Winter Update

Now that the days are getting long and Spring is on the horizon, I suppose it's time for a run-down of Winter. I was hoping Grant would start to embrace this blogging thing but I guess men don't have that feeling of needing to communicate as much as women. Since we are "seasoned"Alaskans now having made it through 2 winters, what used to seem novel is now starting to seem normal (not sure if this is good or bad?). A clear example of this is that I actually almost enjoy walking outside to our bath house to use the toilet. No, I do not look forward to this at night, but during the day, it's quite nice to get some fresh air and appreciate the snow, sunshine, ocean, etc. And I'm very thankful that it's heated once I get there. Another example: we have eaten chicken once since Christmas and beef maybe twice. We have become quite skilled at cooking salmon 100 different ways and perfected our cooking of goat chili, goat spaghetti, goat burgers, and goat roasts. The meat of the year for next year is still TBD. Now, a quick rundown of winter highlights:

1. Tropical Vortex- While the rest of the country was in the Polar Vortex, Alaska received record-breaking warm temperatures. I heard one evening in January, Homer had the second-highest temperature in the continental US behind some south Florida town. January and February were spent running in shorts, basking on the deck, and not shoveling snow (or skiing, sadly). Here is a picture of our house in January:

Exactly what you think of when you hear "Alaskan Winter"?

2. Honeymoon in Maui- Thinking that we would want to escape winter's cold dark days, we decided to have our honeymoon in January rather than right after our wedding. While it was actually sunnier in Homer than Maui, the 75-degrees sure felt nice. We stayed at a condo in Lahaina which had plenty of delicious restaurants within walking distance. We spent our 8 days going on day trips from there-driving the North Coast, swimming in waterfalls on the Road to Hana, snorkeling at the beaches, and eating hoards of pineapples and papayas. 

Cruising in our Mustang Convertible

Near the Iao Needle

Kahakuloa Head

Top of Haleakala Volcano-trying to see sunrise. Unfortunately it was too
rainy for the sunrise but we at least got a rainbow

Suffering in the heat in the "lucky" Broncos flannel to watch the Super Bowl.
We all know how that turned out. Drinking Dark & Stormy's overlooking
the beach helped ease the pain thankfully.

Swimming in the waterfalls. An advantage of it being cloudy
is that it scares everyone else away from beautiful places like this. 

Ke'anae Peninsula

Watching the waves at Wai'anapanapa State Park 

Ziplining!

3. Fishing- Grant has been working on refinishing a houseboat for our good friends, Bob and Barbara (who we spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with). They have been kind enough to also take us fishing on the Bay multiple times. Bob is an excellent fisherman and we are now spoiled rotten with eating fresh Winter King Salmon. 

Bob at work

4. Skiing- While the number of days we had of skiing this year is a fraction of what we did last year, this remains our favorite pastime. We jumped at every chance we had this winter.

Hank's favorite pastime as well

Skijoring

Wine, Cheese, & Wooden Ski Tour

Due to minimal snow conditions,
there was a lot more wine and cheesing than skiing

5. Fur Rondy- Grant's mom decided to join us for the spectacle that is Fur Rondy. (For a description of what Fur Rondy is and to see last year's photos, click here) Since Anchorage has been having an unseasonably warm winter as well, the snow sculptures had melted to slush piles, many events were cancelled, and snow was hauled in for the dogs. Nonetheless, we had a great time watching the dog teams and participating in Running of the Reindeer. 

Ceremonial start of the Iditarod

It is Fur Rondy afterall 

Dressed up as Buffaloes for Running of the Reindeer 

Starting line of Running of the Reindeer

A tame version of Spain's Running of the Bulls, however, those
antlers could probably do some damage.

A nice walk on what is normally ski trails

6. We have many more Alaskan Winters to celebrate!- The State of Alaska has a grant program for healthcare professionals in rural areas to help with student loans and physical therapists were just added to the program. The hospital encouraged me to apply and, figuring I had nothing to lose, I did. Low and behold, I got it! So, I've signed a 3-year contract extension through 2016. While we definitely miss our family and friends in Colorado, we have met some wonderful friends here as well and we love all that Homer has to offer. It was not too hard to sign on for 3 more years of this:

 And now you all have more time to come visit us! We promise you'll have fun!