Sourdough Starter

Back from Alaska, exhausted, enraptured, and espoused. Had a great time: great people, great food, great scenery, great adventures... great everything.

But because we collectively shot over 9G of images and video over the 15 days out west, it's going to be a while before I get everything online.

So, here's a 'by the numbers' account of the trip:

Date married: 08/08/08
Guests/relatives in attendance: 12

Ports visited by ship: 5 (Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Seward)
Cities visited by land: 4 (Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali, Fairbanks)
Cities visited by air: 2 (Coldfoot, Wiseman)

Distance from Hubbard Glacier at closest approach: 0.3mi (by ship)
Distance from Norris Glacier at closest approach: 0.0mi (by foot)

Days on ship: 7
Hours on train: 10 (2hrs + 3hrs + 5hrs)
Hours in air: 15 (helicopter x 1, twin-engine plane x 2, commercial plane x 12)

Number of reindeer meat meals: 4
Number of Tex-mex meals: 5
Number of times I ate halibut, salmon, or other seafood: too numerous to count (highlights being halibut quesadillas, salmon tacos, scallops on the Millennium & smoked salmon on the riverboat)
Net weight gain (lbs): 5

Methods of transportation used: 20
* car (relatives', rentals, hired), taxi (first time in a hybrid!), limo, shuttle bus, motorcoach bus, city bus
* helicopter, twin-engine plane, commercial plane
* cruise ship, tender/rescue boat, kayak, stern wheeled riverboat
* train car (2-level glass-domed Wilderness Express), train car (White Pass)
* climbing harness on belay (up a climbing wall), climbing harness + zipline (between trees)
* horse-drawn trolley
* cablecar (tram)
* feet (walking, hiking, swimming, spinning in the gym on the Millennium)

And a quick overview by map:


View Larger Map

T Minus 39 Hours

[W]e copy the end of life as you know it.

It's 11am PST / 2am EST, and here's the view from my hotel room, captured on my new Olympus Stylus 1030SW. Still getting used to how it works, but the many presets and toys built into it are very cool -- as is the ability to shoot through glass in low light and capture the glowing dome of Science World.

Yesterday I started reading John J Nance's novel Orbit, heavily laden with politics, aerospace engineering, technology, psychology, sociology, discussions about honesty within family relationships, and some interesting questions about why relationships can sour and die. Couldn't put it down throughout the flight here. Considering it's about a guy trapped in orbit and wondering about his life, his family, and his marriage... it's perhaps not the ideal reading material for the flight out to Vancouver to get married. That said, definitely worth a read. :)

Despite being on 3 hrs of sleep since 6am yesterday, I can't sleep -- my mind is racing with all the things that are to happen in the next 39 hours. By 2008/08/08 14:00, I'll be married. Mindboggling.