ambientbuzz: May 2006

Just a comment (or two) ...

Moving ever closer to retina scans...

I want to be home!

So through the wonders of shitty airports my flight coming into San Francisco was REALLY late so I missed my connecting flight to SLO...So I have to wait for the next one...Shit. I've been flying since 1:30 this morning and I just want to get to my damn house. But I figured in the interim I would update my blog with some awesome pictures from my trip and the info corresponding to it...

This is the only "ice hotel" in North America...Yes the whole thing is made of ice and people actually do stay there--rich people that is...I only toured it! It's amazing.

This is the inside of one of the rooms you can stay in. The bed I am sitting on it fully made of ice...my ass was cold. When people stay there they have full winter gear and everything for the night.

And of course, you have to have an igloo...

Of course, here is the whole reason I went...

Midnight Sun

I flew into Alaska last night at 12:30am. I am here because my youngest sister is graduating high school and frankly I needed an excuse to take a vacation!!! The last time I came back home, though was in the dead of winter so it is fantastic to come when there isn't much snow left and it is all warm--by Alaskan standards. The most amazing thing to me though was how, even though I lived here virtually my whole life just how quickly you can forget such basic things--Especially the things I am most frequently questioned on when people find out I'm from Alaska. The midnight sun, perpetual daylight, etc. I, apparently, had forgotten exactly how bright that sunlight was. I was asleep on the plane when we were approaching Fairbanks and awoke to the pilot announcing descent so I looked out the window and had a mild panic attack--it was freaking downright the middle of the day. Did we enter some bizarre time-space continium? Had I been drugged and kidnapped? Where the FUCK am I? Obviously, I was tired and needed to wake up a bit more but I now have a little better understanding of people's fascination with the perpetual sunlight issue. Growing up I never really noticed it. Having been away for a lot of years it is bizarre to be putting my luggage into the car at 1am and have it be bright as it is in SLO when I go to work.

Anyway, that was my realization of the day--perhaps I should have a bit more patience with peoples asinine questions concerning Alaska in the future...Even to a native Alaska some of it is strange to come back to.