Anchorage

We are certainly enjoying our trip to society! We left the village on Friday morning, catching a flight to Aniak where we joined up with the other members of the district who were going and hopped on another flight to Anchorage. It was late afternoon by the time we arrived, but we lost no time ordering chinese food and getting in the hotel's pool. The whole purpose of this trip is that Dave and other teachers from the district are attending a Alaska Society for Technology in Education conference. So he's spend his days attending various sessions and presenting on the use of imovie in secondary education. Julia and I have spent our days exploring downtown Anchorage. So far our favorite thing has been the afternoon we spent at the Anchorage Museum where there is a kid's play area called the Imaginarium that Julia had a blast in. Lots of kid-sized things to explore and lots of new kids to check out too! I've been enjoying the sights and sounds of the city. Coffee shops to patronize, artsy gallery stores to check out, grocery shopping to be done. After a couple hours of carrying Julia around in the backpack, we are both ready to unwind a bit and we do so in the pool followed by naps. Julia's had a bit of diarrhea going on ever since we left home, and that's been a bit of a hassle. She seems fine in every other way, but we've had a few rather explosive moments. This morning I took her along while I got my eyes checked. I wasn't sure if it would go smoothly, but I couldn't think of any other way to do it, and it worked out fine. Julia sat on my lap and played with various eye things and the eye doctor didn't bat an eye when I started nursing her in the middle of it all. Julia loves the two full length mirrors in our hotel room, loves the big bathtub, loves the jacuzzi, and loves going to visit Marge's kids down the hall (the school district tech support woman.) Tomorrow morning we head back to Sleetmute and our usual life.

Departure day, with a 9 am sunrise! So early!

 A few village dogs came to say goodbye

The closest Julia has come to seeing a real bear, the Patagonia store

Julia loved the water table at the Imaginarium

She also loved the crazy mirrors

And the train table

She was curious but cautious about the water-bed puddle thingy

The view from the bottom of the slide

Julia prefers a beer to a sippy cup. 

The best way to serve a PB&J sandwich

Julia loving herself in the mirror

Julia taking up more than her share of the bed

Sunrise in Anchorage on departure day