Alaska!

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

99% of what I blog about is books… so consider this post a part of the minority 1%. 🙂

I just spent the most wonderful week traveling in Alaska with my beautiful, funny, lovely daughter. Mommy-daughter quality time! We happen to make great traveling partners, and it was all just so enjoyable and relaxing and fun.

We’ve been to Alaska before: She spent a year in Juneau with Americorps, and I’ve been on two short visits previously, once on a cruise and the second time a different road trip with my daughter.

This time around, we had a week to spend, and we determined to do a few things we’d missed on previous trips. We started in Anchorage, then headed about two hours north to the quirky and adorable town of Talkeetna, known as the possible inspiration for the TV show Northern Exposure. Also know as the town with a cat for a mayor. (It’s true! Even Wikipedia says so.)

While in Talkeetna, we stayed in cozy, rustic lodge by the Susitna River, where we could see Mt. McKinley on a clear day.

On our second day there, we boarded a 10-seater plane for a 90-minute flight over Denali National Park — and we even landed on a glacier!

The peak on the right is Mt. McKinley!

And here I am, just chillin’ on Ruth Glacier.

Talkeetna itself is a super awesome town, where we ate world-class berry pancakes, over-indulged buying amazing locally made jewelry at a great gallery, and just wandered the streets for a while, admiring the random moose art:

That’s my girl!

Next, we headed back south toward the Kenai Peninsula, enjoying the great drive along Turnagain Arm with a stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, where we met these guys (from the other side of the fences, naturally):

This little guy! I can’t even.

We did some hiking along the way, heading off on a trail through the woods that included amazing views in all directions. Stuff like this, for example:

We wrapped things up with a few days in Homer, staying in a weird and wonderful round cabin on a bluff overlooking the water:

We ate, we shopped, we hiked, we sat and read (of course), and we took a water taxi…

… across Kachemak Bay to hike through the woods to see this:

Grewingk Glacier – gorgeous!

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Alaska is beautiful, and there’s just so much to see! I can’t wait to go again!

A parting shot — taken at the Anchorage airport at 11:30 pm, saying good-bye to my daughter as we headed our separate ways for now. Yes, it’s 11:30 and the sun is just setting!

Good-bye, Alaska! I’ll miss you! Especially moments like this:

8May2015

North to the Future! (Or, where I’ll be for the next week…)

Posted in Fun and Whimsy by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

You won’t be seeing much of me for the next week — and that’s a good thing!

I leave tomorrow on a one-week vacation with my daughter… and if I can just get through one last work day without any more crises falling on my head, I’ll be good to go!

Where am I going? Here’s a hint:

Need another? How about…

Or this one?

Give up yet? Does this help?

Yup, I’m heading north to beautiful Alaska! My daughter and I are meeting in Anchorage and then hitting the road! Which means this trip should be fabulous in two ways — a week with my awesome daughter and spending time in one of my very, very favorite places.

I haven’t packed yet. I know I need hiking boots, warm socks, lots of layers, and plenty of t-shirts. The pair of jeans I frantically ordered last week never arrived, and I think I need some travel-sized shampoo bottles, so I may need to make one final Target run on the way home today. Mustn’t forget my armloads of electronics — phone, Kindle, laptop, GPS — and all of their assorted chargers.

Most importantly, my reading material! Normally, when I go on trips, I love to throw a bunch of paperbacks into my suitcase — books that I’ve had for a while, books that I’ve been meaning to get to, books that are already a bit battered so it won’t matter if they get smooshed or damp or left behind for someone else once I’m done. Since this is just a one-week trip, so I don’t need to be overly ambitious with my reading plans, but so far I’m planning to finish the book I just started (which is SO GOOD so far!):

And then, I can’t wait to read:

And if I still need more to read (there’s a lot of flying time involved… ), my next choices will probably be one of these:

In terms of blogging, I’ll be mostly offline — or at least, that’s what I’m thinking right now. I’ll be skipping most of my regular weekly posts, and any upcoming reviews will have to wait until I’m back.

Don’t worry, Thursday Quotables will happen as usual! I’ve already scheduled a Thursday Quotables post for next week, so come join in and link up!

Meanwhile, here’s wishing everyone a terrific week filled with good times and great reading. See you soon!

In the immortal words of the former governor of my great state…

PS – Pretty photos up top taken by moi on my last trip to Alaska in 2013!

What I did on my summer vacation

Warning: A non-bookish post!

I took time away from Bookshelf Fantasies at the end of June to go on a 10-day vacation to Costa Rica. I had mentioned my plans here in the context of picking out my vacation reading (thanks for your help with that!), but since then I’ve had several blog readers ask me how the trip was and asking to see pictures. So, begging your indulgence, here’s a smattering of my favorite Costa Rica pictures. Bottom line: Big iguanas, lots of rain, howler monkeys in trees, terrific scenery, beautiful plants and growing things, plenty o’ birds, and even some crocodiles!