Alaska – Day 1

What a long day! Alarm set for 4:45 AM!!!!!! This is vacation for Pete’s sake!! Anyway, breakfast and on the bus by 7AM and off to Fairbanks. Lot’s of gorgeous scenery! Mountains, rivers, marsh lands. Very beautiful. Saw Moose, sheep, reindeer – very cool. Saw a moose plunge out of the forest right into the side of a truck hauling a trailer just in front of us. She bounced off, fell on her butt, got up and ran back into the bush. Took the mirror off the side of the truck and dented it a bit. We finally got to Fairbanks around 7:30PM. Had supper and made it to the hotel around 9PM. End of a very long day!!! But, lots of fun! Tomorrow – gold mine, paddle boat trip. Should be a good day. Will try to post some photos tomorrow.

We have arrived!

Nice, on time flights to MN and AK.  Good weather and service right to the hotel.  There is a three hour time difference so while our bodies feel like 12:30 Am it’s only 9:30 PM here.  Cell service does not work here so if you want to find us kiddies, send an email and we will get it in the evenings.

All is well in vacation land!

North to Alaska!!

Yep, off to Alaska for two weeks.  For family wondering where the hell we are, here's a link to our travels.

http://keller-systems.com:8080/alaska/d01/06/2009?display=M&style=B&positioning=A

Eat your hearts out!!

THIS is my next car!

I have been watching this product for nearly 2 years. This I will buy.

I love technogy.

I set up my cell for blogging this morning - very cool.

Speaking for life.

I try to keep this site apolitical.  I will make an exception for this video from the students at Notre Dame

Our very own Papillon and the great escape!

"Have you seen Daisy?" asks my wife at 1AM as she arrives home from work.  I open an eye, try to regain consciousness and say "Nope>".  Honestly, she has a number of hiding places to sleep in, it's 1AM for Pete's sake, I am sure she's here somewhere.

1:36AM, the boy shows up.  Again I struggle to consciousness - "what the heck are you doing here?" I ask in a loving way??  Cell phone is back from the repair shop, wants to get it first thing in the morning, thought he would come home, sleep here and get an early start.

"Seen Daisy?"  the mom asks.  "Nope" the boy replies.

And so we let it go and go to sleep.

Friday morning still no Daisy.  She usually attends at the shower door guarding us against who knows what - but she is absent her post.  So the search begins with "Daisy" being called in all rooms and all floors of the house.  No Daisy.  A second search pattern, this time physically looking at all the favorite hiding/sleeping spots.  No Daisy.  We bring out the big guns - her treat jar - rattling and calling throughout the house. No Daisy.  One final pass crinkling the wrapper on a pack of lunch meat - usually enough to have her flying from where ever to the kitchen.  No Daisy.

The obvious conclusion - she is either dead or had snuck out of the house.  She is 8 year old, no front claws and only 4 teeth - not much to get her by in the wild.  she has not spent a single night outside in her 8 years with us. Not good. Heavy sigh.

So, the above process is repeated outside.  The yard is searched.  The perimeter of our neighborhood's 20 acre wood is searched.  Twice.  Neighbors are visited.  The center of the woods is searched.  Nothing.  I head to look at the last possible spot I can think of - the clean-out pipe for the septic system.  And happen to glance to my left.  And there she is, lounging under our canoe rack of 8 canoes looking at me as though to say "Well I am right here dip-stick!"  No enlarged eyes, no nervous twitches, no urge to run away.  Just lounging in her yard.

It was nice to find her.  It would have been a truly crappy weekend if she had been truly lost.  So here she is, our own little Papillon.