Pictures from Alyeska

Hope you had a wonderful MLK Day. Someone told me today that MLK was an alcoholic...hmmmm, never heard anything about that one. Anyway, maybe you were able to spend your day off giving back to someone less fortunate than yourself.

Here are some pictures from last weekend, when we went skiing at Alyeska. Steven did pretty well with his skiing. On the other hand, my skiing skills need some practice. But, hey, what more can you expect from a Georgia girl?!

This first picture was taken from the top of the mountain. When you ride the lift all the way to the top, you are above the clouds. We couldn't even see the bottom! The ride up was easy, although a little windy. However, the trip down was steep and filled with lots of falls. Even though it was a "blue" run, it was icy due to a lack of recent snowfall. Now I understand the term "powder snob"used to describe those Alaskans that only go skiing after a large snowfall.



Look at the ski lift going way up above the clouds!! This picture was taken later in the day as the sun is lower and almost hidden behind the mountains!

Steven and I are looking forward to having some visitors this summer! Steven is enjoying making the itinerary for when all of his family is here. Now, what I want to know is who is going to be sleeping in the tent in our backyard?!?!?!?


Rebekah

New Years Eve and Turducken

It has been a while since our last post! We have had such a busy start to the New Year! We had a great New Years Eve with some our our close friends at their new house out in Eagle River, Alaska. It is a smaller town right outside of Anchorage. It is nestled right in the mountains and is such a cute little town. We played some Catchphrase, which the girls team dominated in (even in the sports category, which the boys were confident they would be able to beat us in). Then we all went out to the Homestead, which is a very Alaskan-style bar next to the bowling alley in Eagle River. There was a huge dance floor and Steven showed off his great dance moves! The boys had a great time playing ping-pong as well!

The boys also had fun trying to climb to the very top of this huge snow mound. The plow always pushes the snow into the middle of the cul-de-sac and some one made a slide down on side! Super fun! There is Steven on the top of the mountain of snow!!!

After New Years, we came home and watched some football on TV (the Rose Bowl, sad that Oregon couldn't fight to a win). Then, we went over to another friends house for some Turducken. Turducken is a chicken inside a duck inside of a turkey. You can buy them already stuffed at the store and all you have to do is pop it in the oven and cook it. YUM!
I really liked the turkey and the chicken, but the duck had a different sort of taste and I was not a fan of it!

In other news, please stay tuned for pictures of our trip to Alyeska to go skiing...it was much more steep than Hilltop...and it was very icy, no powder at all!!! Here is a picture of me, sitting on the snow...where I spent much time that day!!



Rebekah

Hilltop and Goose Lake

Last Sunday we went skiing for the first time at Hilltop Ski Area (#25 on the list). It is just about 3 miles away from our condo, but it is an easy and smaller ski area. There are maybe 3-4 runs all parallel to each other, but it is a good place to get your feet under you. We were practicing and getting ready for our soon to be trip to Alyeska (the major ski resort in the area).

We had a lot of fun, and did really well in my opinion. I only fell a few times, mostly from cutting my corners to sharply, but never when I was moving real fast. Rebekah fell once, but she was going pretty fast. It was her first attempt at the black diamond and her skis got tangled up and she went flying. But, she got it on the next attempt.

Earlier today we did the Polar Bear Plunge in Goose Lake (new item #95) to raise money for Special Olympics Alaska. In order to jump you have to raise $100 each (Thanks to all those who donated to help us raise money!).

It was about 4 degrees outside, and we stripped down to our bathing suits (the girls also wore pajama pants and a t-shirt).

They cut a hole in the ice of Goose Lake so you could jump into the 32 degree water.

The water is only about 4 feet deep, and there are divers and paramedics standing by in case anyone needs them. When you hit the water it knocks the breath out of you for a few seconds.

There are two ladders to help you climb out of the water, but Rebekah didn't want to wait and just heaved herself out! The water is 24 degrees warmer then the air, so other than taking your breath away it really wasn't that cold while in the water...it is when you get out of the water that you are freezing!

Afterwards you run up the shore to get in the hot tubs and to recover. It was a lot of fun and we got interviewed by the Anchorage Daily News, so we might be in the paper tomorrow!

And of course the main reason to do this is because it helps a good cause. In total there were over 300 plungers and they raised over $85,000 in their first annual event. Next year we are planning on going down to Seward and doing the Polar Bear Plunge into the ocean (it is colder since it is salt water). That event is run by Relay for Life, and in order to participate for that one you have to raise $750.

Hope everyone has a great Holiday Season!


Steven