We arrived in Anchorage pretty early in the morning on 14 April, a Saturday. We gathered our luggage -- all 7 suitcases (our worldly possessions for the next 3-4 weeks, including an air mattress, all the bedding so we could "camp" at our new house, plus all the things that we'd normally include in an air shipment) and headed to our hotel. We spent a nice weekend relaxing at the hotel pool and hot tub, checking out Anchorage and just trying to relax a bit before Eric's first day on Monday.
The first week I spent getting things sorted for the new house including finalizing documents for the closing and meeting new friends. For many of you that have stayed in a hotel for an extended amount of time, you know that after a few days, it gets really, really old, pretty quickly. So, by the weekend, we were craving a home cooked meal. Our dreams came true and by Saturday morning we were able to move in to our new house, we were so exited. So, we spent 2 weeks in the house "camping" out on an air mattress. I'd packed some essentials and luckily some new friends I met lent us a few chairs, a card table and some additional pots and pans so we could actually cook more than one thing. Our new refrigerator was arriving with our shipment so we decided to buy a 2nd fridge to keep in the garage which proved to be a wonderful idea --the very thought of eating one more meal out was enough to make both of us sick.
Our first official weekend, Eric's friend from work invited us to join his family for the "Slush Cup" which is an annual event that is held at the Alyeska Ski Resort about 30 minutes south of our home.
Little did we know that the drive to get to Alyeska in Girdwood is one of the most scenic drives in America. The entire way our jaws were dropped in awe of the beauty.
This was a rainy day drive and still GORGEOUS!
Still can't believe we live here in such beauty!!
So, we arrived at Alyeska and had a little lunch at the delicious bakery shop and then off to watch the slush cup!
The slush cup is essentially skiers or snowboarders trying to ski or board down part of the mountain and then over a man made body of water. The rumor is that each year the body of water gets longer because the competitors get better. This year it was a pond of water about 25-30 feet long then a break in the water that was essentially a jump (or land) that was about 4 feet long and then another pond that was about 10-15 feet long.
The water ( I could be way off on my approximate measurements)
The hill
I was surprised to see someone in their bathing suit and thought it was picture worthy. She was one of the competitors!
As was this guy.
Decent view of the pond.
Before the slush cup started, they had a competition to see who could swim across fast enough. I don't believe there was any award of note. Unless you paid me a large sum of money or it was for a very worthy charity, it would be very difficult to get me in a bathing suit and in that frigid water in that weather...mid 40s. (Balmy for the Alaskans)
Let the slush cup begin!
He made it to the second pool and collapsed shortly after this picture was taken.
She made it farther than the first guy, but fell pretty hard...ouch!
Great outfits coming up
This flying squirrel had a rough time...each time he put his arms up for balance because he was going so fast he slowed himself down...and then basically flopped as soon as he got to the first pool.
Super Mario
Robocop?
I'm freezing just looking at her!
Pepe Le Peu actually was the first of two competitors to make it all the way to the other end, dry!
Hilarious!
That hurt!
Our friend from before
Swamp thing
Not bad!
This poor panda didn't even have a chance
Proof we were there :)
Burt & Darcy and their kids Lori and Ben. The ironic thing is that Burt has been in Alaska for many, many years and got a job in Houston in September. He wasn't sure if his family would definitely want to move there but by January, it was decided. So, Darcy came down and Eric and I took them out one afternoon in Houston. We drove them around the entire inner loop area and pointed out different neighborhoods, to help them with possible places to live. Little did we know that just a few short months later we'd be living in Alaska and Darcy and Burt would be showing us the ropes!? Sadly, (but also happily for them) they just sold their house and bought in Houston and will be moving down permanently in 2 weeks time! It's been a real pleasure getting to know them.
Around this point, we'd been watching for about 2 hours and had had enough....but I of course was still up to take some shots :)
Wow!
The next day, Eric and I went on a short walk/hike through Campbell Creek which was still very much full of snow. We had to use our grippers, new bear spray and bells. In Alaska, it's necessary to have at the very least bear spray (pepper spray) for protection and bear bells (for noise making) so you don't startle a bear..one of the worst things you can do is startle a bear. It sure has made us very respective of nature and understanding that it really is no joke. We encounter moose on a regular basis and they are mostly very disinterested in us, however as the weather gets warmer and their calves are born, we'll need to be even more careful.
Plenty more outdoor activities to come! We can't wait!
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