Hello all!

I had a lot of good feedback when I did a blog in Europe last year, so I figured I'd do the same while here in Alaska. Which is probably a good thing because as soon as I landed I sent pictures of the mountains to a few family and friends, and before I knew it my phone was blowing up with texts/calls and it got a little overwhelming! So here is where you can be filled in on everything I will be up to here and all of the pictures!

The journey begins...


I got to the Milwaukee airport in perfect time, just enough to check my bags, get settled and play a little bit of ping pong with Ryan and the girls before I went through security. Security was a breeze and I easily found my gate. It was about 5 min to departure time and our plane still hadn't arrived. Soon it became departure time, and still no plane. Shortly after they made an announcement saying that Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Minneapolis so no flights were allowed in or out during that time which caused some delay issues. Thank you Joe Biden, fortunately I had an hour layover so I knew I had some time to spare.

Finally, the plane arrived and everyone quickly boarded as many had connecting flights to catch. I sat down in my seat 18D, window seat of course, and waited to see who would be sitting next to me for this 50 minute flight to Minnesota. Like any traveler, I hoped that the person sitting next to me would be friendly, not creepy, and not smell bad! A girl finally made her way to the seat next to me, she looked about my age but I couldn't tell exactly. As the plane started to move towards the runway she asked me where I was coming from and where I was heading to, I told her and asked her the same question in return. She told me she is heading to Oregon to visit her mother and she came from the country Jordan, in the Middle East where she lives with her husband. 

After talking for a bit about ourselves I pulled my ticket for Anchorage out of my purse and looked at the departure time, nervous that my 1 hour layover wouldn't be enough. She then looked at me and said "Hey whats your name, anyways?" I told her my name was Sophie. She gave me a look and said "You're kidding me right? My name is Sophie!" And then it kind of turned into that scene from the Parent Trap where Lindsey Lohan and the other Lindsey Lohan find out they are twins and start rapid firing questions to each other. I immediately started laughing and looked at her and said " I bet you're 21 years old too?"...and go figure she was 21 as well. We later learned that we both are named Sophia, although she legally changed hers to Sophie when she got married, and our middle initials both start with an M.

It's the little things like that in life that make you smile...I mean what were the chances of her sitting next to me? As you may have guessed, after that we spent the whole flight chatting and we were in Minneapolis before we knew it. As we were getting off the plane we said we would have to find each other on Facebook, said goodbye, and wished each other safe travels

The "other" Sophie :)

After getting off the plane for Minneapolis I had just enough time to find my next gate, use the bathroom and get in line to board my next flight. The flight to Anchorage was sold out, not a single seat left and we were even on a big jet. I sat in my seat, again by the window and waited to see who would share this 5 hour flight with me. Shortly later a guy found his seat next to me, I would guess mid to late 20's. We didn't talk much at first other than a hello when he sat down. And if there is anything to know about me, its that I do not like awkward situations, nor will I intentionally put myself through one. With that, there was no way I was going to sit next to some stranger for 5 hours without introducing myself. 

So I did, which must have broken the ice for him because he wouldn't stop talking after that.  We got to talking about ourselves. He told me how he is from WI going up to Alaska to help his brother build a house, how he has a girlfriend whom he is planning on proposing to in New Zealand this next summer while going shark diving (I told him that is definitely girl approved), and said an early congratulations because who could say no to that? We then talked about our favorite TV series. I told him I'm a TV junkie and watch too many series. I told him that Breaking Bad and LOST are probably my favorite all time series so far. He told me to watch Game of Thrones and House of Cards? So if anyone could agree that those are good shows maybe I'll give them a shot! Then I decided to watch the movie Gravity with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney...amazing movie by the way! Afterwards I watched a few episodes of Shark Tank, my guilty pleasure tv show that's all about entrepenurship, buisness and money. Strange I know, but I'm hooked!
 

Wow, I feel like I'm doing a lot of typing. Sorry for those who don't like to read! I promise the pictures are coming soon! It's just that I have so many people asking detailed questions so I thought I'd be as thorough as I can! About 10 min before landing in Anchorage I peaked out the window and noticed things popping up in the distance...MOUNTAINS. Beautiful snow covered mountains. I could keep writing and writing a bunch of descriptive words on how breathtaking these were from an aerial view but I just can't. Their beauty cannot be put in words. This was  uncharted territory, and mother nature at her finest. I felt like I was in the middle of a National Geographic episode. I ooo'd and aaa'd the whole way down to Anchorage and sent pics to family and friends as soon as I could. Here are a few...

Everyone in Alaska has been so hospitable so far, sometimes even a little too much! I could barely eat my dinner last night at the hotel restaurant because an older gentleman next to me told me all about the history of Alaska and how we bought it from the Russians, the weather, the animals, the people, the sights. It was actually very good info to know and I'm glad I had the chance to talk with him! He also told me the best times and weather situations to see the Northern Lights. He told me that the northern lights is actually radiation coming from "storms" on the Sun! So cool! He said that meteorologists up here study when the Sun is having its big sun storms so they know when the lights will be best. He said usually they are best seen Jan-March, on below zero nights in early morning hours. So interesting, I'm already learning so much! And hopefully I'll get to see these lights with my own eyes :)

Tonight I will head to Wasilla, which is roughly 45 minutes from Anchorage I believe. That is where I will be staying for the duration of my time here with the other technicians helping with the race! I can't wait to see what else is in store for me here and I will be sure to share everything with you along the way! I can't believe I've only been here for one day and already so in love with this beautiful state. The gentleman at dinner last night said he had one very important tip for me. He said...

"Now when you're done here, go back home and visit your family for a bit before moving back, they will appreciate it!"