Goin' North to go South

I made to Fairbanks. It was pretty entertaining, I got a ride from an old hippie and his 15 year old son. Before we got off the street that I lived on he asked me if I "puff" and informed me that he always locks the cab because he doesn't travel without guns. Fair enough. We stopped in Chugiak, where one of his friends made us lunch and they got totally stoned. His friend gave me some home made salad dressing, there were def. no complaints from me. The rest of the trip was great, lots of smoke/drinking stops but the weather was beautiful.

Quote of the trip: "Los Anchorage, let's get the fuck out suburbia!" As we got on the the Glenn Highway headed north.

Now, I'm just waiting for two Israeli dudes to come pick me up so that I can go to Haines.

Peace

More moving and traveling for Me

Upward Facing Dog, Homer AK

Shocking I know. Last weekend I went to Homer, lots of pictures and stories to follow, for sure. Right now I procrastinating packing up the rest of my stuff. Check this out, in a couple of hours I'm catching a ride to Fairbanks. I'm going to stay in Fairbanks tonight and practice some yoga. Tomorrow I'm catching another ride with these dudes from Israel, we are going to Haines to catch a ferry on Monday. Monday we're going to Juneau, state capital, WHAT WHAT?? We are either going to go hiking or kayaking or I might do some yoga there. On Tuesday I'm getting back on the ferry, by myself, headed toward Ketchikan. I'll arrive in Ketchikan on Wednesday, stay the night and then catch a plane to Thorne Bay. From Thorne Bay I'm going to try to catch a ride to Coffman Cove, hopefully, by next Thursday I will be at my new home. AGHH!!! Okay, wish me luck. I will post pics and stories from the road when possible.

Lovies

PS. Seriously, look at a map of Alaska, I am doing some traveling.

Yoga, Meditation, and Talkeetna

Dancer Pose, Symphony Lakes, Eagle River

My room mate Kym got home today so I am once again with out a car. No worries, I got a lot accomplished while she was gone. Happenings included: hiking, checking out Wasilla, Palmer, and Talkeetna, plenty of yoga, and Buddhist meditation.

I hiked right outside of Wasilla with my nephew Skyler. Then I hiked Wolverine Peak in Anchorage by myself. Today I went hiking in Eagle River with one of my classmates whose name is also Emily.

Yoga has taken me all over Anchorage and Palmer. I've hit up every single community yoga class this part of Alaska has to offer. I also continue to practice yoga on every hike and in the parks near my house.

My meditation practice has mostly been traditional Buddhist. I found the Anchorage Zen Center which hosts sits EVERY SINGLE DAY and Dharma talks once a week. Score! I've also found a couple of other places to sit with people around town. Pretty awesome. My new favorite hobby is listening to music and swinging (on swings-at the park). It's kind of like a swinging meditation, if you will. I do it almost every night for at least an hour. It has taken the place of drunk bike rides which use to occupy my late nights.

IPA

There is not much to Wasilla, the hometown of Sarah Palin. Just the usual big box stores and strip malls. Talkeetna on the other hand was AMAZING. A totally cute little town on the way to Denali. Added bonus: Microbrewery.

In other news, I'm trying to find a ride from Anchorage to Haines (about 800 miles) for the Southeast Alaskan State Fair next weekend. It would be perfect if the stars align and this actually happens for two reasons. First, I would be able to go to the fair AND then I could get on the ferry and head south to start TEACHING!! So positive craigslist thoughts my way, please.

The Southeast Island School District has found me a place to live, a small duplex. They want me down there as soon as possible so that I can start tutoring before school starts. If I can't find a ride I might have to fly which would be LAME because I have a bike and three bags with me!?!

In the more immediate future, I'm going to Homer next Monday to hang-out with all the hippies.

Okay, PEACE, HAPPINESS, AND FREEDOM FROM SUFFERING from Alaska

Kickin' It

What have I been doing for the last week? Other than riding bikes, kicking ass and taking names? Well, I've also been practicing yoga, reading books, hiking with my nephew and hanging out in Wasilla. I'm headed to Talkeetna this weekend and Homer next week and then I'm outa of Anchorage and hopefully headed south in time for South East Alaska State Fair, provided I can find a ride.

Pickled Carrots

Hey Gang! So I've been busy even though I have been done with school for an entire week. WOOT WOOT! In addition to going to Seward and the Kenai Peninsula for Independence Day (pictures to follow), yesterday I pickled carrots and went to the library!

I was pretty proud of myself for pickling the carrots. I bought a 5lb bag of carrots from the store because they were cheap, and then I was left with a huge bag of carrots, so I decided to pickle some of them (first time). It was great because when my roommate, Kym, came home I told her about my accomplishments and she just looked at me and said, "Pickled carrots? Are you kidding me, what about carrot cake?" Fair, I'm making carrot cake today. BTW, the pickled carrots are delicious!

OMG, Anchorage Library system. For how backward this entire state is on most things, they know how to run a library. I was impressed to say the least. For starters, it's huge, like four stories. Second, they have an extensive magazine collection, including Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs. I know right? Finally, they have an entire "Alaska" collection downstairs. It's in this entirely different section of the library and it's huge! There are rooms down there named after prominent Alaskans and it's really elegant and quiet. I could see spending a lot of time down there during the winter if I were to stay in Anchorage, which I'm not!

Today I'm headed downtown to eat some good food and hit up some museums. I spending all of next week hiking with my Nephew Skyler so I am going to try to see everything Anchorage has to offer before then.


PIC: car ride to Seward

"I would do a lot of listening if I were you."

I totally forgot to tell you the best part of my exit interview last Friday. The whole process was pretty simple, basically I met with a couple of the directors from the program, they start by telling you everything that you are good at, then give you some advice of things that you could work on, and then I ask them questions. After they told me what a total bad-ass I am (duh) their one piece of advice was this,

"You are moving to an extremely conservative part of Alaska, logging and forestry are a huge part of the economy and culture. I don't know where your politics lay (YEAH RIGHT), but if I were you, I would do a LOT of listening before I do any talking."

Can you f-ing believe that? Wow, I was speechless. I have been known to have opinions on certain topics, but I have been sooo good since I've been up here. If politics do come up I usually just keep my mouth shut (shocking right?). I mean this woman had absolutely NO reason to make this comment to me other than the reality that I am from Washington state and sign all my emails with "peace." That is NOT to say that is not valuable advice that I will absolutely keep in mind when I make the move. I felt like I was wearing a "liberal" sign.

So I'm curious, is it that obvious? Please let me know via the "comment" function of this post.

Pic: Extened Warrior, Cannery Beach, Kenai Pennisula, AK

Done and Done

I finished Teacher School on Friday! And not a minute to soon, I was getting really tired. More frequent and more exciting posts to follow, I promise!! I'm going to Seward tonight to watch the Mt. Marathon race and then down to the Kenai Peninsula for an Independence Day celebration tomorrow. I am super jazzed to be getting out of Anchorage.

I hope that everyone has an exciting and safe 4th of July. I will take lots of photos this weekend and share next week.

All the Peace and Love

PIC: The Digs: a living room. Please note the yoga mat and bike.