Beautiful Alaska

I had a three hour layover in Fairbanks that I was super excited about. It created the perfect opportunity to see my cousin and his family. They came to the airport to pick me up and then took me out to dinner and ice cream. It was so great to see them again!

Thanks so much Adam and Kimberly!

This is on the drive from Anchorage to Kenai. At around 12:30 at night. I love how the sun just stays around. :D

Some of Abe's beautiful flowers!



Dandelions LupineOne of the nets we've been working on.

picture music playing

and singing "Take My Breath Awaaaay" (as I'm flying over the Alaskan mountains)

(not my photo. What I was seeing was WAY more beautiful!)

I cannot even believe how beautiful Alaska is! Yes I've been here twice before, but it has been three years. And I must have forgotten what I had seen, because there aren't even any words that can describe the site my eyes are seeing! This has got to be what heaven looks like! ...Just has to be!

I've been traveling now for, I guess you could say, five years. And I've found that generally the average amount of time I spend in one place is three months. Not really long enough to make it my official home, but long enough to be away from my last "home" to make it, well, not so homey anymore.

I call Arkansas home for obvious reasons. Because it's where I grew up, that's where my parents are and also where I have an address and a drivers license from. But Arkansas doesn't just feel like home. I feel out of place kind of, or maybe just out of my element. It's almost like I feel 16 again, like everything I've learned and experienced in the past years was just merely a dream. And this is not a good feeling.

Anyway, I don't know if anyone knows what it's like to move around so much that you always feel lost... Yes, I generally feel lost, like I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just weird.

Well, Alaska let me tell you. It's like I found myself! Like I came home! Who knew you could be so far away from what you call home and yet feel so content and joyful.

I think everyone should move to Alaska! Or at least come up and experience it! Though probably by the time winter rolled around, my bags would be packed and my ticket booked for the south.

But for now I'm going to soak up every moment of pure flawless extraordinary beauty! Gorgeous!

Joseph

Pictures of my baby before I head off to Alaska.

My Little Fisherman!

I missed Joey SO much when I was away! And just when I thought he couldn't get any cuter... He did...

He LOVES to go fishing!

I was out fishing with Joseph for about 30 minutes when my parents decided to come join us. I hadn't even gotten one nibble in the whole time I was there. Then they both cast their lines in the pond and BOTH caught a fish! Within like a minute! I couldn't believe it. They gave me quite a bit of grief since I'm supposed to be the fisherman of the family.

A Good Friend

My friend Gabe was in Arkansas for a week again for the track and field competitions... Or something along those lines. It's all pretty confusing to me. I don't know if it makes sense to say he coaches heptathletes and pole vaulters... But it's definitely somewhere along those lines.

I was pretty glad I was able to catch an earlier flight when I departed Baltimore. There were 14 of us on stand-by. Myself being number 9. And there were exactly 9 seats available. That was the first time I had been overjoyed to have a middle seat.

Anyways, I flew in and then about 45 minutes later Gabe had to fly out. It was a short visit, but I'm glad I made it home in time to at least see him.

Homeward Bound!

Three months at ACL (American Cruise Lines)... Finished! It seems almost to good to be true

Once again they managed to drain me of all my energy and I feel almost to tired to be excited... But not quite! I have way too many exciting things in the near future not to be totally thrilled.

Though I wouldn’t use the word “enjoy” to describe my time onboard the M/V American Spirit, I will say that it was much better than my first experience in 2007.

The deck crew this season was pretty great.

Actually ACL was still talking about the deck crew I was on two years ago as the “A team”. They were always saying how it was the best crew the company’s had. I just figured it was a motivational speech they gave to everyone that came through. But I guess they weren’t joking, because when I came back this year they were still talking about that crew.

Well, our crew this year blew the other one out of the water. Or gave them the place of second anyways. I’m pretty excited that I had the privilege of making it to both of them. The crew this year, for the most part, really was amazing.

I don’t want to sound as though I think it was me that was “so great”. Because I do know that it was a team effort. I was just super blessed to have been able to work with the people I did.