Midwest Trip, Summer of 2024

 This is another "better late than never" sort of post.  After our trip to Alaska and Washington state with my family, Scott and I went on a trip to the Midwest.  We started in Chicago, then went to Madison, Wisconsin (where Scott went to grad school and we got married), and then to Minneapolis.  We hadn't visited Chicago since 2012, and hadn't visited Madison since 2011.  Both places seemed to be in somewhat rougher condition than they had been when we last visited.  I think the pandemic took a toll everywhere, and the addiction crises may have played a role, as well.  One thing we particularly noticed about Madison was that public spaces were becoming more closed off.  There were a lot of signs regarding loitering near the university.  The university library has an area with tables that had been open to the public in the past.  This time, there was a sign saying that it was for university students and staff and everyone else needed to register.  Full disclosure:  we ate our lunch there one day, and no one asked us for ID or anything.  But the change in the situation made me think that maybe they had dealt with some difficult situations and were having to tighten security, or at least have a pretext to ask people to leave when necessary.  

There is not enough time in the world to go into detail about this, but our time living in Madison (as well as our subsequent visits) were always a mixed bag.  This visit was very pleasant, though, beyond our concern about what time and circumstances had done to it.  This time, there were no job or academic stresses, just a chance to enjoy a nice city.  We ate at some restaurants we remembered (as well as some new ones), took some walks we used to take when we lived there, went to a bead store that I frequented all those years ago.

This was our first time visiting Minneapolis, and we were very impressed.  We only had a few days there, so we're hoping to go back soon and explore more!  We took lots of walks outdoors (when the weather permitted--we got rained out one day) and got to see a number of their famous lakes.  We also got to eat at Owamni by The Sioux Chef, which I was curious about as soon as I read about it (highly recommend, by the way).

For much of our visit, the upper Midwest was having a heat wave.  However, their heat wave was still cooler than the weather we were having in the DC area (which, honestly, was alarmingly hot last summer).  The Midwest can really be a fun place in the summer time, which is a lucky think since the winters can be challenging, particularly for those of who grew up without a lot of snow or the ability to pick a favorite winter sport.

Here are a few photos from the trip:

Deep dish pizza in Chicago

My favorite ice cream from the UW student union (orange with chocolate--yum!)

Butterfly wings, Minneapolis

Minneapolis

Minneapolis

Sequim Trip, Better Late Than Never

 Well.  I didn't intend to go this long without blogging.  I got busy at the beginning of the school year and had additional stress in the lead-up to the US presidential election.  And, let's just say the stress has been increasing ever since said election took place.  So I haven't been feeling very inspired.  At the same time, I wanted to post some pictures for my own benefit, at least.

After visiting Alaska last summer, while we were still on the west coast, we went to Sequim, WA to visit my aunt and uncle.  They chose well as a place to live; it's beautiful with pleasant weather.  An interesting feature of Sequim is that it is famous for growing lavender.  Dairy farming had been the mainstay of the economy, but they pivoted to lavender (I would probably remember when this had happened if I had not waited so long to write this post!).  There are multiple lavender farms in the area, and we were lucky enough to be there during their lavender festival.  In fairness, not every member of our party thought this was a happy coincidence, but I enjoyed it.  I think it comes down to your tolerance for crowds.  I don't love crowds, but living in an urban area, I found the crowds associated with the lavender festival to be less stressful than my daily commute.  

View from our Airbnb in Sequim

Field of lavender

Close-up of lavender plant

Lavender drying

Seward

 We decided to travel from Anchorage to Seward by train.  This was to give everyone a break from driving and to make sure everyone had a chance to enjoy the scenery.  Like many tourist attractions in Alaska during the summer, it is good to book this one ahead of time.  As my mom worked on our itinerary, she ended up adjusting the schedule at one point because the train was fully booked on the original day she wanted.  Anyway, I highly recommend it!  It travels slowly enough that you can get a good look at the scenery.  We were lucky to see moose and Dall sheep from the train.

Be forewarned that the Anchorage-Seward train has an early departure time, but it's still well worth it in my opinion.

One of the reasons we were going to Seward was to take a day cruise in the Kenai Fjords.  I am going to go out on a limb here and not recommend the multi-day cruises on the huge cruise ships, despite never having take one in Alaska.  Why not?  For one thing, they have every appearance of being environmentally disastrous.  Also, small towns end up being absolutely overwhelmed by the sudden influx of hundreds of people from the cruise ships.  Day cruises are a different matter, though.  If you are interested in seeing marine animals, they may be your best opportunity to do so.

The day we arrived in Seward, it was very rainy, as locals told us it had been most of the summer.  We visited the Alaska Sea Life Center, which I also recommend; it's another opportunity to see marine animals, albeit outside of their usual habitats.  The next day, miraculously, it was sunny!  Perfect weather for our cruise.

Since I get motion sickness sometimes, I'll discuss that portion of the cruise.  Most of our time on the ship, we stayed in Resurrection Bay, where the water was fairly calm.  We did venture out at one point into the ocean to see humpback whales.  I was not feeling great during that time, though I'm happy to say I avoided having to throw up in front of everyone.  I would say if you are at all prone to motion sickness, be prepared with anything that has helped you in the past.  I took a Bonine before getting on the ship and wore acupressure bands.  I also brought ginger candy.  I must have had a distinctly seasick look at one point because a kindly deckhand fetched some ginger ale for me and told me to keep focused on the horizon.  All of this helped, and eventually we returned to calmer water.  Even with the motion sickness, I would take a cruise like this again.  Just be as prepared as you can.

We saw lots of wonderful animals on the cruise:  humpback whales, orcas, sea otters, seals, puffins, and sea lions.  We also saw Holgate Glacier, which was amazing.  It's wonderful to just be around the animals and enjoy them.  I like trying to take pictures, so one lesson I'll share is that if you're interested in photographing the marine animals, invest in a camera with a decent zoom lens.  I will share some pictures to illustrate my point.

Look hard to find the fin!

More whale fins and birds circling around hoping for fish

Seabirds in the rocks

Sea lions lounging

Glacier!  No hidden animals here that I know of

A seal relaxing on the rocks

One final indistinct whale picture

Coming up on the glacier

Talkeetna

 When we first started discussing a trip to Alaska, we were considering visiting Denali National Park.  My parents had been there previously, decades ago, and hoped to see it again.  The rest of us were interested, too.  However, when my mom began researching the trip, a number of obstacles came up.  The lodging in the park itself was accessible only by private plane, and was therefore out for us (and most other people, I would imagine).  Lodging within striking distance of the park is limited, and with July being a peak month for Alaska tourism, it was sounding like visiting Denali National Park could turn into a logistical disaster.  After doing further investigating, my mom suggested visiting the town of Talkeetna, where one can sometimes view Mt. Denali (on clear days), and where there is plenty of lovely scenery and places to hike.

As a word to the wise for anyone thinking of traveling to Alaska, lodging in Talkeetna is pretty limited, too, and it seems like a lot of people use it as a stopover between Anchorage and Denali National Park.  So, if you'd like to visit there, particularly in the summer, it is worth booking ahead.  My poor mom had a terrible time booking lodging for us several months ahead of time.  The place where we ended up staying was lovely, but they ended up bending the rules for us (they normally required a three-night stay but allowed us to stay for just one night).  So, we were lucky in that way.

Unfortunately, it was quite rainy while we were in Talkeetna, so no views of Mt. Denali for us.  We visited the Talkeetna Historical Society Museum, which was housed in a cluster of small buildings.  They had some interesting exhibits, and my mom even recognized the names of some people who were mentioned in some of the informational materials.  At least in the past, they had a "moose dropping festival."  I couldn't really figure out what that was about, but they had some fabulous t-shirts on display, none of which, sadly, were for sale.

The town itself had an almost festival-like atmosphere when we visited, with outdoor booths selling a variety of crafts, in spite of the rain.  The scenery was also very beautiful even without views of Mt. Denali.  (Unfortunately, some sort of technological/personal failure seems to have resulted in my losing my pictures from around our lodge, so anyone reading will have to take my word for it!)  One thing to keep in mind about anywhere, really, but maybe Alaska in particular, is that rain can alter your plans and expectations.  Especially if you're on a tight timeframe, it may be best not to have a list of things you absolutely must see or do and just focus on enjoying what the weather allows you to do.

Musk Ox Farm

One of the places we visited in Alaska was the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer.  My parents and sister and I had previously visited in 2002, and it was fun to go back.  I highly recommend it to anyone visiting that area of Alaska!

I always love seeing a furry animal, but we learned a lot, too.  Native Alaskans had traditionally used mux ox hide, but only relatively recently had started using yarn made from the musk ox undercoat (aka qiviut).  At the farm, they comb out the undercoat (so they can get a clean collection, and it doesn't get mixed with dirt, twigs, and poop on the ground if it falls out on its own).  They send it to Peru to be made into yarn, which I thought was interesting.  It made me wonder if there were similarities between qiviut and alpaca fiber.  

Musk ox are also pretty tough customers.  The guide showed us places where they had headbutted the fence.  We were also instructed not to crouch down to take any photos.  

We were lucky in that the critters were obligingly hanging out near their fences when we toured.

Alaska 2024!

 We just got back from the longest trip we've been on in years, visiting Alaska and Washington state with my parents and sister!  For anyone reading who does not know, my mom was born and raised in Alaska.  We were all last there in 2002; she really wanted to go back, and the rest of us were definitely enthusiastic.  This was Scott's first time visiting Alaska, and he was very impressed with the beautiful scenery.

We used Anchorage as a base of operations and made some side trips, including to Talkeetna (with hopes of getting views of Mt. Denali) and Seward (to take a cruise in Resurrection Bay).  Some advice for my future self and for anyone else wanting to travel to Alaska:  The bulk of Alaska's tourism is concentrated in the summer months.  I have no statistics to back this up, but my impression is that most tourists to Alaska take cruises.  These cruises overwhelm small towns (and honestly, even cities like Anchorage) when they come to port.  Cruise-goers also take trains in order to travel into the interior, particularly to go to Denali National Park.  All of this is to say, plan very early if you don't plan on taking a cruise with a predetermined itinerary.  My mom had a terrible time getting lodging in Talkeetna, and she had to change the day that we traveled by train to Seward because the train was booked up.  You may need to make reservations well in advance if you feel strongly about eating in certain restaurants. You also may be eating a lot of early bird dinners to try to beat the crowds.  One thing that fascinated me wherever I went, is that Alaska seemed awash in tourism infrastructure (sometimes there seemed to be more of that than things like supermarkets or pharmacies that might benefit the locals), but yet it doesn't seem to be sufficient for current demand.  

So, here are some impressions (and photos!) from Anchorage.  You can see lovely scenery in pretty much any direction.  There are some good food options downtown, where we stayed (shout out to Fire Island Bakery, particularly their peanut butter cream cookies!).  One thing that I found very sad was the amount of homelessness I saw, particularly among Alaska natives.  Clearly, not everyone is benefitting equally from tourism dollars.  I highly recommend the Alaska Native Heritage Center, where you can learn about traditional culture of Alaska natives from around the state.  I particularly liked the outdoor exhibition of traditional homes.

Our hotel warned us of a very Alaskan hazard.

Wildflowers, including my mom's favorite, fireweed

Large flock of seagulls!

Replica of traditional dwelling at Alaska Native Heritage Center

Totem pole at Alaska Native Heritage Center

Losing Stella

 A few weeks ago, our beloved cat Stella had to be put to sleep.  She had had some months of ups and downs.  It was startling how quickly the final decline took hold, though.  One day  I was telling Scott that we needed to bring the cat sitter over to show her where Stella's food was ahead of a trip we were planning.  The next day, she stopped eating and didn't start eating again, no matter what we offered her.

I think euthanasia is one of the odder duties of pet ownership.  Nobody wants to have to make the decision about when an animal will die.  Yet, very little of it was truly in our hands.  Stella stopped eating when she stopped eating.  Ironically, it was a couple weeks before both Scott and I would be free for the summer, and not a great time for either of us to miss work.  But since death was inevitable, we wanted it to be quick and humane.  The vet who ultimately came to the house to euthanize her cautioned us against waiting too long.

The bright spot in the sad situation is that we both got to spend time with her at the end.  Due to a primary election in the district where I work, I had the day off the day before Stella died.  I had the opportunity to check in on her and see that she truly wasn't eating.  The day she died, Scott and I both made the call to just stay home.  We spent time with her until the vet arrived, and stayed with her, talking to her and petting her, throughout the process.

Perhaps inevitably, losing Stella made me think of when we lost our old cat Laila.  She was also euthanized after a series of ups and downs.  With Laila, I was less aware of signs of decline in cats.  I also didn't think to arrange at-home euthanasia, so one of her last actions in life was taking a car ride, which no cats really like.  I was also in the midst of my dreadful grad school 2.0 program, so I went to campus, and even dealt with a bunch of tiresome drama, before heading home to spend time with her before we took her to the vet.  This is a regret of mine.  I'm grateful that things were different this time for Stella and that I am no longer under such pressure to minimize actual life events (the principal at my school, who only rarely responds to emails I send when I need to take time off, responded about how sorry she was about my cat and encouraged me to stay home with her).

Right now, it just seems way too quiet at home.  We even miss the things that drove us nuts, like Stella consistently waking me up ten minutes before my alarm and yowling during our phone conversations.  She and Laila both added a lot to our lives--two very different kitties with very different quirks.  I think the best tribute to both of them is to give a home to another kitty, and I know in time we'll be ready to do that.