Sooo, I have returned from my trip to Alaska, which was awesome. I have faced soooo many of my fears and experienced many new things, and as a result, I have learned a great deal about myself that I didnt know before. So, I will start from the beginning……

Well first and foremost, before I even left for Alaska, I faced a fear…. and that was getting a root canal LOL Well, there was really no choice in that matter, I suppose. But I have heard so many horror stories, so fear was definitely a factor there. But to my utter surprise, it was really a painless event. And I wasnt even numbed for it (he did it completely without novacaine)

Now, getting to the trip itself….

Flying…. that was definitely a MAJOR obstacle for me to overcome. I was terrified to fly, coz I am afraid of heights AND speed. And well, I had never flown til going to Alaska…. and it was a 9 hour flight with a 2 hour layover in Houston. Both ways. Nothing like jumping right in, eh? I think it would have been easier to do a 2 hr flight the first time out. And I dont have to tell you, Im sure, that getting on that plane made me extremely afraid. I mean, I handled it okay…. I contained and controlled any outbreak of anxiety I may have had. And on the way back, I had a whopper of an anxiety attack (which is funny, since at that point, I had already flown — but I didnt make a scene about it) So, now that Ive done it, I can honestly and clearly say, that flying is not going to be my major mode of travelling. Why? Well, to be perfectly honest, Im not really comfortable with it at all. Even though I brought myself to look out the window A LOT (most of the flight, actually, even tho I said I wouldnt) I felt very uneasy, all the same. The entire time I prayed for the plane to takeoff and land safely LOL And I positively HATE turbulence besides…. that is some nervewracking shit there. But, I wont say that I will never fly again, coz the truth is…. there are places I want to go where it’d prolly be worth the risk. But… well, it will be a lonnnnnng time before I brave the skies again.

Ive also discovered that pressurization relating to your ears hurting was the least of my worries; I didnt have any ear problems at all, and I popped them on my own just fine, without needing gum or anything of that sort. But I do have a completely different problem related to pressurization thats referred to as Aerodontaliga — otherwise known as tooth squeeze. It seems that my recently root canaled tooth did not like the change in pressure, coz ascending on the way to Alaska, I had it minorly…. but descending coming back from Alaska and landing in Ft Lauderdale (which resides at a lower altitude than Alaska does — barely above sea level) I had an episode that lasted somewhat longer, and where the pain was somewhat worse. It did cease fairly quickly, once the pressure backed off and hasnt bothered me since. But since it had only occured in the recently root canaled tooth, and the one next to it that still needs a root canal, I came to the conclusion that there was a reason for it…. and that reason is called Aerodontalgia.

I also found that I didnt need to crutch on nicotine patches, even though I had a whole box at my disposal. I controlled my craving all on my own, for the entire 7 hour flight from Houston to Alaska. But any more than that, and I might have gone nuts LOL

Aside from that, I got to see cool stuff from the plane. Have you ever gazed upon snow-capped mountains from the sky? Well, now, I have. And it was just incredible…. to see mountains so high, that they poked thru the clouds. And flying thru clouds was also very cool (cept when they caused turbulence, of course LOL)

Also, I got to experience the most interesting flight ever. I left Alaska at 8pm, and it was still daylight (being the arctic and all) It was daylight for a bit, then we flew thru night (and I saw all the city lights from the sky) and then, we flew into Sunrise, all of that occuring in the span of 4-5 hours. Now that, was really cool. But jetlag, which was also new — definitely not cool! And Id stand to say when you go to Alaska, you end up even more screwed up than normal jetlag causes — coz there is no visual cue to tell you when its late while there. Half the year, its always light… the other half, its always dark. Its easy to lose track of time and not realize u should be sleeping. So I didnt get much sleep at all, between running around and losing track of time. But experiencing the midnight sun was pretty cool…. and I didnt have any trouble sleeping, either, when I actually did sleep (I can thank my regular, weirdo sleeping schedule for that much)

But digressing back to the flight views… they weren’t all fun and games. I flew over the gulf of Mexico and got to see the oil spill caused by BP from a birds-eye view. Large streams of brown sludge streaked along the surface for a pretty long way. Seeing it on the news lends a sort of detatchment; seeing it for real, really brings it home.

But Alaska held many other new experiences for me besides flying. The mountains surrounding me and unseasonably cold weather being major ones (and I have also learned I have a low tolerance for cold and prefer tropical, warm climates) I have to say, its also utterly weird to drive up a mountain and have your ears pop LOL And since Florida is primarily flat (at least, the Southern part) seeing and driving on hills and mountains, was weird unto itself. But getting away from all that, I dont just mean the experiences in landscape….

The next thing I had never done was karaoke LOL Ok so this one is kind of sillier in nature, but still. I actually got up and sang backup for George with his friend Bonnie, in front of god and everyone. And, I wasnt even drunk! (like I always said Id have to be, to do karaoke) I can honestly say that nite was a lot of fun. And no, I didnt sing by myself, as I didnt get the chance to… Stephen got pretty hammered that night, so pretty soon after, we left.

Next on my list of new experiences is riding in a limo. Yep, never did it before Alaska! And it wasnt a normal limo either… it was a hummer stretch limo…. which Stephen yacked onto the side of ROFL (nothing funnier than having to hose off a limo, coz someone yacked out the window from being hammered… yet another thing I had never experienced before lmao!)

So the next new experience for me…. living in Florida, I am no stranger to underwater tunnels. We have em here, and I have ridden thru them numerous times. But now I can say I rode thru a mountain tunnel. While in Alaska, travelling to a town called Whittier, we had to drive thru a tunnel that literally went thru a mountain. In it, there were these safehouses, where I suppose in the event of a cave-in caused by an Earthquake, you could go to be safe. Sure, youd be buried alive under tons of rock, hoping someone would find your ass…. I found that thought a little disturbing, to say the least LOL But it was very cool, all the same. And we also had to ride on train tracks all the way thru it, something else Ive never done (and no, they dont let trains in while youre driving thru there LOL They have a 30 min schedule they alternate on, so no one is chased down by a train)

I also most probably (though possibly not knowingly) experienced an Earthquake — tho nothing major or big. Apparently, the earth quakes a little every day there, from the tectonic plates always shifting. Most of the time, they are small enuff on the richter, that you dont really notice…. with the occasional bigger quake. And Stephen and I both swear we felt something odd, when we first arrived. I also aimed to see an active volcano while there. Unfortunately, I didnt get to see an active one, but I was on an inactive one. So I DID get to see a volcano…. just not one that emitted anything.

And then, there’s the mountains…. you know, prior to my trip, I knew Alaska had mountains. But I didnt realize I would literally be surrounded by them and there’d be so many. You also cant possibly appreciate the scale of them, til you’ve seen them for real. Pictures just dont do them justice at all. Ive also now seen glaciers…. as well as some small, melting icebergs. Not to mention, Ive seen lots of wildlife in its natural habitat, like dolphins, whales, sea lions, sea otters, moose (one of which walked right up in George’s front yard!) bald eagles, hummingbirds, all manner of fish, including rays, jellyfish, starfish and Im sure Im forgetting something. But suffice it to say, that was pretty damn cool too. Funnier though, among all this wildlife I did see, the one thing I never saw, was a bear. Its funny, just coz Alaska is known for them.

Next on my list of new experiences, was boating. Ok, thats not really new to me…. but Ill tell you, before Alaska, I had never spent that much time on a boat in my life (3 days, hours upon hours at a time, total, with the last day being the longest at 12 hours) And I realized…. Im nautical in nature; I am most comfy on boats. I can sleep on em…. eat on em…. exist on em, without batting an eyelash. Even when we were in open sea, where it led out of the gulf of Alaska and it was way choppier, it STILL wasnt really bothersome. I dont know if its coz I grew up in Florida…. but its not like Ive had a ton of experience on boats. Sure, Ive been on em quite a bit, but…. I can still count the amount of times on both my hands. Ive also decided that is the kind of boat I want to buy (an enclosed fisherman, with a cabin, bed in the bow and a bathroom onboard) Anyone got 10 grand I can borrow? ROFL (I kid, I kid)

So tween the nautical thing and preferring the tropical climate, I have concluded I am a pirate…. arrrrrgh!!! :snickers:

Continuing on, my next experience is camping. We went to a remote (very remote) Island, which heads before the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian chain, called Evan’s Island. We camped in these little log cabins, and the “hot tub” was basically a metal tub, with a fire, which heated it and an exhaust pipe extending from the tub itself. Everything ran on generator, so at 11pm, all the power went out (not a huge deal in always-daytime-Alaska… at least, til you need to flush the toilet LOL) There were no TV’s. No computers. All cell phones had no service, so you couldnt deviate to that for entertainment. And the cookhouse was completely separated from the cabins, in case of the event that bears invade the food stores. When I say this place was remote, it was something straight out of Deliverance. HELLO, total culture shock to this city girl! The first day was HORRIBLE and I was not a happy camper (to use a bad pun) But I suspect it was coz I was there alone, bored and with a few others that I didnt know exceedingly well (with the exception of my nephew Brandon, of course) I had the choice to fly out on a small airplane with the others, instead of waiting til the next day for the boat (and that I did refuse — being bored was far less worse than terrified in a tiny plane) so I opted to stay and ruff it out. But the second day, after everyone left and it was just Stephen, Austin, George, Delfy and I, it was actually a lot more fun. But, at that point, I was on the boat most of the time, and part of the main circle of action. So, in close…. do I like camping? HELL NO! I am far too hyperactive of a person to sit and be bored for that long. I dont see me doing it again, and definitely not in any tent, where I have to pee in the wild ROFL But I did enjoy having the experience and there were definite highlights to it. And on an interesting sidenote; the island I camped on, and its adjacent waters, were polluted during the exxon-valdez oil spill in 1989. That’s probably why the cannery that was once there, is now abandoned and all rusted out.

I also learned how to skip a rock. Well, I never did it before! Its not like we run around skipping rocks in Florida (its city, we have better things to do LOL like shopping!) But seriously, while on the island for the first day (the day of immense boredom, as it were) Brandon taught me how to skip rocks on the inlet in front of the island. Nothing to do when you’re locked in a vacancy lol

My last experience, before leaving Alaska, was ATV’ing. Oh, I know… I rode as passenger on an ATV once before at Scott and Jenny’s house. But I never drove one before. This time I did, even if it wasnt as long as I would have liked, due to a broken driveshaft. And can I just say… I HAVE GOT TO GET ME ONE OF THESE!!!! (to quote independence day)

I learned that my sinuses are actually worse in Florida, coz while in Alaska, they didnt bother me at all (aside from a minor runny nose when I was really cold) This is prolly due to the fact that we have so many different pollens here in Florida. My incessant ear itching also ceased to exist (but I always knew that was a symptom of chronic sinusitis)

I also learned that there are people who are more afraid than I am. Not going to elaborate, but perhaps, I am more brave than I give myself credit for. Even though there were parts that scared me, or at the least worried me for obvious reasons, I didnt shirk back in fear. And I did those things in spite of it.

So the end result of all this? Looking at the world thru different eyes, I think… at least to some degree. And I also lost 10 pounds as a bonus!!! LOL But more than anything, I think travelling allows you to appreciate home a little more. Well, at least, I do.