But it's important to look on the bright side. Summer in Alaska is supposed to be this magnificent time of year that we all live for. But so far Alaskan summers have let us down a little bit. The summer of 2008 in Juneau was the rainiest Southeast had seen in years... and then Leigh and I broke up for 8 or 9 months! Skip ahead to summer 2011 and the first half saw beautiful weather but also a lot of health problems and a death in the family. The second half, when we were starting to pull ourselves together, was rainy and gross. Summer Fail!
Last winter, on the other hand, was pretty awesome. We took up skiing, stayed active, hung out with friends and made the most of the long, dark days. I was really proud of us. So even though Fall is kinda tough with it's in-between-ness, it means ski season is just around the corner. Leigh and I have decided to take part in some real, honest-to-God ski events this year too, not just playing in the park. We have from November to end of January to re-learn how to ski and get back into shape, then the season will end with some fun fundraisers and stuff:
- Feb 4: Ski for Women, a fun 4k that raises money to fight against domestic violence in our community (if you know anything about Alaska you know how important this is!)
- Feb 17-20: Renting a giant cabin with work friends for a weekend of skiing
- March 4: the Tour of Anchorage 25/50k
- March 17: Oosik Classic in Talkeetna 25/50k
Everyone at work is starting to make their annual travel plans. Like I mentioned before, my judge is running off to France for a month. The secretary is planning a handful of vacations with her family (Hawaii, Seattle, a cruise!) and I'm left to brainstorm my travel plans before I get sucked into a lifetime of being chained to a desk. Lucky for me, Condor has published their summer fares to Europe! Here's the plan:
- May 1, fly to Vienna, hang out a few days. See and opera, eat chocolate, drink coffee, take pictures
- May 5, take the train to Munich to spend a few days visiting a friend in Bavaria
- May 9, take the train to Paris. Spend one day in Paris.
- May 11, take the train to Taizé(!!!), get my prayer on with the monks
- May 16, take the train to Geneva to hang out with a Taizé friend and actually see the city without being limited by freezing temperatures and it being a Sunday
- May 19, fly back to Anchorage
This is the long version. If I can't get this much time off work I will start my trip in Munich on May 1 and come back on May 15 instead. The cost is the same, more or less, it's just a question of sufficient time off from work. Leigh is super supportive because she's amazing, and because she wants me to bring back presents. Next time I go abroad it'll be a trip for both of us, probably to the UK.
Speaking of travel with Leigh, June 1, 2012 is our 10 year anniversary (of dating, not marriage). So we are planning something big. Right now the idea is a trip to New York City. Initially we thought Montreal or San Francisco, but flight to New York are very reasonable and we know the city a little bit, so we can really capitalize on our time there. Basically we're going to visit with Leigh's brother, eat a lot of great food, party in Greenwich Village, and maybe see a concert at the Mercury Lounge or something. Simple stuff. It should be a blast.
In the meantime, we're still focused on our Christmas trip for THIS year. This means watching our spending right now to save for shopping and fun. It's kind of tough since I've barely gone anywhere since moving to Alaska, but once Christmas rolls around I'll have a lot of great things to look forward to for the remainder of my clerkship :-)
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