Alaska Bound

Hi!  This is Kati, Tom & Janis' daughter. Mama wanted me to post this for her.  They have not been able to post from the iPhone like they thought they could.

Here's what she said:

We left yesterday at 5pm. We reached Knoxville, TN around 11pm and stayed there for the night. Most of the travel time was filled with light rain.

This morning we got back on the road again around 6:45. Tonight we will be staying in Minneapolis and hope to arrive there at the latest around midnight.

The current driving conditions are excellent. Slight clouds, clear, and 63 degrees.

Bonnie is in a great mood. She's been very giggly. She laughed driving through the tunnels and over the really big bridges.

Tom has been the sole driver so far.

I am almost finished with the baby afghan I started crocheting during the trip yesterday.

Our passports never came in before we left, so we have an appt tomorrow to get one while we wait.

Completly off subject, Lizzy, Mama got your card and loves it!  She's saving all the handmade ones she's gotten to put in her scrapbook.

That's it for now!

6 More Days Until We Are Alaska Bound

Was your weekend as fun as ours?  We did tons of sorting for the Yard Sale this Saturday, packing for the move, shopping, and planning.

Our passports aren't here yet.  Hmmmm..... Hope they get here soon.  I'm predicting they'll be here on Wednesday.  If they aren't here by Thursday, then I'll have to make another trip to Columbia to get another copy of our long form birth certificates and make an appointment to stop during our travels and apply in person for another passport so our trip is not delayed.  They do have offices where you can walk in and get your passport the same day.  But we are hoping not to spend the extra dough.  It would just save time and money if the passports which are already on order come in this week.

At this point, we're excited and anxious to get on the road.  There are still things that have to be done this week:  errands, etc.  Our plan was to leave first thing Sunday  morning, but after discussing the logistics of all that needs to be done, we are now thinking leaving Saturday night would be better.

Tom is getting an enclosed trailer for our move.  Our plan is to drive my small car into the trailer and pack around it.  He would really like our mattresses at the front of the trailer, so if we slept on the beds Saturday night, we wouldn't be able to do any packing into the trailer until Sunday.  Which is why he's thinking load it up Saturday and leave that night instead.  It sounds like a good plan.

We are all wondering how Bonnie will handle this 5 day trip.  She doesn't really understand what we are talking about when we say Alaska or moving.  We've always done a lot of traveling, and she handles that part really well, but we've never traveled somewhere where we had to spend 5 days driving in the truck.  That's probably going to confuse her a little.  Tom thinks once we get her bed set up in her new bedroom and get her Wii set up, she'll be as happy and content as always and figure out that this is our new home.

We are planning on updating the blog during our travels with pictures, journaling, and videos.  Check back often!

Time to get some things checked off of my To Do List.  Have a great day!

Janis

It's Official

It's Official... Tom has turned in his resignation at his current work and officially accepted the offer at his new work.

We spent a lot of time sorting and packing this weekend.  There is a room in our house dedicated to a massive yard sale.  Yes, we are moving lite.

 

We will be moving Sunday, September 27, if our passports arrive in time.


The trip will probably take 5 days.  We will probably be traveling through Canada 3 of those days.

We plan on taking lots of photos during traveling and hopefully doing some video posting as well.  Just don't expect me to have on makeup if I show my face in the videos.  :)

There is a lot of excitement in our house.  Of course we are going to miss our friends, family, and children here, but as Heather so aptly said tonight, "You're just a Facebook away,"..... or in this case, just a blog away.

My sister, Melody, sent me a list of questions I thought were interesting, so I've included them below with the answers:


Q: Where do you plan to live when you get to Alaska?
A:  Apartment in Anchorage for at least a year

Q:  How long before you have internet service?
A:  I will have uninterrupted internet service through my iPhone


Q:  When will you be having an all night summer party?
A:  Um..... no


Q:  What's the average summer / winter temps?
A:  "Average daytime summer temperatures range from approximately 55 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit (13 to 26 degrees Celsius); average daytime winter temperatures are about 5 to 30 degrees (-15 to -1 degrees Celsius)." [from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Anchorage,_Alaska]

Q:  Will you send a postcard like photo everyday to me?
A:   http://carolinatoalaska.blogspot.com - check it often!

Q:  How far away is the public library (she knows me so well)
A:  The Anchorage public library is downtown where we will probably be living.
      http://www.muni.org/Departments/library/Pages/LoussacLibrary.aspx

Q:  Will you learn to eat fish?
A:  I eat fish now, so that would still be enjoyable there.

I hope everyone has a restful evening and pleasant night.

Hugs,
Janis

Offer to Move from South Carolina to Alaska

Wow!  What a week this is!

Yesterday, my husband, Tom, received an offer to work for a company in Anchorage, Alaska.  Alaska is a place we've been talking about going to for years.  Hmmm..... should we go?

Living in the South, we are used to hot, humid days and mild winters.  Snow is something we read about and see in movies, but our personal experience with snow is very limited.

When it snows here in SC, everything shuts down.  School is out. Banks are closed.  The world stops for a holiday filled with anticipation and excitement.  Even the mention of the possibility of snow sends people to the grocery stores who quickly run out of milk and bread - a phenomenon I've never quite understood myself.

Average annual snowfall for Columbia, SC is 1.8 inches.

If we are lucky enough to actually have snowflakes fall from the sky, I stand in awe at the window.  I know it won't last long.  If it doesn't melt immediately after hitting the warm earth, it may last for a few hours.  But lasting overnight?  Extremely rare.  Whatever snow may be left in the morning, is usually now just ice and mud.  Not very pretty to look at.

So when I think of moving to Alaska, the first thing I think of is SNOW.  I wonder if I'll ever get used to it there?  Will I get sick of it?  Will it be as normal as late evening summer thunderstorms here?

Average annual snowfall for Anchorage, Alaska is 70.4 inches.

Alaska... just the thought makes my skin prickle with excitement.