Seward Day One!

Got into Seward last night around 10PM, the ride down was beautiful! Checked into the hostel, everyone staying there was very welcoming. I sat in the common area for a while and just hung out. This morning I woke up and rode my bike to the one and only grocery store, bought shampoo and conditioner so I could take a shower....haha. I also bought some food. Then rode back while looking at the beautiful towering mountains the whole time. Showered and ate, then I was off. I walked into town with one of the girls who lives at the hostel in exchange for work. She was cool. We walked around the docks and just goofed around. Then she went to her other job and I just explored Seward! I made some connects with people for my boat ride and it miiiiiiiiiiiiiiight just happen!

What I am learning that I really like about Alaska is that everything moves at a much slower pace here. People aren't in much of a rush that they are in in PA. People actually take time to stop and smell the roses. haha

It was an absolutely gorgeous day!

The docks

I talked to these guys for a bit, they taught me how to filet a halibut!

The sea otters were swimming around everywhere!

They were so cute!

When I was walking downtown I actually heard them do the test run of the tsunami drill. It was this really loud siren, and it was actually somewhat happy sounding..... but it was super loud! Cool to hear though!

The Moby Dick Hostel that I am staying at!

haha where the B-52's song originated....

Seward definitely has the COOLEST dumpsters

Probably the most beautiful pictures of a dumpster you'll ever see...

Mile 0 of the Iditarod!

These cute little bunnies are everywhere!

I ended my day chillin in this sweet cafe, people were jammin on the guitar and I just read my book and drank hot cocoa!

Quote for the day.....

"To go wrong in one's own way is better to go right in someone else's"

-Fyodor Dostoevsky

Found a dollar yesterday! Now I think it may have been foreshadowing for today.....haha

And today, I got a job! It is at Trapper Jack's Trading Post located right in town. I'm pretty pumped about it. My boss seems like she's cool and all the people I will be working with are my age. I start Monday and work M-F 3.00-11.30PM with a half hour lunch break. Woo Hoo!

I met this guy Bill on the hike I went on Monday with Matt & Allison. He took some pictures of us and posted them on his blog http://wasillaalaskaby300.squarespace.com/. He got some cool ones......thought I'd share

Tonight I leave for Seward, AK! I am catching a ride with this guy I met online. I know that sounds absolutely awful. But I promise it is not as bad as it seems. There is a social networking site for travelers called couchsurfing.org. It's kinda sorta like facebook, but really for travelers. The site allows you to connect with people all around the world and stay on their couch for free for a few nights. The guy I am going with is going down to Seward for a sailing class and posted on the Anchorage Group site to share a ride to Seward. He is a verified member, which means he went through the verification process with the organization, and has a lot of people vouching for him on his profile. I'll be safe. But check out the site if you wish, it's a really cool idea.

I made reservations for a hostel for tonight. Moby Dick Hostel, I'm pretty sure it's the only one in town. It looks sweet though! I plan to go to the Sea Life Center, which is supposed to be sweet! I also want to try and get on a fishing boat down there......don't know how I'm going to manage that one, but I will be down there for four days, so I'll get creative...... :)

SATURDAY JUNE 19, 2010

This was the day of the downtown summer solstice festival. I rode into town with Steph and Courtney (the people I'm living with) we walked around the outside market for a while. Then I roamed around, listened to music and looked at random things people we selling. I then headed into town where the festival was happening. I watched some of the skateboarding demo, watched some awesome dancing by the Alaskan Dance company. After that i ended up meeting up with this kid (Isaiah) I had longboarded with the week prior and we hung around together and met up with this other kid Chaz. So we just longboarded around for a while and chilled. Then we were listening to some of the bands. Met up with three more kids, one I had longboarded with before (David) and two of his friends. Then all of us just strolled around town, participating in random hackie sack games, listening to bands, and shaking trees to each other wet. Then we went to the concert, which was insanely awesome. There were so so so many people! Everyone was having an awesome time, people were crowd surfing, and some kids climbed trees to see the concert. There was barely any room to move at all. The concert ended and I was able to get a ride home with Courtney and her friend.

hip hop dancers

salsa dancing

that girl from the hills with my friend isiah

SO MANY PEOPLE

Bass player, he was crazy, but awesome!

Lead singer of Flyleaf Lacey Mosley

so many people crowd surfing

People watching the concert from a tree!

SUNDAY JUNE 21, 2010

Yesterday I had work! I replied to a post on saw on alaskaslist.com for a pony walker/petting zoo attendant...and got the job! It was pretty sweet, I got to chill with this pony named 'Flame' all day. Flame really liked to eat grass. It was actually very tiring though. I literally walked around nonstop in a 100 yard circle from 11.30AM until 3.30PM. I wonder how many miles I walked and how many little kids I lifted up onto that pony. haha. Where we were was beautiful though! It was at kincaid park on a beautiful day and the view of the ocean was magnificent! Then that night I went to this lake with this kid I met at the concert the day prior, it was so pretty!! Pictures below!

Eklutna Lake

These kayaks were unfortunately locked up, or else I would have gone for a free kayak ride!

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2010

Today Matt and Allison invited me to go for a hike with them up by Palmer, AK. I don't remember the exact name of the place we went, but I do remember it was gorgeous. We hiked about twelve miles, six in and six back. As soon as we got to where we were going to turn around it started raining, but it actually wasn't that bad. There were a lot of intense beaver dams along the way. We saw a beaver on the way back and he was quite large. I actually got pretty close to him. We stopped for ice cream afterwards and its amazing how good food tastes after a twelve mile hike! haha. The ride there and back was beautiful as well. I am finding that there aren't too many ugly places in Alaska.

Matt & Allison

in a sweeeeeet chair!

The beautiful Lupine flower

Allison!

on the car ride back

Quote for today..........

The only thing you have to do in life is die.

So choose to live life, and not let life live you.

-saw this on the ceiling in a Hookah bar in Reading, PA

Oh and here are some pictures of some of my new roommates! haha