Seward for the Weekend

Adam and I took a trip to Seward Alaska this weekend. Seward is about a 2 hour drive from Kenai, and is an absolutely gorgeous drive!! We were blessed with perfect weather which enabled us to have a wonderful view of all the mountains. (I apologize in advance for all of the pictures of the mountains, I am obsessed with the mountains and the pictures here don't do them justice.) A majority of the drive follows along the world-famous Kenai River, which is a beautiful turquoise color and I am pretty sure has something to do with the glacial melt-off. The first three pictures are of the drive to and from Seward, which is the same drive from Kenai to Anchorage, so anyone who comes to visit us will take part in the beautiful scenery as well!

Kenai River, the turquoise color of the water unfortunately does not show up in this picture. I guess you will have to come and visit us this summer if you really want to see it! (By the way, plane tickets from Portland to Anchorage are still only $400 round trip, they are never that cheap!!!!)

Isn't this beautiful?

Coming into Seward, many cruise ships and ferries dock here since it is nestled right off the ocean in Resurrection Bay.

Adam and I originally decided to go to Seward to go on some great hikes. We got all prepared by buying bear mase (pepper spray), since all of the bears are waking up from hibernation and are very grumpy. Our first hike was to Exit Glacier, about 8 miles out of Seward, it took us about an hour to hike up and back.

This is a picture of the glacier.

Another pic of the glacier.

View from the top (well almost the top) and me...

...and Adam.

I thought this bridge was really cute!

We decided that this tree would make a great Christmas tree this December! Just kidding, it was sooooo fat and short, it would take up our whole cabin!

On the way back down Adam spotted a black bear way up on the hillside. I wanted to take a picture of the hillside just so we could remember that we saw one, I think it is the tiny little black speck in this picture, although I am not 100% sure, our camera doesn't zoom in very far. We also saw many mountain goats!

Our drive into Seward from Exit Glacier, I took a few photos of the mountains.

They look much bigger in real life!

Downtown Seward, not much to it, but it is very cute.

Downtown Seward.

I couldn't resist.

Adam and I thought it would be more fun to rent a tiny cabin for the night instead of staying in a hotel, especially since they are about the same price. It was soooo cute, and so much fun!

The bedroom.

Sitting area.

Entry to bathroom.

Adam always studying the architecture!

The bathroom.

We of course brought Butch along for the ride, he stayed the night in the car since they didn't allow pets inside the cabin. Butch is patiently waiting for Adam to start our campfire that was already set up outside in the picnic area.

We roasted hot dogs on the fire and had a picnic for dinner Friday night.

Picnic.

It was a little cold, but nothing we are not used to by now.

Butch found a treat for himself while we were cooking our dinner. He found a rabbit foot out in the woods and munched on that while we ate, let's just say that we aren't letting Butch give us any kisses for a while, it made his breath even worse!

On Saturday Adam and I went to the Seward Sea-life Center/Aquarium. They had a big room full of different Alaskan birds, lots of really cool fish, a seal and a sea lion.

These are Puffin's, aren't they cute? They have funny sideburns that remind me of a mustache.

More birds.

Lots of Sea stars, this was part of the aquarium where they let you touch the stars and different anemones.

This seal was playing with Adam, chasing his hand around, it was very cute!

Resurrection Bay from the Sea-life centers balcony, beautiful!

Resurrection Bay again.

We walked along the beach with Butch, mountains surrounding us!

The company that we rented the cabin from also runs a huge dog kennel that houses over 50 sled dogs. The family that owns the kennel competes in the Iditarod dog-sled race every year and places within the top ten! Because we rented a cabin we got a free tour of the kennel and education on the actual Iditarod race.

Adam and I didn't know this but Siberian huskies are actually not used for sled dog races like in all of the movies (Eight Below, Iron Will, etc.) It is a special breed called the Alaskan husky and they are specifically bred just for endurance and racing. They really aren't very pretty dogs, they are very lanky, and are basically mutts, but can run over 100 miles a day during the Iditarod!

Pictured here is one of the very few Siberian huskies that were at the kennel. Her name is Mya and she was very friendly!

One of the Alaskan huskies at the kennel just had a litter of 9 female puppies, they were only 8 days old and there eyes hadn't even opened yet!

We had a great weekend in Seward and can't wait to go back! Just remember, the summer's are beautiful here, the plane tickets are cheap right now, and we are learning about all of the great spots to see in Alaska so that when you come to visit you will have a great time!!! (Hint-hint)

Cabin Update

I thought I would give you all a little update on the cabin that Adam has been building full time. For those who don't know, this cabin will actually belong to Scott and Estelle, Adam and I will be living in it once it is liveable. Adam is trading time worked for rent.

Below is the arched doorway that will lead out to the back deck, as you can see the cabin is right on Lake Salamatoff. Adam is making all 3 doors in the cabin, and all 3 doorways will be arched!

The side of the cabin that faces the lake. This is the main living space.

Stairs up to the loft!

View of loft. Below is the bathroom (where the small window is). To the left of the big beam is the kitchen area.

Lake side of cabin.

Opposite view.

It sits right in the trees, once the trees sprout their leaves it will be very pretty!

View from future back deck. Directly across the lake is where we are living now.

I will continue to post pictures of the progress! Adam is really enjoying getting the opportunity to build. Scott, Estelle, Adam and I have found a 12 acre piece of property about 10 minutes north of here that we want to purchase to build more cabins to sell/rent. We are waiting on the electric company to let us know the cost to get electricity across the whole property.

As for me, I was supposed to work tonight, but got called off for low census. I am currently on stand-by which basically means I am on call and must be to the hospital within an hour if they call. I am officially finished with my orientation process, and will be working on my own from here on out! Yay!

Sunday Drive

Adam, Butch and I took took a drive to Captain Cook State Park on Sunday 5/3/10. It is about 45 minutes from Kenai, and 30-35 minutes from where we are living. The Swanson river (which apparently has great fishing in the summer, don't ask me how I know this) runs through the park. We hiked around the park for about an hour, and spent some time at the river throwing sticks into the water for Butch, he didn't seem to mind the freezing cold temperature!

Hiking through the woods we found signs that spring has finally sprung! Hooray! The snow is just about gone, and soon the ground and trees will be green!!

Swanson River, Adam can't wait to start fishing!

Here we are at the Swanson River. If you are wondering why I look so tired, it is because I just finished working my first 3 nights of night shift at the hospital, and yes... caffeine is my best friend!

I find the following video to be quite hilarious! Keep watching through until about the middle of the video, keep your eyes on Adam and you will see what I mean.

Hospital

I got a request from my Uncle Mark to post some pictures of the hospital, I asked a CNA (certified nurses assistant) that I work with if she would mind taking some pictures while on her break, she agreed, so here ya go! Turns out, Saturday 4/24 was my last day orienting on day shift with Judy, my preceptor. Beginning this Thursday I will be precepting on night shift with another nurse for 2 weeks. After these next 2 weeks I will be on my own as a nurse! Scary but exciting at the same time! I will then be working as a per diem night nurse, this basically means that I don't have a set schedule and work whenever they don't have enough staffing. It just so happens that for the month of May I was able to still get full time hours, and should continue to get full time due to the fact that many nurses take vacation time during the summer months! This works out perfect because I need/want full time hours, but there are currently no full time positions available to apply for. However, it will be quite an adjustment learning to work from 7pm-730am. Caffeine may just become my best friend!

Here is a picture of the main entrance to the hospital, through the doors is a friendly volunteer staff that direct people to the department in which they wish to go.

Bench across the drive-up from the front doors.

Fireplace in the main entrance, very cozy!

Lobby for the Med/Surg and ICU units.

Children's area in the lobby of Med/Surg and ICU. The fish tank is set up like the movie Finding Nemo, all the same fish and many of the same structures and plants! There is also a video gaming station!

Lobby to Med/Surg and ICU on right. Entrance to Med/Surg (through doors and to the left), and ICU (through doors and straight ahead).

Hallway to Med/Surg nurses station, here there are 4 patient rooms including 1 of 2 isolation rooms and 1 seclusion room, administrator's office, break room/lockers, and 1 of 2 medication rooms.

Nurses station and Doctors dictation room.

1 of 38 patient rooms on Med/Surg. Each room has it's own bathroom and fold out cot for family. Throughout the hospital and in each patient room is beautiful local framed photographs.

This is a really cool fountain that spans 3 levels and the main staircase. It makes a very soothing fountain sound.

This is the main chapel. The stained glass was donated by a local artist, and is actually 3d, it is very pretty! Every wednesday at 3pm, there is a meditation/guided imagery time that takes place in here, anyone is welcome and it is very relaxing!

Cafeteria.

There food is actually very good, and not too expensive.

A few of the girls I have been working with on days. Starting from left is Jenipher (CNA currently in nursing school), Liz (unit secretary), Judy (RN, my preceptor), and Leah (CNA who took these photos for me.

Judy and I. She was a wonderful teacher, and a great resource!

Adam's Journey

So I decided to post a few pics that Adam took on his journey from Vancouver to Kenai. Adam, Brian and Butch have been here now for 2 weeks, and have caught up on the much needed sleep from the drive. Brian (Adam's brother) has started a job this week as a front end manager at Wal-mart, and Adam is continuing to work full time on the cabin we will be living in. I will be finishing my preceptorship at the hospital in 3 weeks, and then I am on my own as a nurse! I will be working mostly nights, which will be hard to get used too, but worth the extra money! Butch is enjoying daily walks on the property, going to the beach, and loves to find sticks for us to throw for him.

I am not sure where the pictures were taken, but they saw some beautiful scenery! While in the Yukon Territory they saw the northern lights multiple times. Adam said there were green lights dancing all around sky, but his camera wasn't able to take a good picture.

He said they saw a lot of buffalo driving through British Columbia.

Time to stretch!

Butch

Glacier field a few hours before Anchorage

As you can see Butch really does love going for walks!

They've Arrived!!

Adam, Brian (Adam's brother) and Butch (our dog) finally arrived in Kenai last night around 930. As many know, Adam flew back down to Vancouver to drive up our two vehicles with Brian, and get Butch who had been staying with my uncle in Vancouver (thank you!). Adam spent 4 days visiting family and friends in Vancouver and then hit the road last Saturday for the long haul to Kenai. They ran into car trouble in Bellingham Wa saturday evening, our wheel bearing had gone out and could not be repaired until Monday morning. The boys stayed in a ghetto hotel in Bellingham Saturday and Sunday night, while Butch bunked in the trunk. The boys took turns sleeping as they were afraid someone would steal our stuff out of the bed of our truck. Come Monday morning the car is repaired and they head off on the road again!

After 2.5 days of driving and a total of 6 hours of sleep they arrived safe and sound. Let's just say, (despite the beautiful drive) they are not planning on taking another road trip any time soon!

Today we went for a nice walk on the property.

Butch is very photogenic! We are so happy to have him here with us!

Reuniting!

Below is a video of our reuniting, as you can see Butch was very happy to see me!