Before the blog: Where we went

 Island camping near Juneau, Alaska- July 14, 2013

When we got back from our trip to North Carolina (and Minnesota, and Seattle) at the beginning of June, I looked at the calendar along with my mere hours left of annual leave left and thought... you have got to be kidding me! Really, just how exactly was I going to get through the next couple of months without going anywhere? As I've mentioned before, Juneau is a really small town with no roads in or out.

So instead of the agony I imagined being stationary would feel like, a surprising thing happened: June and July just flew by! Seriously, how is it August already??

We've been hiking...

 Trail to Dan Moller Cabin- July 7, 2013

...camping,

Island camping- July 13, 2013

... boating,

... fishing, 

They caught it; I netted it!

... and enjoying everything summer in Southeast Alaska has to offer. (Sometimes all in the same day.)

(When we're not busy working, of course.)

 My office

Scotty's "office"

My half summer in New York City feels like it happened a million years ago instead of just last summer.

For the most part, summer has been fun because weather-wise we've mostly been incredibly lucky. With clear and sunny skies and way average temps, this summer in Alaska has actually felt like a real summer and the best weather of all the summers I've spent in my seven years up here.

But while Scotty and I are hanging out near home and work for now, something I've been meaning to do is to write about are our past travels- interspersed with local adventures. I'm interested in doing this for three main reasons:

1. To pacify my vagabond tendencies... it is so hard to not hit "purchase" on plane tickets right now, but we're saving up for a good cause. Still, there may be a trip or two coming up- we shall see...

2. To share travel information with friends and family who will soon be traveling to some of the places we've been, including Costa Rica and the Hawaiian Islands.

3. To refresh my memory about some amazing places I simply don't want to forget and hope to see again someday.

Here are some places we've traveled to that I plan to share more of:

Costa Rica (Jaco, Dominical, Zancudo, Uvita)
Spain (Barcelona, Costa Brava)
France (Seté)
Hawaiian Islands (Kauai, Maui, Oahu, Big Island of Hawaii)
Mexico (Todos Santos, La Paz, Cabo Pulmo)
Australia (Sydney, Port Maquarie, Terrigal)
Ecuador (Quito, Manta)
Various parts of the U.S. (In putting together this page, I realized I've been to all but five states!)

I hope you'll enjoy reading about some past travels and hopefully find some useful information. After this summer, there are plenty more travels in store for Scotty and me. As Tom Petty would say, right now waiting (to travel) is the hardest part. But then, staying put really isn't so bad when your backyard looks like this.

Fireweed fields in full bloom- July 14, 2013