Climbing Up Things

So, in my last post I wrote about Alaska Adventure Day with Keith, and how it all started when Plan A, called rock climbing, failed. Today, we made Plan A a reality.

I think I officially love rock climbing. We couldn't convince them to certify us for top roping, so we did bouldering instead. It was hard! After failing a few times, I had to clip off my fingernails so that I could actually grip the holds, which I hear was pretty cool of me. I need more upper body and arm strength. But Keith says that it would probably be gross if I was too fabulously strong. He's probably right- I like having soft, feminine arms. Regardless of my arm strength (or lack thereof) I really did have fun.

Rock climbing is tricky. You have to be able to balance and search for your next hold, and trust your grip to hold you. Also, you have to shift your weight and plan your moves as you're hanging off of a rock. And it's kind of a challenge. But really, really fun!

Alaska Adventure Day

So, I officially loved today.

Typically sales jobs require you to work on weekends and holidays, so I figured I would get to go in to work today, but then... SURPRISE! I remembered that Mondays are my day off at the nursery, so I got this holiday off! So my friend Keith and I went on an adventure.

The plan was simple- go to a rock climbing gym, climb up some stuff, come home and finish my day with some laundry and studying until the other girls got home from work. But then, the rock climbing gym was closed! So, we went to Plan B.

And what a Plan B it was!

Keith is from Palmer, AK. It's a little town surrounded by farms about an hour north of Anchorage. So, when confronted with our rock climbing dilemma, we drove north, and ended up at his house. We basically played with his dad's toys all day- including 4-wheeling through some wooded trails and a ride in a very small float plane- talk about fun! We went up and flew around for a while, with gorgeous Alaska beneath us. It was fun to see moose, swans, and all of the trees and ponds and rivers from above, and a way cool experience to be flying in something so small and made of fabric. And I got to be okay at 4-wheeling. I only got stuck in the mud once, and by the end of our ride I was starting to feel really comfortable with driving. Also, Keith is just entertaining to spend time with, and has adorable little nieces and nephews. It was basically the best day of my Alaska experience so far. It's going to be hard to go to work in the morning...

O'Malley

Well, according to my friend Emily, life is now complete- I have hiked Alaska.

Tonight after work our girls and McKay a couple of other people from church went hiking. We started at about 9:00 at night in out attempt to climb part of the way up O'Malley Peak. We didn't go all the way up to the summit (at almost 5,000 feet up, that was a bit out of our time-budget.) But we did hike up past the saddle to the first big ridge.

After some of the steep, rough gravel trails, big sloshy mud pits, and a few of the most stunning views ever, we reached the ridge!


It was a truly amazing hike. Mildly challenging for an asthmatic little girl just getting off of a long week at work, but the wonderful people I was with and the breath-taking beauty of it all were worth it. Our Lord really did create a gorgeous work of art.

Customer Service

As I've gotten settled in to my job here in Anchorage, and as the season has started to pick up, I spend a lot of my time working customer service. Usually this just means wandering the rows between our plants and asking people if they're finding everything they need, maybe answering a question or two. But sometimes I get a chance to actually help someone find a solution to their landscape problems, with the perfect shrub or tree for their location. Today there was a lot of that. So it wasn't a huge surprise that when I walked up to Burl Stephens to ask if he needed help he started asking me questions about lilacs and spruce trees. What was a surprise was when he left, and hour and twelve hundred dollars later, and asked me to come out and do a bit of design work for him. Me. Not "one of our experienced Evergreen landscape designers". Me, inexperienced except in the classroom Caresse. And considering that landscape design is kind of exactly what I want to do with my life, I'm pretty excited. Just goes to show that it never, ever, hurts to smile, and carry on a cheerful conversation with a person you're working with. Not even if they start out looking like they're going to be nothing but difficult and grumpy.

Caution: Moose Crossing

Today I saw some moose. Mommy moose and baby moose, just hanging out down on Hartzell Road. Alaska is seriously the weirdest place I've ever been. And I love it. The sun never sets here. Well, it does. It just takes a few hours for the sun to go all the way down. I mean, seriously we are thinking about going hiking after work on Saturday, from about 8 pm to midnight. Also, once the sun has gone down it's only dark for a few hours. Yeah, and the moose, they get in to our nursery and eat tree limbs. "Moose damage" is a serious landscaping concern. Weird Alaska.

Airports

I don't like flying very much. There's just something about airports and airplanes that makes me feel dirty and tired and stressed. But this time it's different- as I sit here on the floor near Gate Z7 of the Dulles International Airport waiting for the boarding call for US Airways flight 528, I am feeling energized and awake and excited. About twelve hours from now (yeah, long day, I know) I'll be landing in Anchorage, AK to spend the summer on the coolest internship ever!

Weddings

Today I am mildly jealous. I went to two weddings this weekend, talked about wedding plans with another one of my friends on Friday, and then came home and watched a wedding chick flick. So basically I'm surrounded by weddings and all that they involve.

And it's making me jealous.

And sad.

And a little bit lonely.

But mostly just impatient. I know I'll get married eventually, to someone... I just want to know when that will be, and who it is that I'm going to marry. The not knowing is killing me! And it all boils down to this one fact...

I hate not knowing everything!

So, naturally, this is driving me a little nuts. I've decided that my next topic of scripture study will be patience.