The Plan

My adventure takes me to Alaska an amazing and diverse place and it's Kenai Peninsula:

Refereed to as Alaska's Playground, this area is well known for it's sport fishing. But it offers Mountains, oceans/beaches, and the wilderness between. There are Fjords, like the inside passage. Wildlife, like Denali. You can explore a glacier part of the day and a tide pool the rest.

From small towns and isolated areas to larger locations like Homer and Seward. You can enjoy being surrounded by nothing but nature in places assessable only by float plane or boat. Or explore art galleries and wineries between your fishing trip and your massage at the day spa. It really does have something to appeal to everyone. Camp Grounds, Lodges, B&Bs, cabins, value hotels, and even resorts the options are all there offering endless opportunity for planning the type of trip you want.

As much as I'd love to stay at a wilderness lodge accessible only by float plane, it didn't fit with my budget. So a variety of other lodging options awaits me sampling a bit of everything. Fishing isn't necessarily in my plans but the Glacier hikes, kayaking, dog sled tour, panning for gold, and wineries excite me. Hiking and tide pooling are my main planned activities, to tie into my photography. I hope to see a moose, an otter, a puffin, a whale, and a verity of flora & Fauna during my time there.I'm not taking the train trip between Anchorage and Seward though I'd love to. An flying around isn't in the budget, so a rental car and two main roads. I looked into the Marine Highway but it just didn't work for my plans, so between that and a few other places I want to go there is another trip in the future.

I write this my trip still a good distance into the future, and I'm really just starting to get excited.

Planning and research

I researched and planned a trip to Alaska for a decade, a little here a little there. As the trip became a reality I started trying to find more and more info. Often requesting things from websites, and often never receiving anything.

The best site I found was after most things for this trip were booked, save a hotel and activities. Alaska One was the best I came across, it provided me with a ton of information. It literally blew up my e-mail inbox with in 24 hours. I also received a phone call from one group and mail from others. It is amazing and everyone is helpful and excited to have you come to Alaska.

I had help from a travel agent that was irreplaceable in my planning. But for the rest of you who don't have that option try this site, it has stuff for every region of Alaska.

So far from the mailings I've received I have a list of six activities that I need to book soon and am really excited about. There is so much to do and see I hope I get to do a lot of them, but would not be opposed to a return trip.

Gearing Up

In the last few weeks I've finished most of my travel arrangements for my big trip and have started to gear up. The Amazon wish list and universal wish list have been great tools, they allow me not only to collect items I need (or am thinking about) from not only Amazon but also from all over the web. Allowing me to make one list and I can share it if I want.

I went out and ordered one of my wish list items, zip-off pants. These have been around for a while but in my size only recently and expensive. So when

Lands End came out with a line of Sun Life Zip-off Pants, knowing quality of their brand and add an affordable price I was in.

I started by looking at the sizing, as recently all my pants have the issue of moving south on their own (it's good, but it's bad as well). So I measured carefully and chose a size, and ordered 2 different colors. They arrived and I was so excited till I tried a pair on, everything fit great except one thing.....the zip-off part, it just fit (to point I could put the pants on but nothing else).

So I called customer service, afraid that if I went up a size the fit wouldn't work for me. And let me say this Lands End has one of the best customer services I have dealt with on a long time. She was polite, helpful, and spoke English which all service number should have. But she really worked to help me figure out me question, calling and getting the exact measurements of parts of the pants they don't list on their charts. So I could figure out if the next size would work for me. And I have to say I've asked questions of other companies on size and they mearly tell you to refer to their size charts and that is it.

Sadly these pants are moving quickly and at the time of my call only one color was available to me, so I got two of that color. Asked about back order but she said that option wasn't available at this time. I hope Lands End decided this is a good products and makes more. And I look forward to shopping with them in the future.

I continue my hunt for gear, shoes are a top thing (need to break them in before I go). But again I have an odd size and keep shopping around for the right pair. I love the Lands End trekkers line, but they don't have the Mary Jane ones I want in my size. So I keep hunting, hoping someone will have one in my size I like. In the end I often end up settling for a men's shoe just so I have something.

It's crazy how much I need to buy for this trip, but this is a big one in my life. And my shoes and clothes are all pretty old.. generally replaced only when they die because I have such trouble finding things. Ever think of clothes shopping as an adventure? For me it's mostly a frustration but slowly it's getting easier as I find brands that make it worth while shopping with them.

Snow storms and snow days

Snow hit the DC area Sunday and Monday. Shutting down darn near everything, the roads were untreated and unplowed in many areas. I made it home from work on Sunday night going 20 miles per hour in a whiteout. And in a normally hour trip to work, took two and a half. The roads were still not treated very well, and more people were out than needed to be (as most of the area was off). It is a little disturbing passing truck and other 4-wheel drive vehicles in the ditch, knowing you are only in a small 2-wheel drive car that is sliding around. It was an adventure in just getting from point A to point B. And I will forever remember that forklifts (at least regular ones opposed to all-terrain) do not operate well in the snow or slush.

Today, snow day 2 for my teacher mom and a day off for me. The call of the snow was too strong. We through on the bare minimum of gear with the though of her taking one run down our much coveted (by neighborhood kids) hill on a sled. We ended up out there for 45 minutes taking turns. It was like being a kid again with the only main difference being as a kid the cold never seemed to bother anyone. The fun in the snow was much more important.

My mother was enjoying it more than I was, the little purple sled is hers even. Serious and ever in teacher mode most days, it's amazing to see her let loose. I'd bet money her students would never believe she was capable of having fun.

For me sick forever ,I still had to get out and take a run or two. What harm could a little cold and wet really do, when laughter and fresh air are both supposed to be good. I'd have loved to be out longer and really go for a while, but warmth called. I took a few shots but it was more about the adventure of it all today. The shadows of the trees on the snow, icicles on the house & plants, and mom having a ball.

Getting Started

I start this blog with a particular trip in mind, one that is years in dreaming and still months away in planning. Hopefully between then and now I will find things to fill the time here.

In the last few years I've taken some great trips. From cross country to just around the corner. Adventures and photography moments both. And I've blogged and archived things but not all my friends could see them there. So I set off to document my future adventures here for them all to see.

Places have revealed their beauty to myself and my lens. Fishing Boats and a local festival in New Bedford, MA. The red desert and rock formations of Sedona, AZ. The waters around Seattle, WA. The farm lands of central NY. And the monuments and nature with in a day trip of Washington, DC.

I'm not of professional photographer but i have the desire, almost addiction to take that perfect picture, to capture that moment I see as special in the world. From a single bee landing on a flower to an entire landscape in front of me.

And here I will try to share some of that, along with the adventure and nutty antics that often surround getting those shots.