...So you can decide for me! The choices are:
-"Back to Real Life"
-"The Longest Post of All Time"
A lot has happened recently. Well, not a lot, but...well...yeah, it's been a lot. But it's been good! I'll start with last weekend.
I got off work around 2 pm on Friday to leave on a "vacation" with three of my girlfriends here. I came back to the house to grab my stuff and wait for my roommate to pack so we could drive to the ferry terminal to leave. The ferry was scheduled to leave at 3 pm. Did I mention that my roommate had not packed? Did I mention that she did not get to our house until about 2:20? Did I mention that we were supposed to leave at 3? Did I mention that it takes about 15 minutes to get to the ferry terminal? Did I mention that she had not packed yet? Did I mention that she didn't get home until 2:20? Did I mention that the ferry was supposed to leave at 3? Did I mention that this was a bit stressful for me?
Good news! We made it to the terminal with time to spare! Not much, but some. We went on board to stake our spot for the next sixish hours. Then we explored the ship. It was pretty fun! We went and watched "Kung Foo Panda" in the movie theatre on board, ate dinner, played Nertz, Hand and Foot, and Reversal. It got darker and darker as the night wore on, which made us really tired (besides the fact that it was Friday and we all had long weeks.) We pulled into Skagway at about 10:30pm, drove off the ferry into a town we didn't have a map for, that does not have street lights, and set out to find our hostel. Let the adventures begin...
The great thing about Skagway is that it is a small town. By small, I mean there are about 700 people who live there, it's about four blocks wide and about 22 blocks long. And, it is a grid layout, so no turns anywhere. We found our hostel fairly quickly. We go in, check in, and are told to go to room 2. (Side note - up to this point, I have no idea what it means to stay in a hostel.) I go up to room 2, open the door, and see a guy sleeping in one of the beds. I jump out of the room, shut the door, and say, "They made a mistake - there's a guy already sleeping in there!" The other ladies laughed at me and explained that is the way a hostel works. So I quietly open the door again and sneak into the room. We begin to unpack when the owner comes in and says that his wife made a mistake ("See! I told you this wasn't right...") and that we needed to move to a different room. So we move to the bunk house in the backyard. It's not much better...there are two people already sleeping in there, with two other people's stuff already in some of the beds. One of the guys came in, introduced himself as an Israeli who was making his way through Alaska. I'm thinking, I am not going to sleep with all these strangers in the room....
I was right. Didn't sleep well at all. I was up when Mr.-Sleeping-Next-To-Me came in at about 1am and again when Mr.-Sleeping-Next-To-Me woke up and left at about 5am. Every time Mr. Israel moved, I woke up. Finally, at about 7am I gave up trying to sleep, got dressed, and went to explore Skagway while talking to mom. What a fun town! It's an old western mining town, with old buildings with so much history, boardwalks, and semi-paved roads. Even the churches were tiny! When I went back to the hostel, the girls were just getting up. We packed our stuff, did our chores, and then went to explore Skagway. We got to the Presbyterian church (if you want the full story, call me - there is too much to write) and looked around at some of the other fun shops. We then decided to get a move-on to go to Whitehorse!
What a beautiful drive! The terrain and climate was so incredibly different than that of Juneau. It was so dry, there was dry dirt (not mud!) and some amazingly gorgeous trees! There were mountains everywhere, and lakes, and glaciers. Truly beautiful.
We got to the border and passed through with no problems. The border patrol laughed because we told them we were going for a "relaxing, quiet trip to Whitehorse". Apparently, Whitehorse is not known for being quiet...
Along the way, we all got to talking about our "expectations" for this trip. We learned that we're all broken ladies, with a lot going on, and were just looking for some peace and the sense and understanding that Jesus loves us - just as we are - and that we don't have to fight and work for that love. We can be kids - not adults that have everything figured out. Just a time to rest, to heal, to love, and to live. It was a struggle throughout the whole trip, and something I think we are all still living through. But we are going there, and we'll make it. This song became the "theme song" for the trip:
We arrived in Whitehorse, so excited to be in Canada! Anna, who went to college in Canada, was especially excited. We went and got our money exchanged, and then set off to find a map, and plan out our next two days. Our main focus was to find the Dairy Queen. So, you have to understand that in Juneau, there are really no fun options for food. So, when anyone who lives in Juneau goes out of Juneau, you look forward to two things: real shopping and real food. So, Dairy Queen is "real food". We got to the visitors center and asked where the Dairy Queen was and got devastating news: IT CLOSED!!!! Apparently, the owner got cancer and had to close it. I know - so not a good reason to close DQ, but such was life. So we went to Quizno's instead. Not as good, but still, different, real food! We putzed around Whitehorse, went hiking next to an amazing river, and then went to Pizza Hut for dinner (again, real food. I know, my standards have dropped...)
We stayed at the Hot Springs that night. We got to our campsite and began setting up our tents. We had two two-person tents to set up. As Anna and Kendra were setting up one of the tents, Anna says, "I think we can all fit in this one!" So, we put our sleeping bags in the one tent, and the sleeping bags fit, but I wasn't sure it was going to be the best night sleep...The other thing we didn't take into consideration was that we could fit four people in the tent if you put them in the short way rather than the long way. So, all night, my legs were bent because if I straightened my legs, they would have been outside the tent! We were cozy, and I don't think any of us were cold! We practically slept on top of each other. But, I did not sleep because we were in bear country...in a tent...and I was on the side. So, if a bear were to go after the tent, I would have been the first to go. Oh, and we had a campfire, but in Alaska, you don't wait for the fire to die down before going to bed because it's so wet, nothing will catch fire. But we weren't in Alaska - we were in Canada. So I was freaking out that the forest would catch fire. Not good.
We woke the next morning, shopped around Whitehorse some more, and then left for Skagway. We got cinnamon rolls at a bakery along the side of the road that had AMAZING cinnamon rolls! We got back to Skagway and decided that we wanted to sleep that night (seeing as we had to be at the ferry terminal at 6am the next morning) and splurged and got a real hotel! The hotel was typical old west with spiral staircases, leather chairs, old candelabras, etc. We went hiking around and saw some incredible scenery. Went to an old bar for dinner, and had a great night. And we slept SOOOO well!
Early the next morning, we got on the ferry (after not being able to find our tickets...) and were off to Juneau. We slept for half of the trip because we were so tried. We played games and continued to talk through the remainder of the trip. The captain cam on and said, "If you look out on your left, you'll see a baby orca swimming around." Sure enough, on the left, this little orca was just coming out of the water and in the water. It almost looked like a salmon spazing out, but it wasn't. Then, a little later, the captain came on again and said, "If you look on your left, you'll see a pod of humpbacks." Now, humpbacks are pretty cool, but when you see them all summer, it's not really all that exciting. But we looked anyways. Just as we turned to look, a full-grown humpback completely breeched out of the water - 100% out of the water - and plunged back into the water. It made such a huge splash!!! Way cool - loved that! Surprisingly, those two whales were the only wildlife we saw on the trip (other than eagles and squirrels).
All in all, it was a fantastic trip. We had a great time getting to know each other and loved spending time together. Loved seeing God's creation and learning to appreciate the simple things in life.
This week I start two new things. Well, one was last night. I am helping in the youth group at my church. I have a group of freshman girls that I care for. It was pretty fun being around kids again. They're so funny and love having fun with each other.
The other thing I start is teaching preschool Sunday School! I'm not sure about that one, but it should be fun, right? I'm excited, nervous, and thinking "What am I doing? I'm crazy!" So pray for me! I'll need it!
Hope all is well with you! Love you and miss you!
Blessings!
