A summary of the drive

I realized that I hadn't really shared any photos from the trip over to Minnesota yet! I had shipped my car to Seattle, and Colin and I drove from there. So here I am by my car in Seattle at the beginning of our trip. You may notice that it's a little bit wet outside! Well, that precipitation turned into snow soon enough when we were in the Snoqualmie Pass! I was driving at the time, and I was suddenly really grateful that I had all-wheel drive and studs in my snow tires! We were driving slow because of the conditions, but we were still passing by some people. Colin made the comment that people probably looked at our Alaskan license plates and said, "Oh, well that's why".





We made it through the pass just fine (me a little white knuckled, but still in good spirits), and that actually ended up being the worst of our trip; the rest of the way we occasionally ran into a little bit of snow, but hardly anything was sticking to the roads, so we were in good shape.



If you listened to my audio blogs that I posted (which I should do more of soon), then you know that we stayed overnight close to Butte, Montana, where we pulled off the highway at the first reputable motel :) We had driven about 9 hours that day, I belive. It wasn't really long, but we were pretty tired when we stopped. We also didn't know if there would be another good place to stop if we pressed on for another couple hours. It made for a long following day, but all was well.

The second day of driving brought us to Sioux Falls, South Dakota after about 14 hours. We had pushed to the end because we had relatives to stay with there. It helped that there were two of us, so that neither of us had to drive when we were too tired. We stayed in Sioux Falls for 3 nights. We have relatives from both families of our maternal grandparents, so it was really nice to meet relatives that we hadn't even met before! The first day we primarily hung out with my grandmother's sister and her husband. We met a couple of their grown children as well. The second day we primarily spent with my grandfather's siblings. They all gathered at one brother's house, and we had a great time looking at pictures and hearing stories. What's great is that I'm actually very close to Sioux Falls. It's only about a 4 hour drive from Saint Paul, so I plan on going back regularly. There's a family reunion happening this summer that I'll hopefully be able to go to. It really was nice getting to know more of our family.



Finally, our trip was completed by that 4 hour drive from Sioux Falls to Saint Paul. It was great to finally be home!

All in all it was a nice way to move. Shipping the car to Seattle was a really great thing to do! Having only two days of long driving was very doable, and I had fun. It was the longest drive I have ever done, but I enjoyed it! So that was the trip!

Life in Minnesota

Well, I'm settling into life here in Minnesota :) I'm liking it a lot! When I went to my Kelly interview, I had to venture into downtown Saint Paul, which downtowns are always questionable about driving in. But it's a very pretty downtown, which wasn't too dangerously crowded or anything. I've heard downtown Minneapolis is another type of adventure, but I guess one that I'll have some time or other :)

I am officially a Sam's Club member now, and I had my first trip all by myself to check out what they had to offer :) I did very well restraining myself, but I managed to get some good staples for the apartment. If you don't know already, I'm not always the happiest of shoppers. But I managed to have a good time, mostly because I wasn't in any hurry. I did have a little adventure at the check-out line when the cashier didn't know that they had to enter AK in front of my license number (I'm still waiting for the official Minnesota card in the mail), so it was rejecting my check. Fortunately, all worked out well in the end :)

Sorry, that last paragraph was really boring, wasn't it? But you see, this is really the first time that I have lived on my own (sad, but true). So I'm enjoying all the mundane things that I will eventually grow tired of, which includes groceries :) But on a more exciting subject, I just got home from a Baha'i devotional, where people gather together simply to say prayers. This devotional was held at a young married couple's student housing on U of M's campus, and there were quite a few people there (maybe 20). There were a lot of really great people that I got to meet, many of whom weren't even Baha'is but liked to come for saying prayers. So I had a really good time :)

Tomorrow my friend John is coming through Minneapolis on his way back home, and he has a bit of a layover--so he's going to officially be the second guest that we have at our apartment! It will be great to see him, even if just for a couple hours!

Well, enough for now--I'm going to bed! G'night!

Happy Birthday Shelly!

I just wanted to wish Shelly a Happy Birthday!!! I feel so lucky to have the chance to share an apartment with her. She is the best combination of humor and smarts (which, to have a good sense of humor, you certainly have to have the smarts!). We have such great conversations about all sorts of different things. So happy birthday Shelly--I hope this next year is great!

I'm a Kelly Girl!

Hey everyone! Well, I've officially been hired by Kelly Services to do temporary jobs in various offices around Saint Paul. The people at Kelly were really great, so hopefully I'll be able to work as often as I can!

My car now has Minnesota plates, and I also got a bank account here... I feel like such a big girl :) The good news is that I pretty much got everything done that I wanted to complete before starting to work, so that feels really good!

I'm officially a Minnesota driver!

Hey everyone! Well, I went and took my test today for getting my Minnesota driver's license... and I got 100%!!! Woo hoo! But I still have a crappy picture :)

I'll be going into the main DMV office tomorrow to go and register my vehicle... but I kind of enjoy being a new driver here with my Alaska plates--I think people are more forgiving while I fumble my way around!

I finally took a picture of our living room. It's very comfortable, and I like it a lot!


That's about it for now. I'm making venison stew tonight, since one of my relatives in South Dakota sent me off with some of his recent catch :) It's making the house smell mighty nice, I must tell you! Wish you could all join me for a bowl!

Bye for now,
Lindsay

Colin goes home...

Well, Shelly and I dropped off Colin at the airport this afternoon. I'm really glad Shelly came with me, so that I didn't have to leave the airport by myself. That helped a lot.

I'm excited for Colin going home, as he's got some cool stuff happening at work, and all of his other obligations... that's the rational side of me. The little girl side of me is wanting to crumple up and cry and demand that he stay! I'm SO grateful that he was able to come with me to help get me settled. It was in no means a vacation! Get this: he helps me drive the car from Seattle to Saint Paul, then I drag him on endless shopping trips, where he is forced to carry heavy things, then he moves heavy things into our apartment and assembles them, then he ... drum roll please... proceeds to remove, one by one, the studs from my winter tires!!! Here's a photo of the dish of studs after he had finished all four tires (roughly 150 studs in each one!):

And those are just the highlights of what he did! While I appreciated having him here for his brawn, I appreciated his brain too :) Those who know Colin know how funny he can be, and he was often making Shelly and I laugh. So, I know Colin probably doesn't like that I have a post about him on my blog, but I've gone ahead and done it!

I love you Colin! You're the best brother a girl could have, and I miss you already!

My room!

Well, I finally got some of my pictures up on the wall (deciding where to put them is so tough!), so I thought that I could finally share some photos of my room :)

This first photo is what you see straight from the door:


As you can see, I've got some good sized windows, which are really nice for letting light in during the day (a lot of the time I just keep them closed, because it's so bright!). In the right side of the picture, you can see a couple photos hanging. One is still on the floor because I actually need to add something to the back of the frame to hang it from! But one of the photos is from the production of King Lear that I was in, and the other two are fun shadowbox frames that my parents put together from the two years I did Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens. They're kind of silly, but they make me smile when I look at them :) Also notice the nice furniture from Ikea :) I went with the light wood, as it seemed to be a theme in the shared part of our apartment, but also because I like keeping the room feeling light.

Rotating slightly, here's what you see to the right:


I have a mirror that my mom did the stained glass work on (which I love), and I just put together the series of photos of my brother Colin when he was younger (I just love these photos). I have my little computer speakers, so I'm able to have music, which is just a must!

And rotating a little bit more:


I've got my handy dandy calendar care of Robert and Tony (thanks guys!), and the floor to wall doors to my closet.

Here's a pic of one side of the closet, although it's not that interesting :)


So that's my room! All in all, I find it very nice. So far, everything I own has its own place, so hopefully I will be able to avoid the problem of clutter that I seem to always have. It feels good to have it pretty much complete--at least for now :)

Tana and Dhabih's wedding

Well, now that I'm getting a little more settled, I wanted to take some time to share a bit from the trip getting to Minnesota! So, occasionally I'll skim through my pictures and find something that I didn't want to miss sharing :)

One huge hightlight of the trip was the fact that Colin and I got to be at Tana and Dhabih's (pronounced "Zabee") wedding in Seattle. I have been to a lot of beautiful weddings, but I have to say that this was towards the top of the list. Both Tana and Dhabih are Baha'is, so the only requirement of a Baha'i wedding is the recitation of a short verse, which each of them says. The rest of the wedding can consist of whatever they decide. In this case, there were several readings from Baha'i writings interspersed with songs beautifully provided by Yohannes and Laila. Tana has been my friend since childhood, and I love her so much. I was thrilled to be at her wedding, and I wish her and Dhabih patience and happiness... and laughter :)

Three days and counting :)

Hello everyone! I have now finished day three in Saint Paul! On Friday, the day we arrived, we didn’t venture too far out. We managed to find the closest Wal Mart and bought some bedding so that we stayed warm that night and came home to rest.

Saturday we went to the biggest Ikea I’ve ever seen (okay, well, it’s only the second one I’ve been to, but it’s right next to the Mall of America, so everything is big in that area). I was so exhausted by the end of the day! We probably spent a good 4-5 hours at Ikea, checking out all sorts of furniture for the apartment. And we were very successful! We were able to get a really nice dining room table (with folding chairs for now, which are actually pretty good, despite their cheap price). I was able to find a bed, mattress, and matching drawers that, though simple, I really like.

We managed to get everything into the Subaru, which is just a miracle, and still have room for all three of us. When we got home, I was dead to the world. I mean, I dislike shopping in general because it just wears me out. And this Ikea was pretty darn full of people. But I was very happy with how productive we were. Colin immediately started to assemble our table while Shelly and I put together a pretty tasty goulash. So here is a picture of our official first meal at our table (we have it extended out, but the second picture shows that the side wings actually slide underneath to make it a nice square the rest of the time):


Today (Sunday) we were able to do a couple things with the Baha’i community in this area. In the afternoon we went to a reflection meeting (a gathering of Baha’is from the region that discuss plans for developing the Faith in that region, making plans for activities and such and then reflecting on things we’ve done in the past little while, a sort of “check-in” so to speak). It was great because I got to meet tons of people, and the meeting itself was a lot of fun. This evening Colin and I went to a devotional meeting, where people gather to say prayers. It was mostly youth, and the atmosphere was really nice (it was actually at student housing on the University of Minnesota campus). So it was a great day! We’ve finished assembling the furniture for my room, and once I get everything moved in I’ll post a picture.

I miss Alaska terribly, but the good news is that in many ways Minnesota feels a lot like the feeling of Alaska. Maybe it’s the cold that keeps the people good ☺

Bye for now!

The roomies are united!

Hello everyone! Colin and I have finally made it to St. Paul! It's great to finally be home! We arrived here at about 2:00 in the afternoon. Shelly was home to greet us, and I got to see our apartment for the first time! Shelly did a great job finding a place! We don't have much furniture yet, so I'll post some photos as we get the place fixed up.

Meanwhile, it just feels good to have made it here in one piece! Thank goodness, we didn't have any car trouble along the way. Colin is here through next weekend, so he'll be helping me get the place set up some.

Anyway, I'll be posting more later. I hope everyone is doing well. I want to thank all those who left comments along the way--I love getting comments, as that clues me in to who is reading, and just seems to connect me to you! So thanks to those who commented, and keep the comments coming!

Howdy from Sioux Falls!

Well hello everyone! Colin and I found a cafe that had free wireless, so we're taking a chance to check email and such. We're just about to go visit some family from my maternal grandfather's side, which should be just great.

We're staying with my maternal grandmother's sister and her husband (in the picture with me in front of the falls). They've just been so great to us while we're visiting, and time is flying by!



We've been having fun just taking it easy and visiting with people. Once we reach Saint Paul tomorrow, then the unpacking and such begins!

I hope everyone has been doing well, and I'll be posting more pictures and such when I have more time.

Bye for now!

We've made it to Seattle safe!

Well, we've made it to Seattle safe and sound! It was a bit of an adventure in the wee hours of this morning, but Colin and I stayed in great spirits throughout.

Our flight from Anchorage was right on time. When we got to the airport, I had been told that the parking people that had my car would have a desk at the baggage claim... that wasn't the case :) Fortunately, I had a phone number for the parking service. I called, they sent a shuttle, and when we arrived at the parking place, there was my car, safe and sound! And with everything I shipped in it too :)

This is where the adventure begins. We had a map and directions of how to get to the place we were staying the night, but at some point on the highway we missed a crucial exit and ended up all the way in downtown Seattle. But Colin was the hero of the day! He had bought a small GPS device that connected to his laptop, that was able to show us where we were, and then we were able to use Lake Washington as a landmark to then figure out how to get to where we wanted to go. Apart from being a little worried that we wouldn't find it, Colin and I were actually having a really good time. Being in the early morning hours, there was hardly any traffic, so I didn't feel weird slowing down and looking at street signs. And it was fun, because Colin would be like "okay, the road is going to curve left and then right, and then the street we're turning on will come up pretty quick on your right", and it was so!

First leg of the trip accomplished! Our time in Seattle is probably going to be the most crazy of all, as far as navigating, but we've had a pretty good tour of the city now, so we should be fine :)

Farewell Alaska...at least for now :)

Oh, I am so sad to leave Alaska! I'm looking forward to my trip and new adventures, but my heart is sad leaving this wonderful place... seriously, I have to drink lots of water to keep up with the tears :)

It's coming down to the wire, so I wanted to put a quick post up. I don't know how often I'll have internet access along the way, but... drum roll please... I will be posting AUDIO blogs along the way! Blogger allows a way to call in to a phone number an essentially leave a voicemail on my blog for any to listen to! Those of you on my mailing list will not receive a notice each time, as I won't be near a computer when I make these posts, so make sure to check periodically in the next week if you want updates on my trek to Minnesota!

I just want to put on record that I have some of the nicest friends in the world, and the ones I'm leaving in Anchorage are particularly tough to leave. But our friendships survived my being in Israel (and made my friends in Israel so jealous with the cool packages they sent), so hopefully they'll survive this parting as well. I'm going to miss the casual ease of seeing everyone, and I'm going to miss acting with a lot of them. I'm going to miss watching my cousins grow up, I'm going to miss shoulder rubs with my mom, I'm going to miss the occasional "arkabarkoo" from my dad, and I'm going to miss just BEING here.

But I'm looking forward to Minnesota... it's exciting to think what could be ahead!

Bye for now,
Lindsay

All the farewells...

Well, I'm heading into the last few days here in Anchorage... which means lots of meals with people :) I think my all-time favorite way to visit people is over food, so this week has been great for me... although sad as well.

Tonight we just had dinner with my Uncle Stu and Aunt Terry (yes, I have two aunts named Terry!). The other day I had lunch with my cousin Kimkoa and her kids and then had dinner with Megan and Erin, on Sunday I hung out with the whole crew that watches "Lost" together and ate spaghetti (thanks Damien for cooking!), and I've been hanging out at the Mitchell's house a lot, addicted to watching episodes of "Scrubs" and eating waffles. And in the midst of all these meals, I am still getting ready for the move!

Even though I've been spending a lot of time, even before this week, with my friends and family, inevitably as time gets shorter I have the impulse to panic. But all will be well. All will be well. All will be well :)

Here are a couple photos from after dinner tonight:

The road trip plans

Well, as it gets closer and closer to departure date (on the 6th!), I'm starting to feel the panic of getting everything together. But I have faith that all will go well :)

Here are the plans as they are unfolding: Colin and I are flying down to Seattle on the 6th. We're picking up my car that even now is traveling on a ship, bound for the Tacoma port, and staying in Seattle for the weekend to attend a very special friend's wedding (Tana, the website for their wedding is: http://www.sijun.com/wedding/). After that, we're heading out on the road! One day is going to take us to somewhere in Montana, where we'll stay in a hotel, and then another day will take us to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where many of my maternal grandparents' relatives live. We're going to spend a couple days getting reacquainted with family that we don't have the bounty of getting to see often at all, and then we'll travel the rest of the way to the Twin Cities and what will be my home for the next little while.

We're not in a huge rush while we're driving, so if we need to stop because of weather, we'll do that. But all in all, it seems like it will be a great trip! You know what's funny though? I'm actually going to be flying back to Alaska at the end of February for a week! I have some of the best friends in the world, and a whole group of them pooled their resources and gave me a Christmas present of a trip home! So why at the end of February? Well, I'll be performing with TFYP in a storytelling/sing along show with the Folk's Tales crew called "Pirate Tales", which will include all sorts of stories and songs of the sea. So I'll be learning some stuff from afar, and then come into town the week before the show and perform for one weekend. The nice thing is, knowing I'll be back takes away a little of the pang of leaving.

Well, I'm off to my last Lost night with friends (for a description, see this previous post). We only have one new episode, but it's my last chance before leaving, so we're getting together. Damien is making his famous spaghetti sauce, and I am starving--so I'm heading over there!