Monday, September 14, 2009

sweet dreams...

Come, Sleep; O Sleep! the certain knot of peace.
The baiting-place of wit, the balm of woe,
The poor man's wealth, the prisoner's release,
Th' indifferent judge between the high and low;


I'm writing this at 10 pm, which before the trip was my usual bedtime. Not anymore; my body is saying it is still 8 pm, while my mind is screaming "it's time for bed!" I truly wish the two would call a truce, it has been a bit exhausting. Imagine what I would be like if I traveled to my beloved England - I shudder to think!

One good thing has come out of having all this extra time; I am super organized and getting TONS done. Have 1000's of emails you need a response to? I'm your gal!! Organize, upload and label 100's of pics? No problem. Finish the piles of laundry, volunteer as meet director for an orienteering meet, see old friends, get piles of work done? Done. Blog about your trip?... oh wait, I haven't done that yet, have I? Well, 6 out of 7 isn't bad.

It seems the one thing I can't do is write about my trip. I've started many times, only to get sidetracked and end up blogging about something else. I just can't seem to put my experience into words. Everyone knows that Alaska has beautiful scenery, that's a given. But what about the abstracts? The low hanging clouds that made me feel that heaven was trying to reach down and touch me. The independent yet giving spirit I saw in those who live there. The kindness of strangers and fellow travelers who shared the awe of the scenery around us. All of these contributed to make the trip a great time.

I guess if you asked me what the highlight was, it wouldn't necessarily be the scenery but the people I shared it with. My mom and aunt, who put up with me running all over the ship to see as much of the scenery as possible. The charming and fun Eric, who shared my love of the outdoors and teamed up with me to become Scavenger Hunt Champions (woohoo)! Eric's daughter Elizabeth who was one of the lucky ones to swim by the glaciers and shared with me the most amazing desserts ever created. (seriously, you have never seen a table like this dessert table - it was amazing!) Bob and Lori and their kids Tessa and Andrew, a fun family from Vancouver who were always smiling and laughing! Susan, my fun tram riding/hiking friend who loved to talk and regaled me with hilarious stories (such as how she was traveling with her ex-husband - that's a story for another time). Lots of others who I may not have gotten a name from, but memorable all the same. Everyone made it a wonderful memory.

I did take quite a few pictures which, due to my insomnia, are very well organized and labeled. If you really want to see all of them, you can take a look below.



I guess I've broken the old writer's block - now let's see if I can actually sleep.

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