Alaska-Bound

By Lara

As you read this, I should be on a cruise ship in Prince William Sound watching sea otters frolic. That's right. I'm in Alaska. My dream vacation. Seriously. I don't remember how long I've wanted to go to Alaska, but it's been since I was a child. Now I'm there.

When things get stressful at work, I will close my eyes, pretend that I am in a canoe, paddling on a pristine glacier lake, breathing crisp mountain air. I also love the idea of glaciers and fjords and volcanoes and moose. Yes. Alaskan dream vacation.

I realize that it's not on the Year of the Birthday list, strictly speaking. It is, however, on the life list. Several times. For many reasons. Apparently, I'll be there in the wrong season to see the Northern Lights. I guess I'll have to make the sacrifice to go back someday. I'm crushed.

My Alaskan vacation has evolved. My original plan was to visit a friend currently living in Alaska. We would take it easy and drive around and see some cool places. (In case you're wondering, I am the kind of person who will invite herself to spend two weeks in Alaska, or London, or Germany, or any other cool place my friends decide to live.) Unfortunately, those plans fell through. I now find myself preparing to fly with Kate to Anchorage to pick up our tour "Amazing Alaska." We will go from Anchorage to Valdez to Fairbanks to Denali to Anchorage to Seward and back to Anchorage.

I hope that the vacation lives up to my high expectations. I'm a little bit nervous in that I have never before been on a vacation that dictated what time to wake up. I'm not really a morning person. I'll tell you how that worked out for me when I get back. In the mean time, wish me luck.