Goodbye, Circadian Rhythm

Most people that know me know that I'm a horrible sleeper. I wake up too early after going to bed too late, sometimes I go to sleep at 8pm, and other times I'll just be up in the middle of the night for several hours for no apparent reason. I also am incapable of taking naps in the middle of the day. Just a plain old bad sleeper. I've found that the sun has a lot to do with when I can sleep, aside from the midnight insomnia. Even if I block the sun from my room I still wake up right around sunrise every morning.

In light of this, it's funny I'm going to a place that at times will never get dark. I'll either learn to sleep in the presence of the sun, be more of a sleep deprived zombie than I am now, or tape a hell of a lot of aluminum foil to my windows. What happens to your circadian rhythm in an environment like that? Learning to rely on clocks instead of sunlight will be difficult. This is like a lame version of those people that go into caves where there is no natural light so they have to learn to sleep at specific times, no matter how awake or sleepy they think they are.

On the bright side, it'll be beautiful. I posted a few pictures I found of Alaska at midnight in the slideshow on this page.

I'm overly excited about this, so I'm probably pretty annoying at this point. Some of you have taken such cooler trips than this and managed to not let it consume you. I think it's just that I still don't believe that it's really happening. I've wanted to go to Alaska for a while now, and it's really exciting that I get to stay there for a little while instead of visiting for a week or two.

I'm really urging people to visit while I'm there and I hope they do. It just seems like an opportunity not to be missed. Hopefully if/when I have a visitor I'll have been there long enough to act as a good tour guide. I plan on doing a lot of hiking, exploring and fishing, so I'll probably know my way around the area pretty well. Plus, I know a great place they can stay!

Different World

When it comes right down to it, I think what I'm most excited about is that Alaska will be so different than home. I mean, L.A. is different as well, but I would never, ever, not in a million years want to live in L.A.. I like the way that Alaska is different. It seems a lot less pretentious, which is great.

I joke about the 'professional' picture in the mortgage ad, but in all reality, that's what excites me the most! I love that he decided to show off his catch in the picture instead of getting all gussied up in a suit to show how serious and professional he can be. I think what I like even more is that he probably didn't think twice about it when he chose that picture!

I'm hoping I can wear jeans, flip flops and a t-shirt the whole time, even to the 'best' places. I'm hoping I can run to the store wearing pajama pants and slippers. I do these things anyways, but I think what I'm really hoping is that I'll feel less out of place while doing them when I'm there. Obviously feeling out of place hasn't bothered me enough to stop me from doing these things here, but what can I say? We all want to feel at home in our skin.

I'm not expecting to feel at home with everyone or identify with everyone because it's unrealistic. I actually think I'll be a little out of place at first. I'd love to believe that everyone is laid back, happy, adventuresome, down to earth and accepting, but I'm not that stupid. I've found no matter what world I think I'm entering, there are always all kinds of people. At the end of the day, I'm just hoping I'll learn a little bit about a different part of the world and learn to adapt a little. If a fraction of the people meet my hopes, it'll be that much sweeter.

Little Italy in Saratoga Springs, NY

Okay, so, this has nothing to do with Alaska really. I mentioned a wedding that I have to get back for, which is making my return trip a little tricky. I have a few days to book it through Canada so I can fly to Albany from Seattle in enough time to make the rehersal dinner and all the pre-wedding jazz. As stated before, I wouldn't miss this wedding for the world.

My excitement for the wedding has grown by leaps and bounds. The bride, Lindsey, took me to meet her family in upstate NY this week. I've known Lindsey for years and have always heard so much about her family. It's all true. They are one hysterical bunch of people that you instantly feel at home with. I ended up staying a lot longer than I planned, but that made it possible for me to meet more of the pack. I walked away with a few more reasons not to miss this wedding:

1. I was under the impression I was bringing the party to the wedding. I was sadly mistaken. I'm told her mother's dance floor routine is some sort of bastardization of Elaine's 'Little Kicks' dance from Seinfeld and she makes noises along with it that could only be described to me as 'Yipping.' After meeting her, I believe it. I also believe that she is entirely capable of bringing a hell of a lot more of a party than I would ever bring. Needless to say, I like her.

2. Lindsey's brother, Brad, doesn't eat vegetables of any kind. Other than french fries, it seems that this is no exaggeration. I am FLOORED by this. I've resolved to get him to eat a vegetable, come hell or high water. I'll need all the luck in the world to accomplish my goal, especially since he knows I'm after him. My only chance to strike will probably be the wedding.

3. Lindsey's maternal side of the family is (very) Italian, the Matriarch of which is awesome. Italian grandmothers are another breed. Not only does this one do the stereotypical feed everyone until it hurts, but she also enjoys my humor. Not only do I not have to censor myself around her, but she actually joins in and does me one better! She and her interactions with the rest of the family will be a good time at the wedding.
3a. Speaking of the Maternal side of the family. The Patriarch! Born. In. Italy. Enough said. Actually, I want to say more. In my 5 minutes with him I learned that rattlesnake tastes like chicken, how to grow my own garlic, how many pounds of tomatoes go in the vat-zilla they make sauce in, and I got a little cheese lesson. As mind numbing as that may sound to some, it was everything but. Even if you don't love food the way I do, it still wouldn't be boring. This guy could talk about peeling paint for an hour and make it seem interesting. Can't wait for speeches at the wedding. . .

Damn you, Canada.

I've spent the last two days online trying to plan the Canadian leg of my journey home. Like I said, I want to get Canada out of the way before I fly home for the wedding, so I figured I'd speed through Canada and fly home from Seattle. On this home trip I will most likely be driving through Canada by myself and I won't be camping. I've had a lot of trouble planning for two main reasons:
1. There is very little civilization in Canada
I'd love to just tear through Canada and get it over with, but the logistics are a nightmare. I wouldn't be able to drive, drive, drive until I can't see straight and just stop where I am and spend the night. When I reach the point where I want to stop for the night, I might be 4 hours from civilization! Don't even get me started on gas stations.
2. There are very few roads in Canada
The roads are a laugh! There are two whole roads up through British Columbia. One of the roads is the Alaska Highway and the other one is, well, The Other Road. The Other Road isn't paved in spots and is strewn with one lane bridges. That's right, ONE LANE BRIDGES. Google estimates it takes about 20 hours to drive 460 miles on this Other Road. This is also only about half of the road through BC. To put it in perspective, that would be about the same distance as driving from Boston, MA to Buffalo, NY, which is estimated to take about 7.25 hours!

So, Alaska Highway it is. . .

Even South Park makes fun of the roads in Canada.

Getting There

I can now say that I've explored every possible way of getting out to Alaska. Seems simple enough, right? Wrong. I need to arrange to have a car while up there and I need to be there through August, then I need to be home to be in a wedding on September 7th. Tight time frame, but I would not miss this wedding for the world.

I've looked at every possible combination of flights, drives, ferries, rentals and shipping. This is my plan:
Drive like crazy to Alaska in late April/early May to hopefully arrive there by May 8th. It will be a horrible, horrible drive. All I have to say is CANADA. I will be driving at least 11 hours a day, but it's supposed to be a really beautiful drive, so I'll be okay. I'm going to try to camp most of the way up because camping is fun and camping is cheap! Plus I'll be in some amazing wilderness which I really shouldn't pass up.
For the way home I'm going to drive to Seattle, leave my car there with a friend while I fly home for the wedding etc for a few weeks, then fly back to Seattle to pick up my car and do some exploring on my way home.
Let me know if you want to join me for any leg of the journey back or have any suggestions as to where I should go.

Now all I have to figure out is how I'm going to get my bridesmaid dress tailored while I'm in a place where dresses are practically forbidden. I'd probably get laughed at if I attempted to bring it to a tailor there. Things aren't so formal there. I requested a visitor/transplant guide from the closest city to get an idea of what the area is like. The most telling part of it was this ad that a mortgage guy had in there. Usually mortgage and real estate brokers have professional pictures taken to go on business cards and ads, as I'm sure you've noticed. Well, this guy had a picture of himself squatting on a riverbed showing off a fish he caught! That is his 'professional' picture?! I'm entering a whole different world.