Hello from Alaska!!

to quote a text that jdoss sent me yesterday - dude. you're in alaska. 

i really cannot even form into words how surreal this trip has been for me thus far. for the past three years, i've shared with jwood every part of my life "before him." i have been able to show him my favorite hiking spots, where i lived in college, the best places to have a smoky mountain brew, my most beloved little camping spots. but, he could only tell me stories of his most favorite place on earth - the place that was his "before me." his "before me" has encompassed most of his adult life and is where he considers home, alaska. 

as you know, jwood is spending this summer in alaska working and i'm so fortunate that it worked out that i could come visit!! 

i landed here on friday evening around 7pm. i'm learning that time here is irrelevant to the person that doesn't have a job. right now - the sun doesn't set until around 11:30pm. talk about a long day! my dad always said, "get up, you're burning daylight."

there's A LOT of daylight to burn here.

this man was pretty excited to pick me up :)

after j got off work on saturday morning, we struck out to play tourist. 

bless his heart - he was up for 24 hours. oops. 

we originally intended on going to see the Exit Glacier. 

along the way, we stopped at j's "favorite lookout point" - Beluga Point.

after that, we moseyed over to girdwood, ak so j could take me to his favorite little lunch joint, chair 5 (i may or may not have met an ex while we were there. heheheee) 

j had halibut and chips and i had a blackened halibut wrap. yum.

girdwood is a hippie little town - so cute!

we took a tour through the Alyeska Ski Resort. fancy schmancy, especially for around here.

 we changed our plans en route to the glacier and decided to go visit the "Old Man."on the way to the OM's house, we stopped along the way for some pictures. i was floored at the scenery. the snow capped mountains are just breathtaking. at one point in the trip, we traveled alongside the Kenai River. oh my. the water looked like the crystal clear ocean. it was bright blue and different shades of blue throughout. mr. tour guide explained that this river is glacier water. whaaaaa? the pictures couldn't capture how beautiful the water actually is.

i freaked j out at one point.... yelling, screaming - telling him to stop the car. as he screeched to the shoulder, i hopped out and took a picture of this moose enjoying a drink. crazy.

she was just hanging out in the water sipping away.

jwood was not amused.

jwood and the Old Man share their one true love - FISHING!! the OM took j under his wing when he first moved here in '99. he holds a very special place in j's heart and is like a father to him. he lives in a fishing village, Ninilchik, right outside of Homer, AK -

which is the halibut fishing capitol of the world. 

the OM has a home that overlooks the Cook Inlet and is the fisherman's dream. 

boat, bed, and ocean. what more could you ask for, right?

these were overlooking Homer coming from the OMs house.

meet the Old Man. :)

this is overlooking the harbor in Homer. the OM told me that some of the boat seen on the Deadliest Catch sometimes dock here. maybe even Skinny Runner's boat is here!

our last stop of the day was the Salty Dog Saloon!

stay tuned!!