My "For Now" Home...

My chair. Scott and Brooke's living room. I watch the mountains and the cruise ships sail into the Gastineau Channel. NPR IS ALWAYS ON!


Vince and I head downtown after a brother sister slumber partay!
Me in front of the apartment....LOVE IT!

Dinner with Good Friends

Julie Jackson, Erin Hason, Me, and Andrew Heist.

Erin and Andrew, the anchors of my Alaska family, invited me over to their amazing home to eat freshly killed salmon, cauliflower puree, and a gorgeous salad with greens from their garden.
They also introduced me to Julie, Andrew's dispatch partner who is an awesome gal.

We drank good wine, laughed, and enjoyed the yummy spread.
Green and Blacks current and Hazelnut chocolate topped it all off. Great first week in Juneau...love these two. I would be utterly lost without them.

Training

Today I had the pleasure of venue training with my bus cohort from the original Princess Bellingham training team: Keegan Hartman. We drove the entire stretch of road in Juneau all the way to the Aldersheim Lodge boat dock. The Chilkat Mountains hovered brightly beneath the clouds. Fishing boats floated in the distance and a light salty breeze drifted through the open windows of a 1971 GM motorcoach as we zoomed down the bumpy road.

Such a series of great moments, we pulled over into a turnoff and hung out in the sunshine which had been so absent downtown only an hour previous. I love that it can be grey and rainy in one part of town, then 45 minutes later and 20 miles north you can be bathed in the warm clear SE Alaskan sunshine at Lena point.
I hadn't been this far down the road since Caleb's garden party in 2007, and I considered this a great little reaquaintence with the part of town I rarely get to spend time in.


my Jimmy. the steering is a bit tough, but it purrs and zooms like nothing else.

HAPPY ME. in my HAPA (Holland American Princess Alaska) uniform...well kind of. I tend to mix it up a bit.

8 days in the Interior of Alaska. In Pictures.

DAY 1. MONDAY
The Silver Fox (Eric Graves) hosted a little dinner for me that was the best salmon, moose, Malbec...and lots of fun and laughs! It was the best welcome present! It really meant so much to me. He opened up his beautiful big home in Ester, AK (just 10 miles outside Fairbanks) to me and my friend Caleb. It was a great night that I will always remember...even if i did have a few too many beers! Pictured above is Kliff "Kliffy" Hopson.

Ester, AK. Casa Mojito. The quaking Aspen trees. They are gorgeous when the wind and sun hit them just right.
DAY 2. TUESDAY
I wanted to get out of Fairbanks and get to the water. I went to Chena River and stuck my toes in and just enjoyed the beauty of my surroundings. This little adventure outside town was one of my favorite highlights of the trip :)

DAY 3. WEDNESDAY.
After a gorgeous drive down south through the parks highway to Denali National Park, I had the chance to stay in a great cabin at mile marker 230. Friends from the neighborhood came over and we played music, laughed, drank a bit.

Me, Weebee, Jeff, and Alissa at the cabin havin' fun!


DAY 4. THURSDAY.
Salty Gravy, quite possibly the best band ever, played a show at local pizza restaurant and bar, Panorama Pizza in nearby Carlo, AK. The pizza was sooooo gooooood, and the music was amazing. I love everyone in this band. From left to right: Silas Lowe, Weebee "Becky" Ashenbrenner, Lynn Macaloon, and Andy King. This night was crazy fun, and the Denali locals were gettin' rowdy!

DAYS 5&6. CANTWELL MUSIC FESTIVAL. CANTWELL, AK.
This music festival was sadly put to an end about 10 years ago, and this was the first year it was resurrected. I saw the most amazing musicians, dear friends from all reaches of the road in in the interior (Fairbanks, Anchorage, Cantwell, Ester, Denali, Girdwood, even San Francisco) and it was a dirty, fun filled, weekend to place words on it. Jeff Kanzler and his band put on a great show, Well Strung Bluegrass, Salty Gravy, and Cold Country not to mention countless other acts all played the stage. This was a weekend I will never forget...and probably never fully remember either. Above is Andy King, Silas Lowe, and Nate MacDonald jamming at the camping site.

Trouble makers. Todd Grebe, Nate May, Me, and Chase Christie.

Well Strung Bluegrass, formally known as Contra-band.
Stefan, Todd, Angela Oudean, and the one and only Gary Markely.


late Saturday night jam. Nate May, Andy King, and Nate Williamson.

the gorgeous Kate Hamre and myself happy in beautiful Cantwell, AK.

DAY 7. SUNDAY.
What a way to recover from excess is to pile more on! Jeff Kanzler takes me to 229 Parks in Denali. This restaurant is like nothing I have ever seen or experienced. There is a small neighborhood charm and almost a magic in the air. Laura Cole and her husband Land built and established this decadent eatery and tavern where you can get something small and casual like tamales or quiche...Kaladi Brother's coffee, or good Alaskan IPA...then you can get a 5 spice duck breast over a deliciously fresh green salad. Not pictured: raw Oysters that sparkled with freshness, and a walnut salad that is still haunting me. The meal ended with a creme brule that was hands down the best I've ever had, then finished up with a key lime tart that did something to my tongue I can't even explain. After eating so much great food in Seattle, New York, and San Francisco: this meal tops them. Go to 229. it's the best food in the state....or ever. seriously. After dinner we went back to Fairbanks and to Ester where Eric opened Casa Mojito for us, again! whew what a weekend!



DAY 8. MONDAY.
The trip ended perfectly with a playdate with the Bearfoot kids and friends. We went to the local Fairbanks watering hole Marlin, then back to their host's home for an amazing dinner of halibut, stirfry, and salad. Pictured above: Chase Christie, Kate Hamre, Me, and Angela Oudean.
Love these guys, it was a time! Best week I could have spent! I will miss them dearly, but until the next festival...those are never too far away!

The Beginning

I am a 24 year old lady: Born in Portland, Reared in Bothell, Washington; Calgary, Alberta; Woodinville Washington...schooled in Bellingham, Washington....and most recently lived in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.

I can't explain what exactly motivated my decision to uproot my life as I had known it for the past year and move myself and my belongings back to Juneau, Alaska. It's something that is so difficult to put a finger on. I felt that a myriad of variables came together and it was the perfect time.

Well, I sit here now, in a gorgeous apartment in Douglas, Alaska across from the downtown boruough of the city. My friends graciously let me set up shop here for the next month until I find a new apartment. I recently took a week vacation to the interior of Alaska to see some friends and attend a music festival in Cantwell, AK. Needless to say it was epic.

Next week I begin my job as a driver-guide for Princess-Holland America here in town. I will drive buses and woo passengers. It's a draining job, but can be fun at times too. I'm excited to work with my hands and my body and talk to people away from the confines of a desk and a computer. After the season I hope to travel, my best friend is getting married and a bluegrass festival is calling my name in San Francisco.

This blog, I wanted to set up so my friends and family far away can see what I'm up to and look at my photos without having to set up "crack" book accounts as a friend calls them.

We'll see how this pans out :)