Week Two in Anchorage

Our TLF "home"

During our second week in Alaska,  the kids and I headed out the back door to the playground buried in snow(but with beautiful mountain views).  What we didn't realize until it was too late was just how deep the snow was in most sections.    I went to take a step and sunk in up to the middle of my thigh...crazy deep.  Everyone keeps telling us that this has been a record breaking year for snowfall.  The kids were able to walk in some sections and crawl on top of the snow in other sections.  We played out for an hour and everyone starting getting cold and it was time to head back in for some warmth and hot cocoa.

 Lucky for Quinn, the school was on Spring Break last week.  We spent a lot of time at the Artic oasis community center.  It has an indoor playground, rock climbing walls, mini-golf, and so much more.  This all translates into a great energy releaser for the kids which means good and tired at bedtime.  Also the local zoo brought a new animal each day for the kids to learn about and see.

 During the weekend, we drove an hour south to visit the Wildlife Conservatory.  We got up close to musk oxen, buffalo, lynx, bald eagles, and 2 bears.  The bears were 2 years old and had just woken up from hibernation one week ago.  They were very playful with each other.  The female was Shaguyik and the male was Taquka and they are both orphans but not related.  The bears are moving to Sweden this summer to live at a bear park.
All of the stories of the animals are a bit sad, many had been shot, or caught in traps or orphaned because their mothers had been killed.  The kids enjoyed seeing the animals but they were still getting used to being out in the cold and having to wear so many layers of clothes.

Moose on the Loose

On Tuesday, we had our first moose sighting on base.  The moose were hanging out in front of the bank across from our TLF building.  So cool....

 

Alaska .... the first few days.

After another over-night flight and even less sleep, and a very bumpy flight, we arrived in Anchorage at 4:3O AM. We gathered up all our luggage including Sakie the cat and sat to wait for the car rental office to open at 6:30am.

Landing into Anchorage, AK

The weather was a bit of a shock to us at first and the piles of snow everywhere was over-whelming.  Scarlett and Quinn both complained about having to wear jackets, hats, mittens, etc.  You just have to remember Quinn wasn't allowed to wear a coat to school in Japan ... so this is a bit of a change for us all.

The first day was spent napping (of course) and then we headed to the dealership to pick up my brand new 2012 Subaru Forester.  She's s a beauty.





Over the next few days, we tried to familiarize ourselves with what the base has to offer for activities.  Lucky for us, the base was offering it's last dog sled rides for the season and we jumped at the chance.

The kids are really enjoying playing in the snow.   I just wonder if they
will ever get tired of it.

Fun In The Sun: Hawaii Style

After an over-night flight and only a few hours sleep, we landed in Honolulu.  Lucky for us the Hale Koa had a room ready for us to dump our stuff right away (even though it was 8:00am).  So that's what we did; dumped our stuff, changed into bathing suits, and headed to the pool.  After a couple hours of fun in the sun, we headed back to the room for a 4 hour nap.  Perfect!   Then it was off to the Yard House for some good food and beer.  Having not lived in the US for 7 years, Neal & I didn't think about portion size and ordered way too much food.  It was a bit of culture shock to see the size of the appetizers, meals, and drinks.  But it was so good.

We had great weather for the first 3 days and spent every minute at the beach and pool.  Scarlett learned to jump into the pool without holding hands and to ride on Neal's back for "turtle rides" under the water.  She loved every minute.   Quinn made lots of friends each day to play with in the pool.  One little girl asked him, "Where do you live?".  He had the most confused look on his face and after a moment of contemplation responded, "I live here for 6 days."  And that seemed to be a good enough answer for them both.

On one evening, there was a parade/festival through the main streets of Waikiki.  It included big dragon floats, bands, and dancers from Japan, Taipan, Korea, and locally.

walking on the beach at night

The last 2 days were absolutely horrible with massive thunderstorms and torrential rain.  We had no umbrellas or rain gear packed, of course.  The lobbies of the hotel were packed with people trying to buy their time and stay dry.  We visited the Apple store, and Quinn tried walking on water in a giant bubble, just like a hamster.  One day Neal even took Quinn to the movies.  All of the employees kept saying this was very usually weather for this time of the year.  But all the fun we had on those first 3 days more than made it worth it.

with "Duke"

Breakfast on the lanai

At the Apple store

                                                                      

    Senor Frog

Our Last Days in Japan

Our last days in Japan were very busy and crazy; just trying to fit in all of our favorite restaurants and saying good-byes, and packing everything up for the journey.  We did fit in a little geocaching, temple hopping for stamps, and park visits.

One geocache was located at a giant paper mache elephant that was built during the war.  The shrine originally had a bell but Japan needed the metal, so they replaced it with the elephant.

In the end, we had 8 suitcases, 2 backpacks & 2 trunki, Neal's work gear/helmet, 2 car seats, and a cat to get to the airport.  It was a bit of madness but somehow we did it.  The last photo is us waiting to board the plane, exhausted and so sad to leave but just ready for the journey to begin...with hopes for new adventures in Alaska.

Waiting for our flight to Hawaii.