It's about to get a lot more interesting...

Well, our time in Fairbanks (and Alaska) has come to an end. We're heading out of Fairbanks tomorrow a.m. and get on the ferry Wednesday.

This week has been full of preparations, spending time w/ friends and family, and figuring out ways to make things more difficult for ourselves. (Well we don't do the last one on purpose - it just seems to work out that way).

We sold the Mazda this weekend. It was bittersweet to see it go but we didn't see the point in having two vehicles if we are both planning to use mass transit/bicycle most of the time. A woman bought the car for her 16-year old daughter - who by the way is trying to get a job at Blockbuster. Ahhh... memories of my sweet sixteen came flooding back - memories of my first mazda and my first job working at a video store. Maybe it's a right of passage. It felt good to sell the car though - we're going to use part of the proceeds to buy commuter bikes and we're looking forward to getting out from behind the wheel (and high gas prices).

We had a family bbq this weekend. The whole crew was in attendance at my parent's house plus some old friends. My sister-in-law and brother are expecting their second child - due in December! One thing that is obvious at family functions - our family is expanding! It was great to see everyone and we'll miss everybody but we plan to be back to visit sometime next summer.

We went out on the boat on the Chena River with Justin and Katie and went to their cabin - they have 7 acres of land and have built a little cabin on it. Pretty nice digs!

Tender tickles of promise
a youthful spirit and wrinkles of experience
promises of tales to be told and memories to be held close

miles to the west, many miles to the south
Miles are no matter in matters of the heart
lingering, lingering, and lingering...

Spending alot of time on the river...

I have spent 4 of the last 6 days on the river in one capacity or another. Just doing my part in keeping with the nautical element(s) of our families. Both my father and Scott's father served in the Navy and both Scott and his stepbrother Mike are officers in the Coast Guard. Though I don't think dangling my feet from an intertube can really compare - I was just happy to get some H20 time. Tuesday I went on the Riverboat Discovery with Brandy and Angie (who is visiting Fairbanks for a week - we all went to high school together).

It was slightly amusing to listen to the Captain brief passengers on emergecy procedures, etc. when you could swim 20 feet to the beach if you fell in (or just stand up in alot of places). It's more of a tourist activity but we had fun perusing up and down the Chena River taking in the sights.

Wednesday I drove down to Gulkana with my brother and met up with family for the annual Gulkana River fishing trip. What an adventure packed few days that was! We woke up at 5 am and spent about 14 hours on the river rafting and stopping along the way to fish. I caught one king salmon and am looking forward to eating it tonight. We were probably quite a sight to fellow anglers. A mismatch of men, women, and children careening down the river running into rocks, drinking Miller Lite, and 3 teenagers singing pop songs. It's definitely not a trip for the weak and weary but it was a blast.

Yesterday I went rafting with Brandy and her husband Will and Angie. There was only enough room for 3 in the raft so I ended up floating in an intertube tied to the raft - which was fun. Though my butt and feet were numb by the end of the trip from dangling in the water and I got a bit nervous when I saw lightening but it all worked out in the end.

Scott will be here in 2 more days and we leave Fairbanks in a week. Our time in AK is nearing its end.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Forgotten Paradise

View along the drive to Fairbanks

http://www.uaf.edu/journal/extreme/xdream/Out/gettingout/index.html (Link to an article I wrote about AK in college)

I had forgotten the mystic feeling of Fairbanks in the summer. We are nearing solstice so the days linger and the sun shines well into the night. Some of my fondest memories of home are days that ran into nights under the midnight sun. Everyone has way more energy and people are mowing their lawns and waking their dogs well past midnight. Rather than have an actual sunset, the sky just kind of turns into dusk and is sprinkled with pink, orange, and fiery highlights.

Whatever Alaska does, it does it to the extreme. We can't just have some sunshine or a bit of snow. The sun blasts nearly 24 hours and pumpkins grow to be bigger than people or we'll have 2 feet of snow dumped on us in early May. I wonder what the vision of "extreme" is in some of the other cities that Scott and I will live in. I am sure that each place will have its own rendition and it will be fun to find out what they are. Maybe it'll be "extreme fog" in San Francisco - or "extreme rain" in Seattle. At this point I am much more akin to "extreme sun" in Hawaii but I guess it'll all come in due time.

Scott is working his butt off in Anchorage - 10 more days until he checks out of his unit and can join me here in the Banks - yeaa!! I am heading to Gulkana next week to slay some king salmon. Hopefully we'll catch some fish but the secret is we would love it even if we didn't. There is nothing like spending time with family, fishing and rafting under the midnight sun. : )

In the Swing of Things!

Well we survived our first week being homeless in AK : ) Though at one point it seemed like even that would be a challenge. We got some work done on the mazda and drove it around for awhile only to realize two days later that the mechanics hadn't tightened the lugnuts on one of the tires. The next day I (Meghan) was walking on base and two soldier were walking in front of me and one of them dropped their M-16 on the sidewalk with the barrel facing me as it landed... not a good thing!

But we're having a blast and making the best of it all. Scott participated in a military wedding ceremony on Sunday. He got all spiffed up in his full dress blues and donned a sword for the occasion. And I must say that he is pretty dashing in uniform!

I went for a walk along the coastal trail today and it was beautiful outside but it was also bittersweet. Scott and I both did a lot of growing and changing the 4 years that we lived in Anchorage. I think we both feel like we are leaving Anchorage stronger, more confident and changed compared to when we arrived. Not to mention we found each other - yeaaa! There are many thoughts and memories to ponder on my drive to Fairbanks. Overall we're both excited and happy and can't wait for everything that is in store. Here are a few pics of the past week and my handsome husband.

... 3 weeks and counting!

Out of our apartment!!!

We live a glamorous life let me tell you! We woke up on the blowup bed on the floor of our apartment after a night out on the town with some friends. We got a chance to see a few good friends and there was some Guiness drinking involved. :p

We packed the Jeep up and handed over our keys to the landlord today - woo hoo! We're settled into the North Star Inn on base and are pretty happy with the room we have - will serve as a good home base for a bit. Now that the dirty work is done we're heading to Arctic Valley tomorrow to go hiking - rain or shine!