Sadie's Walk

Today Jonny and I were asked to walk the dog. We figured that we should go somewhere special, so we decided to take Sadie for a walk across Mendenhall Lake and see the glacier!

The view by the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor's Center.

Walking out onto the frozen lake.

The lake covered by snow.

Sunshine!!

Posing with Sadie.

Iceberg!

Snowy peninsula.

Sunshine on the icebergs.

Walking on water.

The edge of a glacier.

Walking up to it!

 More bergs.

Awesome ice tunnel!

Jonny, Sadie and I climbed up onto the glacier for a picture! We could hear the ice creaking forward.

Jonny standing by the glacier.

My turn to pose!

 Our snowy XtraTufs.

Licking an iceberg!

Icy kisses.

Time for a snack!

Sadie enjoying herself.

Sunlight through the ice.

Jonny lounging in a berg. Doesn't he look like an Alaskan already?

I think Sadie enjoyed her walk, don't you?

Hope you all had as great a day as we did!

Welcome to Juneau!

I received a text from my friend Jason that Juneau was expecting 3-4 inches of snow the morning we arrived. By the time we got the message, there were already several inches of snow covering the roads! Our cars were loaded with as much as we could fit into them, so they were really over-weighted. It was also very dark, and snow was still falling- this was going to be a challenge.

Jonny's car is a Subaru with all-wheel drive, so it was able to make it through the unplowed roads without too much of a challenge. MY car, on the other hand, is an Accord with two-wheel drive. Because it was so over-weighted in the back and its drive wheels are in the front, it actually got stuck. We were driving to my cousin's house (who lives on a large hill) and because of all the snowfall, my car just couldn't make it! I got stuck on the hill! Luckily, Jonny and I had practiced putting cables on the tires back home, so we got out of our cars, got down on our hands and knees, and strapped on the cables. It was so cold that we couldn't feel our hands, but we got it done! It took everything my car had, but it finally made it! We were absolutely exhausted when we reached my cousin's house at 4:30, so we crashed for a few hours until the sun came up.

 When we awoke, this is what we saw! These are the front steps of the house.

This was my car!

Here are some more snowy pictures!

 Jonny, Jason and I were asked to shovel the driveway, so we put on our jackets, picked up some shovels and got to work! Jonny's Vans weren't up to the task, so he donned cousin Bob's XtraTufs for the day.

Jason cut the work in half with the use of this awesome snow blower! I had no idea these things even existed!

Just look at how thick this snow is!

Shoveling was fun, but it sure was a lot of work!

Later, we got some pictures of the mountains that border the town. They are absolutely lovely with snow on them!

In this picture, you can see a frozen lake in the foreground.

Here's another as we passed the frozen lake.

After walking around in so much snow without the proper footwear, Jonny's feet were pretty cold and wet. The only cure? A brand new pair of XtraTufs!

You can't live in Southeast Alaska for long without having a pair of these bad boys. So much better than a pair of soggy Vans. Goodbye California shoes, hello "Southeastern tennis shoes!"

Stay tuned for more!

The Last Stretch

When we awoke from our hotel in Washington, we hopped back on the road for our last stretch of the drive. It was overcast and drizzly, but we weren't going to let that stop us!

Washington had beautiful trees like Oregon, but lacked the sunshine and blue sky. If I had to choose between the two of them, I would pick Oregon, even though they pump your gas for you. :)

After two hours, we finally arrived in Bellingham and were just in time to board the ferry! We ran inside to get our tickets, then got back into our cars and drove right onto the ship! There was an entire deck devoted to vehicles, and it was completely filled! This is what the coastal town of Bellingham looked like.

And here's the Port of Bellingham.

The car deck on the ferry looked something like this.

The cars were strategically placed on the deck according to destination. That way, the cars can drive off without blocking each other. You can see the Juneau tag on my dashboard.

 The car deck was very cold when we got on!

Unfortunately, they make you leave your pets in the car, so little Kiwi had to stay here for the entire trip. By day three, she sure was ready to get out! They had car deck calls, so there were designated periods where we could go and visit her, refill her food and water, and try to comfort her the best we could! She was a really good sport.

The ferry took about three days to get us from Bellingham, WA to Juneau, AK. Most of the trip was pretty easy, but there was a section of open water that was quite rough! You can always tell when your ship has entered open water because it usually gets bumpy. The rough patch lasted several hours. We tried to wander around the ship at first, but it was just too difficult. We ended up just going to sleep and waiting for it to pass. If you'd like to see what we experienced, just watch this video!

Click here to see the rough water!

Eventually, at 3:30am Alaska time, we arrived in Juneau! But there were more difficulties to face once we arrived...