East Coast, West Coast... and back to our coast

Sunrise in Juneau- November 30, 2012

This morning I woke up at seven in the morning, before my alarm. It’s that mysterious time of year in Alaska where just because it’s dark outside doesn’t mean you can assume it’s still nighttime. After looking at the clock to confirm it was, indeed, almost time to get up for work, I decided to make coffee thirty minutes early (a real feat for this night owl). It’s a lot easier not to hit the snooze button when you only have a two-day workweek. :)

The last two weeks have been an exciting- and challenging- whirlwind of activity. Only in the last few days has it begun to feel like I can relax a bit and get back to business as usual, proof that even the most- and sometimes especially the most- epic of adventures can also be stressful.

After 14 days of not sleeping in one place for more than two nights (except for three nights spent at my dad's house in Minnesota), it feels really good to sleep in our own bed again, to cook at home, and get my clothes out the dresser rather than digging around in a suitcase. Even this gypsy likes to chill out in familiar territory at times.

And now that we’re back from our trip, I can’t wait to share what we’ve been up to!

Waiting for a lift bridge to let a sailboat through in Annapolis, MD

For anyone who is interested in planning a trip to California, the upcoming weeks will be full of details on how we managed to have a fun and affordable time there. The Golden State truly is one of my favorite places in the world and this trip only served to enchant me further. Also, we made short stops in Annapolis, Maryland and Minnesota’s Twin Cities area (more details on why to come soon).

Me waiting at baggage claim, unaware of the "paparazzi"

On the way out to Maryland, our first “stop” of the trip, our red eye flight was delayed for refueling while sitting on the tarmac in Seattle. Basically, this meant we missed our connecting flight in Minneapolis and forced us to try for the next flight out to Baltimore that morning. When we went to the customer service counter to rebook, the agent took a look at our itinerary.

“Okay,” she said mulling over the computer screen. “I see Seattle to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to Baltimore, Baltimore to Minneapolis, and Mineapolis to... San Francisco? Is that right?!”

Even in our sleep deprived stupor we had to chuckle. Yep, we- or to be more accurate- I, had decided to put us through the wringer for the greater good of maximizing vacation days. 

Waiting to take off at MSP

There’s more travel coming up for us in only three short weeks but in the meantime I’ll be posting all about our recent escapades on the road (and in the air).

Buckle up for departure! :)