The Alaska Album!

Here is the story of my year in Alaska, and how it came to be:

1. I've always had wanderlust. When I moved to Charlotte from upstate NY in 2001, it was more for the convenience - I had friends and could get a job here. Not downplaying how much my friends and job have meant to me here, But I really wanted to live in Montana. Or Northern California. Or Flagstaff. Or San Diego. Or Wyoming. I just wanted to experience a different place.

2. Fast forward to 2007, as I was finishing my masters degree, and STILL felt the wanderlust.

3. Anchorage, Alaska finally won out. I am pretty sure Jill's blog was a deciding factor, although she lived in Homer, not Anchorage.

4. I didn't know a single person in Alaska, but I was quick to make friends with fellow bloggers. They helped me get set to live up there.

5. I secured a job over the phone teaching in Anchorage in March, 2008.

6. I moved in August 2008. I blogged everyday about my experience, and gained a good fan base, especially from friends and family back home. I wish I didn't erase that blog. But now I have a complete scrapbook!

7. I tried to experience as much as Alaska as I could, but it was clear: by January I knew I could only give it a year. And knowing I was moving back home cheered my greatly.

8. I continued to live the Alaska life until July 2009, when I boarded my car and myself on a ferry and headed back home to North Carolina.

Here are some pages from my scrapbook. Yes, SOME. This thing has a lot of pages and a lot of layouts and is 12 inches by 12 inches and weighs nearly 10 pounds:

The title page.

Notes from the long ride.

Hatcher's Pass was my first Alaskan hike/adventure!

I did A LOT in September.

I love simple filler cards: adding one sticker to a 3x4 piece of kraft paper, for example.

November was a beautiful month. Love the hoar frost on trees.

Depression and sickness settled in December, but this day was a bright spot. 

A BFF comes to visit from Charlotte, when it was 55 degrees in Anchorage! Warmer than Charlotte. Everything that melted during the day turned to black ice overnight. We were out of school for 3 days. 

The light starts to return in February. 

Spring!

My solo trip to Kodiak Island . . . I have a draft writing of my experience this weekend, someday I will publish.

Alaska animals. 

Back to summer in Anchorage.

I am so delighted to have this album done, so Brycen will know the whole story of my year in Alaska.