Aloha!

Poor me. I just returned from a trip to Hawaii (Maui and Oahu). It was 90+ degrees warmer there. Em, Brandon, Krista, and Duncan: THANK YOU for showing me your homes!! I'll be back next winter...what are you doing in January? :) Here are my top ten must-do's in Hawaii:


10. Swim in waterfalls. Jump into their pools even when you're afraid of heights. And then get yourself stuck on the other side of a rising river that you must cross to catch your plane. (Just wait a while and it'll return to a flow that you can safely cross.)

9. Visit the lavender garden on Maui - try the scones and tea while overlooking the sweeping views of the West Maui mountains and ocean.

8. Go on a whale watching boat and get soaked by a huge rogue wave (this would be no. 1 if the wave had been from a whale breach).

7. Go for a run along the beach, get lost, and then stumble across a mansion being renovated by Tiger Woods.

6. Try the "Black Hole Lager" at Brew Moon in Honolulu. (Note: Do NOT try the Kona Porter, unless you like porter in your coffee.)

5. See tons of fish, sea turtles, and almost get your finger bitten off by a moray eel.

4. Call your buddy in Juneau from the beach in Honolulu and let him know it's 85, sunny, and the palm trees are swaying in the light ocean breeze.

3. Visit Maui's tallest peak. Though it looks like it's a measly 4,000 feet, the volcano is 10,023 feet! The cool air up there feels good on sunburns.

2. Watch humpbacks launch themselves clear out of the water...from your kayak.

1. Dive down about 10 feet while snorkeling during winter months and listen to male humpbacks sing.

Symphony Lake Slide

A group of us went for a ski yesterday, and with all that blue sky, who could blame us? It's been warm up here lately (in the 40s last week), and then it chilled a bit to just under freezing. This means that the snowpack is essentially icy white asphalt. Not exactly prime conditions for skiing. You can see in the pic to the right how tough that snow was - you can't even see any marks from our skis!

See the steep sloped mountain way up on the left of this photo? If you're me, you'll let your friends talk you into switchbacking up that sucker despite the pesky voice of reason screaming "DON'T DO IT! ARE YOU NUTS?" into your head. And even when you express your concerns to your friends, you still manage to be talked into risking life and limb just to experience a few extra minutes of sunshine up high as the shadows descend on the safety of the valley below. And then you'll lose your footing...once, twice, and then a third time, and that third time will be a doozy. You'll rocket feet first towards a clump of trees while thinking, "This is going to suck." But then you'll hit those trees, somehow manage to be shot out of them, only this time you're plummeting down the ice head first into another clump of trees, and your thoughts are much more serious. You'll miraculously manage to stop the fall and only end up with some jammed fingers (which hurt when you type). You'll have a friend also loose her footing, and end up dislocating her elbow during her plummet to the bottom. Moral of the story: NEVER let your friends talk you into skiing on ice on such a steep slope. Tell them they're nuts if they insist on it. Don't give in. Your fingers and your friend's elbow will thank you.

My House the Meese Magnet

Just this weekend I spotted meese no. 9 of the year (officially the 100th moose I've ever seen) right outside my house! This pic was taken from my front deck. This guy was clearly thinking, "Please lady, help a moose out. You got anything to eat other than frozen bark?"

And just minutes ago, I let Wrigley out for his nightly bathroom break, and what did I see? Moose tracks headed to my backyard! I have a sorry excuse for a tree back there, and it's actually looking more sorry than usual now that it's surrounded by several feet of snow - looks more like a bush. It appears as though one small moose and one large moose made their way back to pay tribute to my little lilac tree/bush. I'm just glad they didn't leave any part of earlier eaten trees behind since Wrigley treats moose pellets like little energy bars. He goes nuts for 'em.

Wolter Glacier

Alaska is known for its glaciers, many of which have been named, explored, documented, etc. Although it is exceedingly difficult to venture out and discover an unnamed glacier and fully explore it, I have done just that. Tonight I raked my roof...

to find a slowly advancing glacier (those are the rarest types - most are receeding due to global warming) ON MY ROOF! What luck! This is about 12 inches of ice right up against my chimney, plus the top part of some long icicles that I enjoyed destroying. I just hope it doesn't come crashing into my living room. Outdoor glaciers are so much nicer.

Here is what Anchorage roofs (sans glaciers) look like:

So long, 2006!

Oh, how time flies. Here is a quick recap from my last entry. I went to North Carolina, where my parents have built a home in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I always look forward to seeing the fam, hanging out in the mountains, and eating my mom's food. This time I was also excited to meet my sister's boyfriend, Mike. Despite his inability to spell words backwards during Cranium, the Wolter family gave him two thumbs up. The Wolter family also kept a little secret to themselves...on Thanksgiving day I was sitting on the couch knitting and feeling sorry for myself. My sister had her boyfriend, my mom had my dad, and I had my parent's dog, Glory. Something didn't seem right. I missed Ron. I was also worried about him - I'd called a few times over the previous 24 hours and couldn't get through to him, which is really unusual. I started thinking that he's either: 1. cheating on me (very logical - ha), or 2. he's on his way to North Carolina. I knew it wasn't the former, and I really hoped it was the latter but was sure he wouldn't fly all the way to NC. Turns out my scheming dad arranged a surprise attack weeks in advance. My father, with the help of his secretary, managed to find Ron's number and orchestrate the surprise. So after a missed flight and several legs to his trip, Ron suprised me by walking up behind the couch while I was feeling sorry for myself and saying, "What are you doing?" I nearly passed out. What a GREAT surprise!! That's one good thing about being gullible - people can always surprise me! During our trip to NC we managed to get in a game of golf in 65 degree weather. (We were trying to avoid the minivan parked right down the hill in the trees. Not a wise place to leave your car...)

Decemberrrrrr brought a LOT of snow to Anchorage. I'm digging the snow, literally, but am glad there's been a bit of a break. I still need to shovel my deck, though Wrigley loves to bound through the feet of snow that remain on it. Yes, I'm using my dog as an excuse for not shoveling my deck. It's pathetic. By the way, check out the depth of snow sitting on top of the railing in the pic with Wrigley.

I did escape the snow during a quick trip to Chicago for Christmas. It's always fun to get the entire family together, sans Grandpa Allen. And this year we had three new members (thanks to my uncle's secret spring wedding to his girlfriend - I now have two "new" cousins and an aunt)!

And, of course, what's an update from me without the Official Moose Count? The Official 2006 Moose Count: 91. My goal was 100, but now it gives me a goal for 2007 (lofty goal, isn't it?). So far for 2007: 1. I'm well on my way!