Reflection
I opened my eyes on this new day and instantly my mind was flooded with what needed to be done. I rolled over and tried to push those thoughts out of my head, but to no avail. I had to get myself up out of bed and get going. I walked out of the bed room and headed to my living area to open the blinds and check the weather for the day. The dark morning sky reminded where I was. Alaska. 8:30 am and it's still dark here.
I've been here a week now and a lot has happened. When I quit my job and left New York a month ago, I never thought that I would be staying with my partner, Kevin, in Alaska. I thought I was going to enjoy a nice 3 week long vacation and then come back home. I thought that the people who were telling me that I wasn't going to leave Alaska once I got here were crazy. Well, they were right.
Just for the heck of it, once we arrived, without any preconceived ideas, I began to put in applications. Six in total. I got 6 responses back! I had 5 interviews and was hired by 2 so far. (I think there may be jobs up here!) I thought to myself, can I actually move here to Alaska? So, Kevin and I talked about the future and what things would look like if I were to stay and decided that we would go forward with our relationship and get a place together.
After we secured a quaint little two bedroom apartment, it was time to do some fun stuff for the week! We decided to do some exploring in and around Anchorage just to get familiar with what was around the area. We took a drive around and explored a few area attractions.
We found Kincaid park. It had an 8 mile long trail and we decided to
take a long walk. We left early in the day and it was a nice walk with a view of the Pacific. We stopped along the way, of course, and took pictures of anything that caught our attention.
During our cross country travels we had purchased a book that details different trails in and around the Anchorage area. So, the day after Kincaid Park, we picked out a trail that ended at a glacier. This was Byron Glacier and trail. It was only a few miles long and so we donned our hiking gear and away we went.
The Byron glacier turned out to be very impressive. Neither Kevin nor myself had ever seen a glacier before. It was incredibly blue and it was mammoth. I stood before the glacier, awestruck. It was definitely worth the two mile hike.
This was the view from inside the opening of the glacier. The texture was incredibly smooth and the ice reflected the light with hints of pinks and purples within each one of the dimples.
We were on a roll with the glaciers. The next day we picked out another trail and another glacier. We made our way to the Kenai Fjords National Park where the Exit Glacier awaited us. Along the way we saw some rare and beautiful sights that we had to stop for.
We found this lake that had gorgeous views.
I just had to get a shot of the rocks along the shore line. Not sure why it was named Mad Sally Lake, but it sure didn't look mad today!
We also came across a rare opportunity to photograph a bald eagle. He let us walk up remarkably close in order to get these shots.
It was almost as if he was posing for us!
The Kenai Fjords Park had lots to do... if it wasn't November that is... Most of the park was closed this time of year except, of course, the glacier trails. There were a few different trails that could be taken and we opted for the intermediate trail. It was a little longer with some steeper hills, but we got through it.
This was the view from the end part of the trail. You can see that we are in the middle of nowhere here! This all used to be covered with the Exit Glacier.
This picture has people in it for reference. You can see how large the glacier still is.
This was taken once we got as close as we could to the glacier. We could not touch this one like we could the Byron Glacier. I wish the picture captured the deep blue color that radiated off the ice.
Here is Kevin doing his picture thing. This partly frozen body of water was run off from the glacier.
But glaciers weren't the only thing that we went to visit. Kevin had been down to Homer and Seward over the summer and that's how we ended up moving up here. He fell in love with the quiet and serene qualities that those towns had to offer. Today, he wanted to take me there to show me around. Homer was over 4 hours away and with the threat of snow looming today, we opted to just drive the hour and a half to Seward instead.
Seward is a very quiet town in mid November. During the summer months there are cruises that come by and tourists are dropped off for the day to enjoy the many shoppes that line the street.
There were many little souvenir shops as well as an eclectic mix of places to eat.
However, souvenirs and food were the last things on our minds today. As budding professional photographers, we were interested in the marina.
We came across this boat here called the Gypsy. Because of it's rustic charm and unkempt look, it was perfect for photographing. We looked at this boat piece by piece and took some amazing shots.
For me, all the wooden features were what made this boat most interesting.
But, of course there were more than just this boat in the marina and therefore, more picture opportunities!
Our trip for this day concluded with us happening upon an old bridge with some railroad tracks. We stopped for our photo "op" and we were rewarded with perfect mountains and the moon.
All in all, we had a great first week here in Alaska.
We moved into our apartment at the very end of the week and it all seems like it is coming together nicely. On Wednesday, November 13 I fly back to New York (my first time flying!!!) to pick up my son and bring him out here to Alaska. Very much looking forward to spending some time with my kids and handing out all the souvenirs I picked up along the way before heading back. Then it's back to work! Wish me luck!!
I've been here a week now and a lot has happened. When I quit my job and left New York a month ago, I never thought that I would be staying with my partner, Kevin, in Alaska. I thought I was going to enjoy a nice 3 week long vacation and then come back home. I thought that the people who were telling me that I wasn't going to leave Alaska once I got here were crazy. Well, they were right.
Just for the heck of it, once we arrived, without any preconceived ideas, I began to put in applications. Six in total. I got 6 responses back! I had 5 interviews and was hired by 2 so far. (I think there may be jobs up here!) I thought to myself, can I actually move here to Alaska? So, Kevin and I talked about the future and what things would look like if I were to stay and decided that we would go forward with our relationship and get a place together.
After we secured a quaint little two bedroom apartment, it was time to do some fun stuff for the week! We decided to do some exploring in and around Anchorage just to get familiar with what was around the area. We took a drive around and explored a few area attractions.
We found Kincaid park. It had an 8 mile long trail and we decided totake a long walk. We left early in the day and it was a nice walk with a view of the Pacific. We stopped along the way, of course, and took pictures of anything that caught our attention.
During our cross country travels we had purchased a book that details different trails in and around the Anchorage area. So, the day after Kincaid Park, we picked out a trail that ended at a glacier. This was Byron Glacier and trail. It was only a few miles long and so we donned our hiking gear and away we went.
The Byron glacier turned out to be very impressive. Neither Kevin nor myself had ever seen a glacier before. It was incredibly blue and it was mammoth. I stood before the glacier, awestruck. It was definitely worth the two mile hike.
This was the view from inside the opening of the glacier. The texture was incredibly smooth and the ice reflected the light with hints of pinks and purples within each one of the dimples.
We were on a roll with the glaciers. The next day we picked out another trail and another glacier. We made our way to the Kenai Fjords National Park where the Exit Glacier awaited us. Along the way we saw some rare and beautiful sights that we had to stop for.
We found this lake that had gorgeous views.
I just had to get a shot of the rocks along the shore line. Not sure why it was named Mad Sally Lake, but it sure didn't look mad today!
We also came across a rare opportunity to photograph a bald eagle. He let us walk up remarkably close in order to get these shots.
It was almost as if he was posing for us!
The Kenai Fjords Park had lots to do... if it wasn't November that is... Most of the park was closed this time of year except, of course, the glacier trails. There were a few different trails that could be taken and we opted for the intermediate trail. It was a little longer with some steeper hills, but we got through it.
This was the view from the end part of the trail. You can see that we are in the middle of nowhere here! This all used to be covered with the Exit Glacier.
This picture has people in it for reference. You can see how large the glacier still is.
This was taken once we got as close as we could to the glacier. We could not touch this one like we could the Byron Glacier. I wish the picture captured the deep blue color that radiated off the ice.
Here is Kevin doing his picture thing. This partly frozen body of water was run off from the glacier.
But glaciers weren't the only thing that we went to visit. Kevin had been down to Homer and Seward over the summer and that's how we ended up moving up here. He fell in love with the quiet and serene qualities that those towns had to offer. Today, he wanted to take me there to show me around. Homer was over 4 hours away and with the threat of snow looming today, we opted to just drive the hour and a half to Seward instead.
Seward is a very quiet town in mid November. During the summer months there are cruises that come by and tourists are dropped off for the day to enjoy the many shoppes that line the street.
There were many little souvenir shops as well as an eclectic mix of places to eat.
However, souvenirs and food were the last things on our minds today. As budding professional photographers, we were interested in the marina.
We came across this boat here called the Gypsy. Because of it's rustic charm and unkempt look, it was perfect for photographing. We looked at this boat piece by piece and took some amazing shots.
For me, all the wooden features were what made this boat most interesting.
But, of course there were more than just this boat in the marina and therefore, more picture opportunities!
Our trip for this day concluded with us happening upon an old bridge with some railroad tracks. We stopped for our photo "op" and we were rewarded with perfect mountains and the moon.
All in all, we had a great first week here in Alaska.
We moved into our apartment at the very end of the week and it all seems like it is coming together nicely. On Wednesday, November 13 I fly back to New York (my first time flying!!!) to pick up my son and bring him out here to Alaska. Very much looking forward to spending some time with my kids and handing out all the souvenirs I picked up along the way before heading back. Then it's back to work! Wish me luck!!
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