From Alaska to Alabama: Week One

(blogging today from Huntsville, Alabama)

Today marks one week that I left Alaska for a long-awaited and much needed excursion down South.  It has been a whirlwind of a trip so far, catching up with family and close friends, eating a ridiculous amount of Southern food, and marveling at the warm winter temperatures.

Traveling from Alaska to Alabama isn’t always easy.  This trip included the “milk run” out of Juneau, which took me through rural Southeast Alaska with stops in Petersburg, Wrangell, and Ketchikan.  I then traveled to Seattle, took the red-eye to Atlanta, and a short hop over to Birmingham, Alabama.

Regardless of the jet-lag, it is so much fun being back in The South.  Here’s a photo synopsis of my trans-continental travels and my first week in Bama:

All aboard the Boeing 737-400 Combi aircraft in Juneau!  This is a combination cargo and passenger aircraft with all passengers way in the back.

It never fails.  The moment I depart rainy Juneau, the sun starts shining!

De-icing the plane in Petersburg, Alaska.

Petersburg Airport.  Not to be confused with St. Petersburg Airport.

Wrangell Airport

Ketchikan International Airport

An Eskimo and the moon.

Deplaning at the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport

First class fruit plate. 

Watching "The Dark Knight Rises" and drinking champagne during my red-eye flight to Atlanta.

First stop in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport : CHICK-FIL-A!

Catching up with my good friend, Eduardo, who wore a Nome Ice Golf Classic t-shirt in honor of my visit. 

Noshed on a Krispy Kreme Doughnut Milkshake at the Flip Burger Boutique in Birmingham, Alabama.

A little bit of Alaska at the Anthropologie store at The Summit in Birmingham, Alabama.

I wasn't expecting it to be this warm IN THE WINTER.

The weather was so balmy and hot for me, we had to drive with the windows down.

Sassy shoes!  Glitzy stilettos = a fixture of Southern couture.

I'm not sure if this is practical in Alaska, but it sure is cute in Alabama!

You know you're close to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center when you see Astronaut Ice Cream for sale.  (I think I prefer Eskimo Ice Cream now.)

Catching up with my very good friend, confidant, and mentor, Audrey, who also happens to be a big reason I moved to Alaska.  This woman has changed my life!

Finally able to wear my sunglasses - something I don't do very often in the temperate rainforest of Juneau!

Scoping out Alaska fish condition and prices in Birmingham at the Whole Foods market.

Milo's, it's been too long!  <gulp, gulp>

Shameless promotion of my site at Whole Foods.

Yes, this happened.  Why I'm not working for them, I do not know.

Celebrated my best friend Carmen's 30th birthday with a Murder Mystery Party.  Unbeknownst to me, my character was cast as the killer!

Took part in an OUTSTANDING Christmas service at a new place called Church of the Valley.  I partook in communion and was pleasantly surprised with their use of disposable communion sets.  What a neat idea.

Two Southernisms: "Bojangles" and a fast food discount for going to church.

Stopped in to see "Mr. Jerry," a great family friend.  Jerry Swanson is the founder of Alabama Orthotics and Prosthetics which provided artificial legs to my Dad throughout the course of much of his life.  It's always a pleasure visiting with Mr. Jerry and his wife, Bonnie.

Had a lovely visit with friends, Deb and Tim.  These folks ooze Southern hospitality, and I enjoy soaking up time with them.

There isn't a Target store anywhere in Southeast Alaska.  Needless to say, I was beyond surprised to discover Target is collaborating with Neiman Marcus now!

December 2012 First Friday Gallery Walk

By Lower 48 standards, Juneau is a small town.  With just over 32,000 people, it’s easy for folks to stereotype this town as a boring little place with not much to do.  I don’t believe this is an accurate description, and it certainly wasn’t the case for the first Friday of this month!

A long-established monthly event in Juneau is the First Friday Gallery Walk, during which galleries and shops all over Juneau open new shows and host fun receptions throughout the evening. 

Since I hadn’t been to a First Friday event in a while, I was overly ambitious in mapping out the must-see spots.  What I didn’t plan for were the crowds.  Oh my heavens, the crowds!  So many throngs of people up and down the streets, it felt like a small cruise ship was in town.  Except these folks weren’t brandishing honkin’ lenses (for the most part) and oohing and awing about eagles overhead.  These were locals, the real deal.  And what was even more exciting was running into friends everywhere you turned.  This is the charm of life in Southeast Alaska.  This is what I love about “small-town” Juneau. 

Here are some of my favorite moments from this month’s First Friday:

Notable fiber artist and friend, Fabienne Peter-Contesse, featured her art quilts and other creations at Changing Tides on South Franklin Street in the Senate Building.  Keep in mind, this is not your great-grandmomma’s quilting projects. 

Impeccably designed and superbly orchestrated, these works of art are exactly that: legitimate pieces of ART.  I was also impressed to find unique items I can use on a daily basis: iPad cases!

To view more from this wickedly talented artist, check out Fabienne’s blog, The Conceptual Quilt.

Fabienne Peter-Contesse with her stunning water and ice-themed creations in the background.

The artist and one of her hand-stitched iPad cases.

From left: myself, Fabienne, Michelle, and Debbie during Fabienne's art gallery debut.

I simply had to own one of these hand-dyed, hand-stitched cases for my new iPad.

Another fun stop during First Friday – and frankly any day of the week for that matter – is Shoefly, the charming little shoe boutique on Seward Street for folks that love shoes beyond reason.  Shoefly even had complimentary shoe-shaped cookies by Chef Stef, and they hosted the Juneau Rollergirls as they sold their 2013 calendars and modeled Shoefly shoes. Love this place!

Top Row – The Shoefly Ladies: Jamie, Dawn Walsh (co-owner), and Cameron.  Not pictured: Sydney Mitchell (co-owner).

Bottom Row – Michelle and myself.

Window shopping takes a whole new meaning at Art Sutch Photography on Seward Street where you can usually find a massive pooch perched in the storefront window.  I suspect Luna is the most photographed dog in Juneau.  But aside from the Tibetan Mastiff, the real draw Friday night was freelance photographer Chris Miller's impressive gallery display.  I especially enjoyed his Alaska maritime photos –a la "Deadliest Catch" and very striking.

I didn’t snap shots of Chris’ photos since it just wouldn’t do it justice, but you can check out his outstanding Alaska-themed work here: http://www.csmphotos.com/ and http://csmphotos.wordpress.com/.

Luna and the Bota Box o' wine.

She's alive and friendly.

And of course, December isn’t complete without an encounter with jolly old St. Nick!

Michelle with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and The Hat.

Naughty or nice?  He had to check his list twice.

Icebergs and Snow Angels

This past weekend, Juneau was under a winter storm warning, and much of the area was blanketed by beautiful powdery snow.  My friend, Becky, and I decided to explore the Mendenhall Glacier area and put our cameras to good use.  Becky is an outstanding photographer, and I enjoy lollygagging around town with her, even if she is a Nikon fan.  ;-) 

The Mendenhall Glacier area is so enticing this time of year because the Mendenhall Lake (the body of water at the terminus of the glacier) is frozen in the winter, and it becomes an expansive playground for skiers, ice skaters, ice climbers, hikers, and other adventurers.  My favorite part is hiking out to the giant icebergs frozen into the lake.  There’s something remarkably serene yet perilous about those towering ice formations.  From the safety of the lake’s shoreline, the icebergs look the size of knots on a log.  But after trekking what seems like miles across the ice, one realizes these icebergs are massive, some the size of buses, some the size of homes. 

And this, my friends, is the moment in which I make the very clear statement: the glacier is never safe!  Glaciers are unpredictable!  Proceed with caution!   UNSAFE, I tell ya!

Becky and I naturally heeded that wisdom and after establishing a game plan of safety measures to attempt if one of us fell through the ice, we were on our way.  But it didn’t last long.  About five minutes into our hike across the ice, our steps became slushy and our boots began breaking through the surface.  Now I don’t know about you, but when I start feeling the ice crack below me when I’m walking ON A FROZEN LAKE, I start shakin’ like a hound dog poopin’ peach pits. 

We made it to land, which I might add was covered in more than a foot of snow, and both of us were without snowshoes.  It was one heckuva workout.  We started on the trail to Nugget Falls, thinking that route was a safer bet, and we were psyched to try our cameras out on the icy waterfalls.  After hiking a bit further, an enormous blue iceberg came into view, not far from an adjacent shore.  Change of plans again, and we opted for the path less traveled.  After many tentative and careful steps, we found ourselves face-to-face with a landscape of fused together icebergs. 

Each iceberg is unique, and upon closer examination, each one appears more and more breathtaking.  The shades of blue are indescribable.  “50 Shades of Grey”?  Pfftt.  These fifty shades of blue are more alluring.  The cobalt, azure, cerulean, and even Tiffany blue tones are charming, downright captivating.  I can’t get enough.  And neither can the daring souls who climb aboard those icebergs throughout the winter, positioning themselves in the nooks and crannies carved by nature, hundreds of years in the making. 

Becky and I had a blast treading carefully around these humbling formations.  On our way back, it was a chorus of laughter.  Snow angels were made, our bodies were frozen, but surprisingly not a single snowball was thrown.  It took us awhile to unthaw, but our breathless wide-eyed moments out on the ice made it all completely worth it.

Read more about the allure and danger of the Mendenhall Glacier here: http://juneauempire.com/stories/010311/loc_764726578.shtml

Full as a Tick

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!  Juneau weather was in full force today, with a few inches of snow accumulation and 50 mph wind gusts here on Douglas Island.  It was nice to hunker down inside and feast on traditional Alaska and Southern Thanksgiving treats. You know the eatin’s gonna be good when there’s countless casserole dishes on the table. I don't know about y'all, but I'm full as a tick!

This season, I find myself gushing with thankfulness for all the blessings poured on me this past year.  What a life-changing year this has been.  Ups and downs, challenges and chances, distractions and motivations.  It's easy to lose our enthusiasm and gratefulness when life becomes ridiculously easy.  It's been a tough year, and I'm thankful for all the chaos because one can't have the rainbow without the rain.

I want to thank you (yes, YOU) for being here during my journey and also for your being.  May the small blessings in your life accumulate and make for a marvelous year.

Southern Sweet Potato Casserole and Classic Green Bean Casserole - Two Southern Staples!

Turkey and ham and all the fixins'.  I'm fixin' to get me a plate!

Inside: comfort food.  Outside: sideways snow.

Nothing says The South like good ol’ apple pie.  (Except maybe Chick-Fil-A and Krispy Kreme)

Try not to get distracted by Sonny Bunny’s belly roll.

Tryptophan overdose.