Thanks Chris and Karen for the wonderful hospitality. They were nice enough to show us Settlers of Catan. Fun!

Shock and Prayers

>> Wednesday, July 28, 2010 – Army

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Earlier this evening I was feeding Burke his dinner and felt the earth move and my house shake along with a very loud boom. I thought we were having another earthquake. I turned around and saw an enormous fire ball escape into the sky followed by a tower of black smoke. I was in shock. Did I see what I thought I saw? Immediately prayers were said and I turned to the local news station. I waited to hear the news that a C-17 crashed with four crew members on board. My heart sank even more.

My heart is heavy and sad for the loss of our country's servicemembers. My prayers are with their family and friends.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Almost two days later I am still in shock. Sometimes when I close my eyes all I see is the fireball that shot up so high into the sky. The Air Force confirmed all four aboard were killed. The crew was practicing maneuvers for this weekend's air show. The crash site is under meticulous investigation. The air show will go on and this is what Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson had to say: "We do this to both honor the loss of our four Airmen and also to pay respect to all servicemembers who make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms." I agree with this statement and I hope the sun will shine upon all who attend and honor our servicemembers, both past and present, and all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Visitors

>> Tuesday, July 27, 2010 – Alaska

Lake Eklutna & Thunderbird Falls

>> Sunday, July 25, 2010 – Alaska, burke

On a rare sunny day I begged Justin to go on a drive. He's not that big on drives because it uses gas, which is understandable, especially when gas is $3.30/gallon. I also wanted to go on a drive to give Burke a nap who was refusing to sleep at home.

We drove to Lake Eklutna, not far from home. Burke got about a 20 minute nap, not as long as I had hoped for. It was packed with people who had the same idea we had. Also, Lake Eklutna had a write up in the paper about being a fabulous day trip and that brought out the crowds too.

It is a beautiful lake (not as gorgeous as Lake Coeur d'Alene in my opinion, but still picturesque). As usual our favorite subject to photograph was with us so we plopped him down and got a few sweet pictures.

mmmmm....OFF Repellent Fan

(It seems to work!)

Afterwards we drove to Thunderbird Falls and hiked the 1 mile trail to the overlook. Burke wasn't too thrilled with the Ergo carrier so we made it a speedy trip.

Thunderbird Falls

Thank goodness we got out because the rain rolled in and it's been raining ever since. When they say July is the rainy month in Alaska, they mean it. We were spoiled last July when we got here. Another thank goodness for our trip to SoCal in August. We need some summer, or at least I do.

No Teeth

Burke's still waiting for his teeth. Everyone says it's a good thing they're taking their time to appear. They should be nice and strong, healthy. With his teeth taking their sweet time, Burke is still gumming food. But he gums it well. He loves avocados, saltines, mozzarella, yogurt, rice and graham crackers. Plus carrots.

"Look Ma, no teeth!"

Denali Road Lottery

>> – Alaska

Every year, Denali National Park holds a lottery for anyone to enter. If you win, you have the opportunity to drive on the Denali Park Road (weather permitting) that is normally off-limits to personal vehicles. Thanks to my mom, Justin's mom and our entries we were lucky enough to get picked for September 17th! It's a pretty great birthday present for Justin.

Our plan is to camp at the Teklanika Campground for three nights and explore as much of the park as possible on the 17th. We will probably go with friends (who have a truck) and rent an RV from Outdoor Rec. Camping in a tent in September in Denali sounds a bit chilly to me.

We're super excited for our first trip to Denali.

3rd Times a Charm?

>> Saturday, July 24, 2010 – burke

Mr. Burke's ears are not treating him well. Since May he's been diagnosed with three ear infections and has tried out three different antibiotics. It seems every time we are on the road to a good sleep schedule his ears derail our efforts. We have a checkup on August 3rd and I hope to hear his ears are all cleared up, however last night was not one of his better nights and I fear the pain is still in his ears. Poor kid has scratches in them.

4th of July

>> – Camping, Travel

Back out into the wild...

We survived. Burke lived. Our first camping trip was successful.

Justin, Burke and I set out from a dark and dismal Anchorage and headed north west to Lake Louise. Nope, not the well known Lake Louise in Banff, Canada, but Lake Louise right here in Alaska. As Justin drove through the summer snow (EVIL Cottonwood) we found the sun. Oh, glorious sun. The drive was beautiful. So much to look at...glaciers and mountains everywhere.

We found the sun!

Burke took a 2 hour nap making the drive easy

Mountains and glaciers

The road to Lake Louise - looks like an earthquake hit but it's just frost heaves

We joined Tim (Justin's coworker) and Michelle Clapp, some of their friends and Michelle's family. Tim and Michelle took great care of us. They set up a tent for us, had a huge tarp to cover us, as well as sleeping bags and an air mattress. They fed us well (steaks, pork chops, s'mores, fish and chips, alligator, pancakes, cheese sticks, hamburgers, and more s'mores) and entertained us with beer, boat rides, and beaches.

Burke in his play tent

Our set up

Burke will teethe on anything (Blue Moon anyone?)

Thursday night's sunset

Thursday night and Friday were gorgeous. We hung out on a sandy beach. I was in heaven. Then the rain set in. It wasn't miserable, but it was a little draining. The three of us packed up and headed home on Sunday the 4th in order to get out of the rain and let Burke crawl around at home. Somewhere where he could stretch his legs just a bit more.

Safety First

A very late night boat ride (yes, we're bad parents, the vest came off to make an unhappy Burke happy)

Burke's taking his job seriously

He finally fell asleep

The Beach

Who wouldn't want a float plane to take you where you wanted to go?

Soaking up the sun

Enjoying a refreshing beer by a very refreshing lake

A sandy beach in Alaska!

Justin captured another beautiful sunset

Into the Alaska Wild

>> Saturday, July 17, 2010 – Alaska, Camping

Okay, so we didn't go completely off the grid. We were invited by one of Justin's co-workers (his civilian boss) to go to their cabin with them. It's about 100 miles north of Anchorage, near Talkeetna. From the trail head it's a 12 mile trek on ATV, ARGO or mountain bike; in the winter a snow machine. Burke and I rode with Chris and Ali on the ARGO. Burke was in the Ergo and every time we got moving he fell asleep. Lots of rocking and noise to help him pass out. Justin got to drive an ATV. The ride in was beautiful and very bumpy. Everything was so lush. Trees and wild flowers everywhere.

Justin's ride

The ARGO, Lynn Ann and Ali, Chris and lots of fresh mud

Definitely not a dry year in Alaska

Chris, Lynn Ann, and Alison along with family and friends have been hard at work for the last few years building their cabinstead. They have a main cabin, an outhouse, an outdoor shower, a shed (FKA as the main cabin) and the beginnings of a generator house. And lots and lots of mosquitoes and black flies.

The weather wasn't perfect but it was still enjoyable. While all the guys were outside building stuff, Burke and I took some wonderful naps. Our friends were so thoughtful and gave us their room upstairs where Burke could safely crawl around. They fed us well. They also watched Burke while Justin and I took a ride down to the Talkeetna River. We hope to go back again and maybe next time the sun will come out.