Birthdays and Reminders

Received a reminder from a friend today that I hadn't blogged for a while. I find it most appropriate that the last time I blogged was on my birthday, and my reminder to blog came from my friend on HIS birthday! Thanks, Matthew! Hippo birdie two ewe, too!

I haven't blogged lately because there hasn't been much going on until last week. Well, I did get into the play "Pride and Prejudice." For those of you who know that book, I play the second snobbiest character, Caroline Bingley. Unfortunately, many of the lines I loved in the book (and my favorite BBC version) have been cut, as it is a condensed version and made to have no stage set changes. Still, it's gonna be great to be back on the stage again. I think this is going to be a fun cast.

Last week my parents arrived for their second visit to Alaska. They went to visit my aunt and uncle in Washington first, then took a cruise to Seward. We'd never been there before, so we got to drive down to pick them up. It was a gorgeous drive, definitely worth every ounce of fuel, but Seward is incredibly tiny for a port town! By the time we realized we'd missed the turn to the boat, we'd reached the end of the line! Cute place, but I don't think there's any chance Logan and I are going to want to move them.

We had fun trying to figure out how to pack the luggage and the people into the Yaris, but we managed it. Mom and Dad were like prisoners in their own cells, though; we had to set the guitar on top of a box between them. I could hear Dad all right, but I couldn't hear Mom most of the time. She sounded so far away!

I arranged for subs for most of my classes, except one. My mom wanted to see me teach anyway, so she joined in. She made it all the way through the end of the class! I was so proud of her. (My mom is not exactly an exercise freak like me.)

I think the best day was when we went to see the glacier. I hadn't been there before, either, so this was an adventure for me, too. When the lady selling the tickets looked at me and asked, "Are you over 18, dear?" I stuttered in confusion before answering, "Yes." Mom laughed at me because of my reaction. It's been so long since anyone asked me that question, I thought I was well past the danger. I stuttered because I nearly asked her, "Are you kidding?!"

Amazing how quickly it gets colder as you hike the trail to the glacier. Wear boots, not just for the cold, but for the water everywhere. I nearly soaked my sneakers. It's not the most level of trails, lots of opportunity to twist an ankle. But definitely worth the effort.

Like all of Alaska, it was a long, pretty drive, and Dad and I were both hungry soon after arriving. Mom's camera battery had died, so we headed for the nearest restaurant, the Long Rifle Lodge, or something like that. Cute log cabin with a bar when you first walk in. We weren't sure of it until we reached the dining room: big windows showing off the glacier in the distance (and the sun was shining at that moment!), rough-hewn furniture glossed smooth, and good food. Decently priced, though not an obscene amount of food. And to answer Logan's question, yes, the waitresses were cute. :p

The sun was playing hide and seek the whole time my parents were there. It was mostly cloudy, but every once in a while the sun would put in an appearance. It was still a little better than the last time they visited, when there was only one day it was really sunny. But they said they were satisfied with their trip. We spent a lot of time together, I cooked them a salmon dinner one night, and we played guitars.

The only down side: they took the sun with them when they left. It's been raining EVERY SINGLE DAY since!