Day 1!

Good morning, faithful blog readers!

Day 1 of the trip is down, as we began our journey from Boston to Detroit last night around 6:30p.  After jumping over a few car-rental hurdles, we headed back to Steve's apartment where Tammy spent the afternoon shoving every inch of Steve's bedroom and kitchen into the Ford Edge.

After stocking the car full to the brim (there is literally no rear view; it's like driving a U-haul!), we began our journey along the fabulous I-90W.  After a few hours of driving, we stopped in Syracuse for the evening, with the intention of driving on through this afternoon for an arrival in Detroit later this evening.

Although this post may seem a bit mundane, we both felt it necessary in order to divulge the following two pieces of information:


(1) We have decided on a new segment of the blog called: "Useless Fun Historical Fact Tammy Learned Today."  In this section, Tammy will discuss a, well, useless, fun historical fact she learned that day along the trip.  Usually, this will likely come from some rest station along the road, but it can also be filled with fun things like this:

"The Tipperary Hill area of Syracuse, a predominantly Irish neighborhood, is home to a most unique traffic light.  Installed in 1924 at the intersection of Tompkins Street and Lowell Avenue you will find vehicles waiting for the only upside-down traffic light in the country where the green light is on the top and red light is on the bottom."   

Source: http://www.syracusecentral.com/news_events/fun_facts.htm

Source: http://appledoesntfallfar2.blogspot.com/2007/11/tipperary-hill.html

(2)  The following conversation occurred on the elevator in our hotel last night between Steve and some random stranger, and it was just too good not to pass up.  As set-up, Steve, half-asleep, was wearing his Michigan Alumni t-shirt while waiting for the elevator to arrive.  A man, accompanied by his wife and daughter, turned to him and said the following:

Strange(r) Man: "So, Michigan.  Huh."
Half-asleep Steve: "Yup."
Strange(r) Man: "You go there?"
Half-asleep Steve: "Yup.  For college."
Strange(r) Man: "Son, you are in the wrong part of the country."
Half-asleep Steve: "Ummmm.... this is my floor." (it wasn't).

According to google maps, we are still approximately 5.5 hours away from any part of the Ohio border.  We are almost 8 hours away from Columbus.  Is there a Syracuse-Michigan rivalry of which we are not aware?!  How the heck are we "in the wrong part of the country" as Michigan fans?

Updates on next week's packing will be forthcoming!  Have a great afternoon and think of us in the car!

 

The Game Plan!

Hi, Everyone!

Welcome to our blog detailing our trip to, and subsequent year in, Alaska.  For those of you who may not be aware, Steve got a job clerking in Alaska and so we're heading up north to spend 13 months in the 49th state.

We're both very excited about our upcoming adventure.  Aside from the dorky awesomeness that comes with working on legal issues in a state where the Constitution turned 50 just last year, we're also eager for hiking, kayaking, skiing, and, of course, moose spottings in the middle of the city:

Source: http://community.adn.com/alaskology?page=2

Of course, we'll both have bikes . . . although Anchorage's trails have been a bit questionable this summer . . . Good thing we'll have bear spray!

The trip begins next Thursday, after Steve finishes taking the bar exam.  We'll be packing up his apartment and heading back to Detroit to re-pack the car, say goodbye to our families and begin our journey.  From the great mitten state, we'll be traveling across the US, making stops along the way to visit friends in Milwaukee, Madison, Portland, and a quick detour in Atlanta.  We'll also be making stops at a number of national parks along the way.  Towards the end, we'll hop on the Alaska Marine Highway to take a ferry from British Columbia to Juneau, and then finally into Anchorage.  Of course, we'll detail this all as we go along through stories and pictures, and you can follow along on the handy map above!

Some fun facts about Anchorage and Alaska before we leave:

• The city of Anchorage stretches 1,961 miles (about the size of Delaware)
• The strongest earthquake ever recorded in Northern America occurred in Anchorage in 1964.  It registered as a 9.2
• In Anchorage, the average HIGH temperature in July is 65 degrees and the average LOW in December is 21
• Most of America's salmon, crab, halibut, and herring come from Alaska (and we can ship it to you if you'd like!)
• Alaska has about one registered pilot for every 58 residents
• Alaska is actually the northern, western, AND eastern-most point in the United States
• The state of Rhode Island could fit into Alaska 425 times
• The state is also over twice the size of Texas
• The city of Nome, Alaska has frequently been the subject of movies and stories of UFO attacks
• There are parts of Alaska, such as Barrow, that get 85 days of consecutive sunlight (where it never sets) and 2 full months of darkness (with no sunrise)
• The state motto is "North to the Future"
• Juneau, the capital of Alaska, is ONLY accessible by plane OR boat (no roads in!)

Sources: http://www.anchorage.net/686.cfm, http://www.alaska.com/about/weather/, http://www.50states.com/facts/alaska.htm

If you have any thoughts, comments, or suggestions, please leave them here! We can't wait to hear from you!