Alaska :: Days 1 - 4

Big Mama, Bean & Carmen Electra
Tree-trimming, thrifting scores, Ombre monkey & evening sunset from our kitchen

Our days have been full with prepping our home and our suitcases for our big trip to Alaska.  Steve will  be staying home and holding down the fort, as I take G on an adventure to Alaska to hook up with my girlfriend and her two kids (my godchildren).  

We did a big road trip to the Pacific Northwest with this clan two summers ago and it was a big shift in my mothering confidence.  I am looking forward to what this trip even farther north will bring me, us.

It's funny how your everyday life can be full of so many little things that seem inconsequential, like paying bills, cleaning out the refrigerator, organizing your desk and grocery shopping, but they all add up to this wonderfully full feeling for me.  I love making lists, having a plan, but also taking time to read a book, slowing down for lunch and enjoying the sounds of nature surrounding my home.

This week was a tough one.  I had a major blowout with our neighbors regarding our hens.  The girls have been digging up their garden (not okay!), but our neighbors have neglected to put up a proper back garden gate - so we got into it about personal responsibility, boundaries and then a lot of other things flew out of my mouth and all reasonable conversation ceased.  I hung up on him.  I felt angry and overwhelmed.  I put my hens on the Cropmobster site and shared on Facebook and found them a new home in less than 19 minutes, with more than a dozen backup offers.  I felt relieved.  I felt sad.  I felt relieved, again.

Grady's To-do List
The big haircut happened!
The Union Hotel art commission

We need a better run for the hens and we just couldn't accomplish implementing that change this week. I found a lovely home for them and it was a bit sad to say goodbye, but it felt like the best I could do this week, in light of everything else that was going on.

Grady really rose to the occasion this week and completed an art commission, created and mailed August birthday cards and other pending correspondence.  He did his chores, packed his bags for our trip and spent some quality time with his dad kite flying and going out for pizza.

Modern Day Embroidery Workshop sample

Before the Alaska trip was even a thought, I had signed up for a modern day embroidery workshop with the amazing and oh so talented artist, Lisa Solomon, at the Makeshift Society in San Francisco.  Turns out, the workshop was happening the night before I was to wake up at 3:45 am and fly out of San Francisco.  I did not want to miss the class, so I drove down and back with a friend and I'm so glad I did.

Lisa Solomon was a patient, encouraging, there-are-no-rules kind of teacher.  She has an upcoming show in November that I can't wait to attend.  The workshop space was cozy and I walked away with several favorite techniques up my sleeve (hello, french knot & chain stitch!).

Anchorage-bound!

Anchorage, Alaska Day :: 1
We woke early and made the trek to SFO.  Since I used airline miles for this trip, we had to take three planes to Anchorage.  Yes, three.  However, we flew first class for two of those legs and it was awesome.  I may never fly coach again. ;-)

Jewel Lake shenanigans + Welcome to Alaska! cheese board

We landed in the early afternoon and took a taxi to the cute little A-frame home that my friend, Stephanie, was renting.  We grabbed a quick nap and surprised her daughters when they got home.  They didn't know we were coming!

Isabella (11 years old) created a cheese plate for us using her homemade blueberry compote and garnished it with fresh cloves of garlic.  Odd combo, but she assured me that if I ate the raw cloves they would help to keep the mosquitoes away.  I passed on that option, but loved her creativity.

Sophia (9 years old) was our sommelier for the evening.  Don't go calling Child Protective Services on us just yet, as these girls are restaurant girls.  Their parents own River's End in Jenner, a fine dining establishment.  These girls know wine, food, own their own chef knives and work the front (Sophia) and back (Isabella) of the house on most Sundays.

The kids reconnected and ran to Jewel Lake to look for leeches, sang camp songs and joined in a pick-up game of volleyball with the other kids at the park.

Big Lake, Alaska Day :: 2

We woke up early and headed downtown to grab a hearty breakfast breakfast and tour the farmers' market.  Then I dropped Steph and the girls off at Mirror Lake for her company picnic.

The views.  Unreal.
Roadside signage has me laughing & stopping often to snap photos

With the recommendation and help of a friend and former customer of mine (from when I owned the wine bar in Bodega Bay), I took Grady on a small detour to the town of Big Lake.

We arrived at Happy Trails Kennels and the home of Iditarod champion Martin Buser & his family.  His son, Rohn, gave us a brief history of the Iditarod, showed us all of his father's medals, trophies & race memorabilia.  We watched a movie about the race course and then sat in an outside amphitheater on their property and learned more about the dogs.

On our way out, Grady was able to hold one of the little four week old Siberian huskies.  My son has been a dog-loving boy since he was old enough to talk.  He's read books about Balto, watched movies, been a dog for Halloween more often than naught and has been in mourning for his dog Molly for over two years.  Today was a good day.

Client + Beautician
BOOM! hair - trademarked by Sophia Rangel

We dined in tonight, the kids showered and Sophia had her way playing beauty parlor with Grady's hair.  At first he protested, but then gave in and let her work her magic.  Her goal was to give him a little boom!  I think she succeeded.

Anchorage, Alaska :: Day 3

We started the day at the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage and received quite an education from the local high school interns/docents.

We toured the grounds and ran across a musher and his dogs.  The kids took a spin around the forest and loved the experience.

The art, historical housing and native dancing, as well as the demonstrations of the sports played during the Alaskan winters, were fascinating and quite an education.

After a late lunch, we said goodbye to Stephanie and jumped on Alaska Highway One South towards Homer.  It was about a five hour drive and the kids entertained themselves (and me) for most of the trip.  The fireweed and small towns dotting the highway guided me toward our final destination - Homer.

The kids were getting antsy and we stopped to take a few roadside photos.  After checking into our motel room, we hit the town and found a bite to eat, drove down to the end of the Spit and spotted our first Bald Eagle.

Homer, Alaska :: Day 4
The plan was to drop the kids off at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, where they would take a boat ride over to Peterson Field Station for the week, sleep in a yurt and conduct field studies, dissect a porpoise or salmon, build a marine mammal skeletal system from a real skeleton and other scientific experiments.

We were greeted by very enthusiastic, young marine scientists and learned that there would be seven campers in this camp, three boys & four girls - all between the ages of 10 - 12 years old.

There were no long goodbyes.  We grabbed their gear, threw it in black garbage bags to protect it from the rain and I gave them all a big hug and a kiss.  The kids quickly followed the lead counselor across the highway, towards the Kachemak Bay and from my line of vision.  I just stood there for a minute debating whether or not to follow them and take one last photo or get in the car.  I decided I needed to let them be and slowly walked myself to the car.

I drove to the local post office to mail a few postcards and ended up sitting in the parking lot and placing a call to Steve.  I needed to hear his voice and tell him about the send off.  It felt good to share what was happening and comforting to know there is another person out there in the world that loves my son just as much as I do.

The roadside signage & views were funny & heart-achingly beautiful

As my car snaked through the mountain ranges and followed the lakes and rivers, I ticked off the miles and approached the city of Anchorage.  It was only then that my eyes started to well up with tears and I blame Ira Glass.  Always, Ira Glass.  I was listening to a podcast from This American Life, Episode #109, Notes on Camp.  It was sweet, poignant and timely and I encourage you to listen to it, too.  

I picked Steph up from work and we immediately headed out for margaritas to ease our separation anxiety.  I shared stories of our drive, how the kids made me laugh and their funny sayings and expressions.  This lady understood the bittersweet sadness of sending our little ones off to a week long overnight camp that was a long car ride (and don't forget about the boat ride!) away.

It seems this is the first step towards letting them go.  It felt a little sad, but I think we were also really excited that they had this kind of incredible opportunity.  Our kids would soak it up and be just fine without us, right?  Right.  And they would be back with their own stories to tell.

Until then, I see more margaritas in our future.