Heading South

Oh, how I wish I were talking about a tropical vacation... but no.  Today we headed south along the Seward highway to see the sights, frozen.


 Many who visited us this summer took the trip down to Seward, Portage Glacier, Girdwood, or Alyeska with us.  This was the same winding drive that follows the Turnagain arm on one side, and the Chugach Mountains on the other.  Since Justin leaves for training Monday, we decided we'd take the weekend and see some of these frozen sights before the baby came.

So we packed a day pack and off we went.  Of course Jenssen was set to attract the ladies.  I think the puppy dog gloves were going to be the seller.  He has also taken to demanding to wear his sunglasses when we travel.  Not a bad habit I suppose.

The drive down was beautiful, like always.  The many waterfalls that come from melting snow in the summer had frozen over.  Of course I made Justin stop so we could take a picture.

The water in the Turnagain arm was full of frozen ice chunks.  The tide was going out, as you could see the ice flowing towards the inlet.  The pieces that were left sitting on the mud flats were huge!  A testament to how cold it really gets up here.

We made it to Alyeska, a very nice ski resort near the town of Girdwood.  We took a couple visiting groups up the tram this summer.  (The Roundhouse, which is where the tram takes you, is near the top left of this picture, up on the mountain.  Pretty high up!) Well, let me tell you, the tram is a different story in the winter.  The summer it is nice and slow; allowing you to take in the sights with the few other passengers.  The winter, they get ya up there as quick and as packed as they can.  I thought Jenssen would freak out being so squished with all these people wearing helmets and goggles, carrying these large boards or poles.  He however was smiling and laughing the whole time, “ohh”ing and pointing at everything.

Up at the top, we walked around and watched all the people coming up on lifts and going down the various trails.  I was a little nervous just being on the mountain.  So seeing numerous 4 and 5 year olds skiing back down with their parents made me feel kinda silly.  Must be some adventurous little ones!  Pretty cute though.

We got lunch at the little café on the top of the mountain.  Of course, Jenssen didn’t want his kids meal, but daddy’s chili instead. 

So with a messy shirt covered up by our various layers of warmth, we headed out to the Roundhouse for some more sight seeing.  It was pretty cold on the little guy’s face, so we didn’t stay out long.  We took a few more pictures, watched a few more skiers, and headed back to the tram for our ride down.

Ride down, far different than ride up!  It was us, the tram operator, and some guy with a snow blower.  The tram goes right over the longest ungroomed double black diamond in North America.  I thought that no one was crazy enough to ski down that, and if they were, it would be an obvious adrenaline junkie.  Not true, there were a ton of people going down it!  They were seriously going down this MOUNTAIN! (Now, those of you that ski, may not get my emphasis, but I have never been skiing, and the thought of strapping smooth boards to my feet and then propel myself down a snow covered slope terrifies me.)

We decided to head home since the mano was getting tired.  Of course, one doesn't drive down to Girdwood and not stop at the bakery.  My little pregnant heart was set on a bear claw, and my little pregnant heart was broken when they didn't have any.  This is seriously the 4th time I've been there and they haven't had any bear claws.  This is either an issue I need to take up with management, or a moment I need to stop and evaluate how often I go there...

Justin leaves for Hawaii, yup, HAWAII Monday morning.  Supposedly he has some Army training.  Not sure if I believe that, but oh well.  He will be gone 26 days, and return the day before I turn 38 weeks.  Baby boy, stay in there!

Here I am, in all my glory, at 34 weeks.  Not moving as fast as I used to, but still just as clever ;)  Pregnancy is going pretty well.  All of the baby stuff is out, washed, and has a new home in the boy's room.  I'm getting to the point where I'm ready to be done being pregnant.  Some days the baby seems to be agreeing with me as he tries to kick his way out.  I hope someone explains to him that isn't how it works.

Tomorrow we hope to get out and do some sledding with Jenssen and Izzy before Justin leaves.  Wish us luck!  I had thought about getting one of the child dog sleds and letting Izzy's husky nature shine through.  However, I'm thinking her husky nature paired with her blonde fur may not be the right combination to strap my child to.  We'll see.

We recovered from our sickness last week, slowly but surely.  My throat is a little sore still, but I'm not surprised after seeing what it looked like.  I'm very curious to see what grew out of my throat culture, but I'll be lucky to get anyone to answer the phone at the military hospital, let alone get my results.  Maybe when I'm having the baby I'll bribe a nurse to look it up.  Jenssen recovered from his ear infection and is sleeping a bit better at night.  Still get the occasional "mommy?" whispered at 330 am, but he settles down pretty quick.  Justin never got sick, thankfully.  I didn't need two little boys to take care of.  Plus, a band aid doesn't solve all of Justin's problems.

Don't be alarmed at the frequency of postings that will be going on in the next 27 days.  Justin isn't a man of many words, but he still keeps me company!  He'll come back tan, to a stretch marked mama...