I'm leaving on a jet plane

I was so sad to leave. The plane ride wasn't bad at all. I sat right in the front, first time ever, and I loved it. Whoop Whoop. And I there was an empty seat in between me and the guy next to me. Whoop Whoop again. I got the best of both worlds because i was able to fly over the mountains during sunset and fly over the pastures during the sunrise. It was an incredible flight!
Alaska was such a wonderful vacation, and I loved every minute that I was there. There are so many things that I will miss (the 'Moose is Loose' cafe; Alaska's obsession with Moose; the Arneson family; our bonfire on the beach; the fact that it stays light all the time; nature; ect.) and there are also things that I am glad to come home to (family; friends; etc.) It was a wonderful journey that Ramsey and I took, and I could not ask for a better place to go or a better friend to go it with! So, this is goodbye for now. Until my next journey...

Goodbye, everybody. I've got to go.

My last moments in Alaska were accompanied by none other that the man himself. Louie Karlberg. I flew out of Anchorage, Louie's hometown, so we called him up for a little dinner date. We asked him to take us to the most authentic Anchorage restaurant, and this is what we got: The Lucky Wishbone. It was a greasy chicken place that previously served as a 'hang out' for air force and military. It was actually pretty good, I must admit, and the company was wonderful. The place is quaint and it decorated with military pictures and gear. So, hats off to you, Louie. You picked a great place! And it was the best final moments I could ask for.

Shout Out!

I saw this cute little store while we were on our way to REI and I thought of my dear friend, Blaine, whom I love. So, hey, Blaine!

Second Time Around

The second stop that we made on our way to Anchorage was to Portage Glaciers. I had never seen a glacier before, and honestly wasn't too excited about it. But when I go there, I was changed. Glaciers are really cool! The water surrounding glaciers is beautiful - it's a mixture of blue and grey because of the ice, and it shines a light blue hue. It's also a lot colder when you're down by the water. The ice chunks are really thick! I wanted to jump on some, but it was too much to risk. It was something of pure beauty, though.


stopped at a second glacier on our way out of Portage Glacier. This one was more secluded and, in my opinion, prettier than the first. Along with us, the glacier carried visitors in the form of teenagers who were screaming and yelling and having a good time. Glaciers bring people together and keep everyone joyful.

Mas

Here are a few more pictures of the hike. Enjoy!

The Perfect end to the Perfect Place

On our drive to Anchorage, Ramsey and I stoped at a few different places. The first place we stopped was at the Kenai River. There is no way I can put into words how beautiful this place is; there are no adjectives good enough. So I'm just going to put up pictures.
Next, we hiked up to the top of the mountain so that we could look at the face of God. Beauty.




Soooo.....
We took a detour. And by WE, I mean Ramsey took us off the sunshine trail into the depths of darkness. We literally hiked through the woods. It was a lot of emotion: fun, scary, exhausting, curious. But the best emotion that it was was joyful. We couldn't help but laugh about it.

Welcome, to Chateau du Arnesons

The Arneson home is not something of small regard. Few people know the story behind this humble abode. The Arnesons build their house together, as a family. Mr. Arneson and Mrs. Arneson worked together to plan out the most perfect home. Once the blueprint were set, Mr. and Mrs., along with the children, began to build their home. After many months, supplies, tears, and laughter, the Arneson dream home was built. Theirs is a home built of love, and each one has their own memory of their work on the place they now live. A place has never resounded the name 'home' like that of the Arneson's.


Ramsey's house is built much like that of a log cabin. Not only does the outside resemble it, but the inside does as well. The floors, parts of the walls, and other various parts of the house are wood. It is so cozy, and it the perfect place to hang out. There are windows along one wall, and various windows and doors placed around so that the sun can shine in and bring more warmth to the house. Often we would gather in the kitchen or the family room, just sitting around and talking, joking, eating, etc. The openness of the home allows for you to hear what is going on no matter where you are in the house. If walls could talk, they would share of the conversation and laughter that echo through the home and that the Arnesons bring to their visitors as well as each other.


The best feature of the house, in my opinion, is the window wall that looks out to the lake. There is something about looking out at water that just brings a peace to the soul. Being able to look out and get a clear view of the sunrise in the morning, then to see the ducks playing in the lake during the day, followed by the ending of the day with the sunset has brought so much visual beauty to my life. I only experienced a week of this beauty, but the Arnesons get to see this beauty every day. How wonderful to be reminded of the beauty of God each and every day just by simply looking out the window. Which reminds me, God's beauty is everywhere and each of us have that beauty right outside our window. So go look at it!


It was really difficult for me to leave the Arneson family. They truly are a Godly, hospitable family and made me feel so much at home. I loved being home in the mornings and doing our thing while Ramseys dad played Christian music while working upstairs. I loved when Ramseys mom came home and we sat chatting about lots of things. I loved when Lars and Sadie came home and brought the noise and joy to the home. I loved little Otis, who just snuggled up to everyone and walked around like he owned the place. I loved me, Ramsey, and Larsgoing into Ramseys parents room at night, interrupting her moms reading to lay on the bed with her and talk about the day and various other things. I loved her dad trying to kick us out in the nicest way possible. I loved the feeling of home and love that came from being with the Arnesons and I love the way that I felt after coming away from such a place with such people. God has truly blessed them, and in turn they have blessed me along with countless others. So thank you, Arneson family, for your wonderful hospitality and testimony of Christ.

Kayak

One of my favorite things that we did in Alaska was kayaking. We dropped on car off at the end of the river, then drove in another car to the beginning of the river. We went about 10 miles or so down the Kenai River. It was so beautiful. I didn't get any pictures of us actually kayaking, because I was determined that if I took my camera, I would flip and my camera would be gone. So I played it safe.


I started to get over my fear of birds, because there were so many that I could no longer avoid them and some of them were actually pretty cool. But there are these birds..I forget their name...but they swoop down at you if they feel threatened. Those birds are dumb and the reason that I hate/hated birds. The water was so beautiful, but pretty cold! For some reason, my left leg was completely soaked. No matter, the day was absolutely wonderful!


Except for the part where we had to carry the kayaks up a hill to bring them into the car. But, we had a few laughs along the way and def. a good workout for the day!

Homer

One of our firsts trips was to a city called Homer. It sits out in the water, and is a total tourist town. The shops are all old and vintage; it's like a place out of the movies. There is an annual fishing competition and there is a dock where a lot of the big fishing boats go out from. There is also a cute little coffee shop where we went called 'Twisted Sisters'. It's a totally chill, trendy place that is all natural and environmentally friendly. We also packed a lunch in the lunchbox than Daniel gave me. So thanks to Daniel for adding to our great day. Homer was a ton of fun and was one of my favorite places to go!

attack of the animals!

Here are pictures of all the animals we encountered while on our drive to and during Alaska. They just chill on the side of the road or mosey around the woods. Either way, they're awesome and I love them.
This was the first animal we saw, and the one that we saw the most! Apparently black bears are more rare to see than any of the other animals. They must haved smelt us coming and liked us, cause we sure saw our fair share of them!
We saw a lot of Elk. They have the most busshy butts ever. Bunnies have nothing on these guys! While we were driving at night, we passed a whole herd of them eating. They didn't even run away. They just ate, standing there in all their glory.
Byson. Lots of byson. They look a lot like Buffalo, but they're not.
finally saw it!! It was the last animal I saw, but the Moose was seen by me on our drive to Ramsey's house. It was a wonderful thing, and I loved it.

FINALLY

SO, we left Fairbanks on Saturday afternoon/evening for Ramsey's house. It was one of the most beautiful drives ever. Once we got past Anchorage and closer to Soldotna, we drove right next to mountains and the Gulf of Alaska, which connects to the ocean and where beluga whales reside. Anyone remember that song, "baby beluga in the deep blue sea"? I learned that in like kindergarten or 1st grade, but that song kept coming to mind! It was like my childhood catching up with reality - something that I sang so carelessly about was something that I was driving past. Weird and cool at the same time.


ANYWAY, we made a pit stop at Mount McKinley, which is the highest mountain peak in all of North America. The mountains were breathtaking. Just another reminder of the magnitude of God. As we drove along the Gulf and along the mountains, I looked up in awe and astonishment, and nothing came to mind other than the hand of God forming these structures that my mind can't wrap around. I don't think you can fully appreciate a mountain until you are right up next to it, and close enough to really see it. The peaks, grooves, and rock formations are unreal. It is impossible to think that they just formed that way. The intraquite detail of a mountain had to be designed by God. I imagine Him much like a sculpture, chisel in hand, working out each groove and movement of the mountain, shaving away until it is just right. How amazing that we serve a God who not only pays close attention to the detail of something as massive as mountains, but who also pays close attention to the lives of us humans and the birds of the air. How deep is His love for us!
We also had a couple extra driving companions. Ramsey's brother Lars and her dog Otis joined us for the ride! Otis is the cutest dog who just loves to be touched and held. And since I am a physical touch person, Otis and I were best friends in no time :) It was wonderful to finally arrive to our destination. Ahhh, completion.