I'm Here!

I arrived in Anchorage Sunday around 4:00 p.m.  I dropped off my stuff in the cutest bed and breakfast on earth, and decided to take advantage of my hour of remaining light and went for a walk around the neighborhood.  I found a grocery store and bought some snacks for my room.  I found a reindeer and took a picture of him.  

Mostly, I feel like one of the small unattractive children that fell through the wardrobe and into snowy and magical Narnia.  I am only missing some Turkish Delights.

Then my new boss, Tracey, came to get me for dinner.  We ate at the Bear Tooth Grill, and had Polar Pale Ale (made by Moose Tooth Brewery).  They like animal teeth here, I guess. I feel lucky to work in an office where my superior will welcome me into town and buy me my first beer.

I had asked the agency if I could have one day to myself before starting work, and I’m glad I did.  I’m not sure if it’s the cold, the dark, or the sudden realization that I moved to Alaska, but I’ve been exhausted!  I decided to go on an adventure on my Monday off.  I’ve wanted to go to REI again, which is a few miles away from my B&B.  I don’t have a vehicle, and public transportation (the “People Mover”) is unimpressive. But I discovered that there are some hiking trails that you can take almost all the way there from where I’m staying in downtown. 

It was a good walk, about an hour and a half.  I bought some wool socks, tights, and underwear at REI.  I spent a shocking amount of money on these things. But everyone keeps saying I'll enjoy my life here more if I'm not afraid to drop money on warm clothes, so I'm diving in.  The boots and coats Christina made me buy are fantastic; I'm so glad to have them! So if that’s any indication, the warm clothing is an investment.  Here is what the warm clothes empowered me to see:

The trip back from REI was a little trickier.  Everything is so white it was hard to remember the way I came.  But I did find my way back after all, completely wiped out by my tiny task.