50 days

It seems like such a long amount of time, but it looms to closely for me at times.

Each trip/adventure I take seems to get more and more complicated in the planning. gone are my days of my jansport backpack crammed full and my Walkman ready to set off for anywhere. I miss those days and a simpler mindset out of bed hair up, t-shirt and jeans on (any will do everyhting goes with everything), wallet in back pocket, gym shoes on ,and hit the road. Somewhere I lost my tomboy and now have makeup and jewelry...other shoes....not t-shirt and jeans outfits (eek outfits).....cell phone....

It's all so complicated now...but still fun and exciting.

So many little details like making sure the house is clean before leaving, my mother dilled this into me saying that you don't want to come how to a mess. having someone to collect mail and news papers, a way to an from the airport, and everything else. A lot of which i didn't have to worry about on previous trips.

Packing has even become a challenge, needing to pack as lightly as possible to avoid extra charges at the airport. Also knowing you are likely to be bringing back more stuff then you left with. Alaska is not the ends of the Earth so to speak, I can buy things there but somethings you'd rather just know you have and you have the kind you like.

Debates start over what we need to bring. We only need one camera....do you really need that big one with all the extra stuff......a video camera would be nice but who is going to run it. We should all have backpacks and proper layers, but suddenly this old thing will work.

handy guides you've collected pile up, needing to be sorted through so the important information is with you on the trip. Like where the public restrooms are and which have running water.

Time ticks slowly

I always figured I'd be an excited mess and time would be moving so fast as my big trip approaches. But it is moving slowly and I still have so much to get done.

My camera gear needs the final touches, thank goodness for timing on Ritz camera closing stores. Gives me good deals on things I need, if they have it. Though bad part is now I will have to travel out further to find a shop.

Clothing has been a battle, those zip off pants sadly never worked. I found a different pair but my mind hasn't excepted that I've gone down a pant size and so ordering I get the old size. Good thing I invested in a cool belt, that is so me. Still need to figure out what to pack considering I don't over heat like I use to anymore. Not sure if it's the weight loss or problems with the cold I had this January, but I get cold easier.

Plans for day to day activities don't really exist, there is only one activity actually booked and set in stone the rest is play it by ear. I have a list a mile long of things, and the though that I'd be happy perched over looking the water with my camera for a day or two.

And after this last trip I'm really not looking forward to long hours in an airplane. If the average woman is not a size 6 and we have bigger hips than men, why are airplane seats so damned narrow. Also I sware seat belts are not a standard length. One I have plenty to spare and another I'm straining to get it clipped. And luggage fees, those are appearing more and more. No way I'm doing Alaska with a carry on, there are a lot of trips I could do but not this one. I've also learned with my new camera it's not as easy to tuck it into something else. Camera bag equals one carry on.

Good thing I still have time to sort all these things out.

New experiances and old

So I attended my first fan convention, which just the word fan makes me uneasy. Years of abuse on the front line kinda thing I guess. And yes I did spend a good amount of time saying this can be fixed and that can be fixed. The rest was as always behind my camera lens.

I met new people, and I will admit my goal of the day was not to meet most of the people there. Why because their online personalities scream to me to stay away, that in person they would be the fans I so avoid in the line of work. I felt close to melt down from the anxiety of the day on a few occasions and I did my best to hold myself together.

I did try some of the games and view what was to be viewed, just often from a distance while everyone else was grouped in the bleachers. I even, gulp, let myself be interviewed for placement on the fan site. There is a reason I keep behind the camera, but what is life with out some risks adventure less.

Think the worst part of all this for me was I hate being photographed and filmed, it never comes out good. And everywhere you turned inside someone was shooting. Having to sign a release to be let in the door was a big tip off, but it's still not fun. Out across the net there are likely bad images of me in the hands of people I'd never want them in. It is double edged cause yes I too have pictures of other people who are strangers, though other than sharing with friends and family my images are not likely to be out on the Internet.


My friends who were there it was great to see and those who weren't we missed.

Travel Advenures

It never fails planning to get togther with people never works out well. Someone always feels they need to be the leader and heard the others around, despite the fact it isn't needed. And someone always gets left out or left behind. Plans get let go cause they just can't work. I've never had a group trip where everyone was happy with the day to day events, but the memories after are still great.

Traveling to get there is always a and adventure. Like a 20 minute flight between cities where you go up just long enough the feel the turbulance and land. Or trying out the express spa during your layaway, moving through the terminal in the little fake flip flops to catch your flight.

You discover the quality of products you buy. Bags rip and discolor. Nikon makes a good camera, just don't trust the strap. Sunglasses break, jackets don't keep you warm, and things you fell in love with and bought are crap in the light of your room later.

I ran the Pike Place market area again, it's such an amazing place. The produce, seafood, flowers, and everything else.

No matter how many times you visit a place there is always more to see and explore. A corner you missed, or you have changed and what didn't apeel then does now.

Relearning everything

I broke down and bought myself a new camera...my last two met their end too soon and sadly at my own fault. So I went out shopped around and found what I felt was the best deal for my money, and investment into my photography future.

It's also a learning curve I never expected. I keep catching my self doing stupid things, based on my previous cameras:

- I will turn off my camera when I think I'm trying to focus it because me last camera had the focus controls where this one has it's on/off switch.

- I will take a picture then try to wind the film....the camera is digital. But My last two SLRs were film and that control for this camera is in a place my mind thinks wind the film.

My last digital was by all means a point and shoot with some advance features, and my SLRs were so basic I'm lucky they had light meters. So it is a real learning curve when the camera is smarter than I am. I have a long time to learn as far as I'm concerned this camera is an investment to my future and likely the last camera I will ever own.

I call it my new girl, and she has expensive tastes. Like any teenage girl there is the need for accessories. Extra battery and a camera bag check. Has two lenses nice. But the list for possibilities keeps going; more lenses, fancy filters (I have the basics), battery handles, remotes, tripods......makes ones head spin. Each new thing requires research into each version of the product. Which companies are of any quality, where you can find the best price, and do you really need it.

My mother calls photography an expensive hobby, but honestly it's more than that.  It always has been since I played with first camera at a young age...and kept on playing.

And oddly it can be simple or complex. One can make a camera out of a shoe box or buy millions in electronic equipment. And to each photographer finding the right equipment is a search, we can make do with anything but finding the right pieces makes all the difference.

photos from the Nikon website and don't necessarily represent what I own

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.