Merry Christmas

VECO has a children's Christmas party every year for the children of VECO employees. This is a picture of the Santa with one of the kids. The Santa is one of the law partners in the law firm that VECO uses. Where else but in Alaska would a lawyer play Santa? And look -- he looks just like Santa. He has kids coming up to him year 'round even when he's not dressed up in a red suit -- that's how Santa-like he is.

November & December 2005 - Winter Pictures

30 November - 1 December. We had hoar frost and the trees became wrapped in ice. Everything was spectacularly beautiful. I've got several great pictures of it. It's not like this all winter here. It lasts for a short time and then the temperature warms up a bit and the ice is gone. But it is certainly beautiful while it lasts. It's so beautiful that it looks fake. Or that Hallmark brought one of those Christmas cards to life in front of my eyes. Or that Disneyland created the trees in front of me.



This picture was taken in Kenai. I went to our Kenai office on 1 December and it was a bit more sunny than Anchorage that day, and the iced trees look great with a little sun on them.



27 November .... There's a moose and her calf who visit the neighbor's yard frequently because they like to eat their bushes. I came home from grocery shopping on a Sunday morning, and they were having brunch. These are the pictures.

1st Trip to the North Slope - November 2005

1-4 November 2005. Took my first trip to the North Slope. It was Benefits Open Enrollment time and several people in my group go up to the Slope annually to meet with employees. It was a perfect opportunity for me to go and meet employees and see where our employees work and live while there. It was a good trip, and I enjoyed it. It felt, in some ways, like I was back on Project in the IZ. Meals provided at specific times in the lunch rooms, housed in a small room with a single bed and a shared bathroom, work is 7 days a week for about 12 hours a day. The picture of me shows the Pipeline behind me. We saw musk ox, caribou and a red fox during this trip. Couldn't get a picture of the fox because it moved too fast. The musk ox were too far away for the pictures to come out well. But there's a decent picture of the caribou.

First Snow 2005 & Halloween 2005

30 October 2005. We had our first snow in Anchorage the day before Halloween. Not too much fell on the ground, but it was pretty. Trick or Treaters still came around easily the next day. I had quite a few ghosts and goblins show up on Halloween; I went through several bags of candy.

I've included a picture taken from my front porch of the neighborhood and the mountains with the first snow. I've also added a picture of my front porch on Halloween night.

Colorado Visit - October 2005

2 October 2005. I went on a business trip to VECO's office in Englewood, Colorado. I left Anchorage early so I could spend the weekend with friends Stephanie and Stuart in Loveland. It had been about 3 years we think since my last visit. The color on the trees in Colorado was just beginning. The temperature was in the sunny 90's while I was there. They had friends over to dinner, we went to an all day art exhibit with various artists in downtown Loveland. I was able to take a nap in their backyard hammock.

Kenai Fjord & Fox Island & Glacier

I'm writing this chapter in December 2005. I'm way behind on my Blog and I'm going to try and catch up.

6 and 7 August 2005 I took a weekend trip. I took a train trip from Anchorage to Seward on Saturday morning. Traveled by boat to Fox Island where I spent the afternoon and evening. The boats that take people around the area and out to the glacier all stop at Fox Island to give passengers lunch. There are 8 cabins on the island where you can stay overnight.

I met several people on the boat and we all hung out together that evening and on the cruise the next day. One of the people wanted to kayak and his wife didn't want to go, so he and I went kayaking that evening. It's the first time I've been kayaking. The water was mirror-smooth and it was awesome. I really enjoyed it. The weather was warm and sunny. I hadn't worn enough sun screen. Somehow my brain didn't think I could get too much sun in Alaska; wrong !

The following morning we took an all day boat to the glacier. It was a gorgeous day with lots of sun. We ran into an area thick with fog, but we passed through it. The glacier was amazing. You can hear the glacier as well as see it. You can hear the creaking and the cracking of the ice within it, and then you can hear pieces of it breaking off and crashing into the water. Little pieces of ice float in the water ... and you feel a bit like you are on an ice cube floating in someone's big drink! LOL. Words cannot describe the glacier; it is something you have to see and hear yourself to really appreciate.