Listed below is a recap of an adventure that happened pre Thanksgiving….I am trying to catch up!

——————————————————

I have worked at Crate and Barrel off and on since 1998. I think I finally went full-time in 2013. If you saw my home (and now my storage unit) you would definitely say that I love the product. Cause I have a ton of Crate glasses, vases, plates, baskets, etc. packed up and ready to come to Alaska. Hello Serenity Wine glass…I do miss you ! Oh Basketweave…it was so weird not eating my Thanksgiving dinner off you.   I miss my store, my coworkers and yes Lord, that awesome discount!  As anyone who has worked retail knows…its a given that you are working weekends.  So my very first Saturday in Alaska…I didn’t know what to do. It felt weird not being at Crate…heck it felt weird working a straight Monday thru Friday work week.

In addition to my love for Crate and Barrel, I have a love for crabs. To my everlasting regret, I didn’t get to enjoy some Maryland crabs before I left the East Coast. I told my sister and she was like…don’t worry we will get you some Alaskan King Crabs. So when I had been here two weeks without any crabs, I had to let a sista know. Add to the fact that it was a weekend and I wasn’t at Crate…well…what’s a Miles girl supposed to do???   She goes crabbing that’s what!

In Maryland we are very fortunate. While in season, it seems like blue crabs are abundant…like rain in a rainforest. You can get them at the grocery store, at the wharf, at your local seafood shop, or on the side of the road. If you are like Jocelyn and I, you can get them with a chicken tied to a piece of string, dropped off a pier in Annapolis, Maryland.   Here’s what we learned to do one summer: you buy a drumstick or a thigh,  tie one end  to the chicken and the other to a pier (for best results the string should be pretty long), throw the chicken as far as you can  and wait for the string to  “walk.”  Once the string starts walking, you slowly pull the string ever so gently back to you,  and if the crab hasn’t dropped off….you use a net to catch your dinner.   Jocelyn and I enjoyed the solitude of sitting on the pier, conversating with each other (as well as  with Johnathan and Imara) and enjoying the Maryland scenery.  It also got to the point that I began to hate paying for crabs as I felt that I could catch better than what was being sold at my local store.

So why not try to duplicate this method in Juneau, Alaska?  It can’t be that hard, ya think?

For one thing…they really don’t have piers…at least not at Echo Cove. So we couldn’t tie the string and throw the chicken in the water to catch some unsuspecting crab. We also didn’t have enough string. So we waded into the water and while we had on boots they weren’t wading boots so we could only go so far.  So we are not in the deepest part of the water and neither is our string.  So  Yeah…this is NOT going to work. So in the midst of deciding that this is not working…Jocelyn thinks she sees something in the woods and wants to talk about Rules of Engagement. Rules of Engagements I say again, oh so innocently. Yes, she answers. Rules of Engagement for BEARS?!

Yep…that is Monday walking to the car.

I. AM.  SO. DONE.

And for the inquiring minds out there….no I didn’t eat crabs that day.  I finally had a Dungeness Crab that I bought at the Fred Meyer, which is an upscale Super Walmart.  Any Alaskan will tell you the best way to catch a crab is to have a boat/kayak and a crab pot.  So we will see how this rolls next summer.

Below are a couple of pictures of Jocelyn, Johnathan and I coming back from Echo Cove.  We did a quick stop on Egan Highway to bring you the following:

                                                     

 

 

As I write this post, the Thanksgiving weekend of 2014 has drawn to a close. I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends!

And guess what folks…it has finally snowed in Alaska. Yes, I know many of the lower 48 states have had some snowfall within the last week but Alaska was bone dry. Like we had no snow on ground. Nada…nothing…zilch.    So on Saturday night it snowed 3 to 5 inches and on Sunday another 3 to 5 inches.   Also, because snow is the norm here…its going to take a serious blizzard for Monday (the person not the day)  not to have to go to work on Monday (the day not the person).

But I knew that before I came, so as the Alaskans like to say:  No worries!

Here are some pics for you to enjoy!

                                                                              

When I first arrived in Juneau it was the dead of night, and of course I couldn’t get a sense of what and where I was. Well that all changed the very night I arrived.

After getting settled at Jocelyn’s house, we decided to take Bailey and Lucky out for the last walk of the night and she started looking for a head lamp. You know the kind that miner’s use.  What do you need that for I asked ever so innocently. To be aware our surroundings in case we run into a bear my sister sweetly answered. WTH?!!!

Oh Monday…you are such a silly East Coast girl from the suburbs of Maryland.

Yes, I knew there are/were bears in Alaska. When discussing the potential Juneau move with my sister Nicole, she specifically mentioned the fact that I don’t do roughing it well (i.e. camping), that eagles would pick up my Shih Tzu’s like they were paper (for reference please see The Proposal) and there were bears in Alaska. To be fair, when I thought about moving to Vegas, she said that Bailey and Lucky couldn’t survive the wolves but whatever!  But I disregarded her concerns (except the camping thing cause let’s face it I don’t do roughing it well)…..I could deal with the bears. Except that I had no plan to deal with the bears since I didn’t plan on seeing them. I had no idea on what their plans are for me. What the heck was I thinking?

My first day of work was the very next day after I arrived. So I get dressed and Jocelyn makes breakfast (because everyone knows I don’t really cook), I walk out the door to see Juneau for the first time. And what a sight it is. To walk out of Jocelyn’s front door and the first thing you see is Thunder mountain? What a beauty!

So let me tell you a little about Juneau.

Juneau is the capital of Alaska with a population of 30,000. Despite the number it really does have a feeling of small town life. People either know their neighbors or know someone who knows someone who knows their neighbors. They are also pretty friendly.   Juneau is land locked.You can’t drive here from the States or Canada….you have to come via plane or ferry. It feels like everyone has either a truck, a boat or both.  Juneau is also located in a temperate rain forest.  At least, that’s what Jocelyn and my co workers tell me after I give my usual bitch/rant of the day. Wow…look its raining! Color me surprised. For the first month, I swear it rained almost every day.  What I didn’t know but I know now is that September and October are the rainiest months here in Juneau.  So the scenery is beautiful and the people are nice…that’s the beauty and good of Juneau. What is not so good is the food situation.

So let’s talk fast food…there is only a McDonald’s and Subway here in Juneau. I can do McDonald’s but I have never cared for Subway because I always frequented local sub shops like Generous Joe’s in Greenbelt, Md or Wagshalls in DC.  There is also not one  Chick Fil-A, Chiptole, Wendy’s or Panera. Oh I miss you guys!  And trust me, I will visit you when I visit the Lower 48.  Apparently there was a Taco Bell that closed despite its popularity. I imagine it was because it was just too darn expensive to get the food up here. The cost of doing business folks the cost of doing business.   I have gone to a couple of local places and the food was just okay. I said so to some of my new Juneau friends, and they have recommended a couple of places to try out in the future. So I will report my progress. If you don’t give up on me Juneau, I won’t give up on you.

So for your enjoyment I have included pictures of the Mendenhall Glacier and Sandy Beach. And yes, you are seeing correctly…that is a Blockbuster. Here. In. Juneau.

Oh and for the record, my first 4 weeks and I didn’t see a bear. Well, unless you count that bear in Jonathan’s school cafeteria. Yep, you read that right….it wasn’t a typo.