The Giving Project: September 2012

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

On the road again and this time joined by another!

We set off a-runnin' tomorrow at daybreak. Ilene the islander will be joining us, which we are so thrilled about. I haven't hitched with three so it shall be interesting but definitely possible with the universe on our side. We remain optimistic, even though we are going on 10 days straight of rain and no sun, a striking contrast from what Beth and I left back in Ontario.

We really wanted to hit up Dawson City on our way out of Alaska but it looks like time wise, it's just cutting it too close, because Naomi and Ilene have a Wilderness First Aid course they need to be in Victoria for on Oct. 13th. Bollocks!! I guess it just wasn't meant to be, so we are headed to our next much anticipated destination of Whitehorse and then to Skagway, Juneau, Prince Rupert and finally Vancouver Island. We've put the pin project on hold this last week and a bit, because we've been hanging around Valdez and not meeting that many folks. We have given out a few, but are hoping to be in full swing once our feet follow the white lines of the Hwy. We are not sure where the next few days will take us, but are excited to live in the moment and open to the many amazing opportunities which await us.

There is something so magical about living in such a way that one cannot determine the course in which the river of life shall flow. How absolutely liberating?!!

We will do our best to keep you updated and provide you with more non-stop video entertainment. Please excuse the ridiculous accents that have come out of being confined indoors for far too long. There's an advantage to having great friends with a very similar sense of humour, and a great disadvantage for not interacting with the real world due to weather.....we feed off of eachother's rediculousness.

45 degrees and raining...welcome to Valdez!

For all you Canadians and the rest of the world that translates to 7 degrees celcius

We have now been in Valdez for 9 days staying with our good friend Ilene the Islander and despite the constant rain and only one momentary glimmer of sunshine we are having a great time. We did however make sure to document the glimmer of sunshine we expereinced since we're beginning to forget what the sun looks and feels like. "Oh Mr. Sun Sun Mr. Golden Sun please shine down on us.... "

Sunshine spotted!

Some highlights of our stay in Valdez:

1) Watching Ilene go on a baking frenzy to use up every ingredient remaining in her cupboards before moving out.

2) Eating the results (delicious baked goods and yummy meals)

3) Sea Kayaking at the Valdez Glaci'eh

4) Ilene and Beth learning about the world of dumpster diving from Naomi the pro:

Naomi showing us how it's done!

Our bounty of delicious treats...straight from the dumpster

One persons trash is another's bruschetta :)

5) A day at Mineral Creek.
At this point in our travels we were getting a bit cabin feverish and needed to take advantage of the moment we saw the sun poke its head through the clouds. Although short-lived, it did inspire us to get out.

Hiking up one of the many beautiful waterfalls along Mineral Creek

Naomi, Ilene, Bethany

yeahhh!

Some off roading...

6) Music Music Music: The plan was to play music outside on the streets, however with the never ending rain we had to get creative...the local bar at 3 in the afternoon. The Fat Mermaid welcomed our music playing and we had such a great time we stayed for over 3 hours. On another occasion Maggie, the owner of Magpies Bakery welcomed us in out of the rain to play our music. Thanks Maggie and The Fat Mermaid.

Music moments:

Mitchell helping out on the Tambourine

7) Sea Kayaking trip to Shoup Glaci'eh.

We were determined not to let the rain put a damper bahahahahaha....damp...get it? Ok, moving on, our dreams of going on a little sea kayaking adventure. We left Valdez around noon to a glorious offer by our newest acquaintance Scott, who manages a water taxi service. He gave us a much appreciated lift out to the lagoon just outside Shoup where we spent the next two days exploring and loving life!

Prepped and ready to go

waterproofed

There was a momentary glitch with the boat...

Ilene happy to announce the motors are up and running!

Ilene's impressive skills at getting us all in the shot!

I think Andre and Ilene are excited for dinner...

we liked the view from our cabin

off for a day exploring Shoup glacier

Waterfall wall

the glaci'eh

squeeze in

Miso break at the glacier

Ilene throws a mean punch

the team without a team name

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Day 3: On the road to Valdez

Our goal for day three of our adventure was to get from Anchorage, AK to Valdez, AK (300 miles). With help from a lot of really great people we were able to acheive our goal! The kindness and generosity we expereinced today was unreal. Here's a recap of our day.

We started the day bright and early and got a ride to the highway from Whey, one of Devin's roommates. Whey dropped us off at the perfect spot for us to hitch a ride towards Valdez. Another big Thank You to Devin and all his roommates for such a warm and welcoming stay in Anchorage. We were happy to pass out five pins to Devin, Brooks, Whey, Nick and Winston. 2 Spades, Ace Diamonds, 2 Hearts, 4 Clubs, Ace Spades. If you guys pass a pin make sure to post it so we can keep track of where they're all going!

Cara pulled up in her truck about 5 min after that video was filmed. Cara was on her way home when she saw us and wanted to see how she could help us out. Cara went 38 miles out of her way to help us get on our way!! Amazing! She dropped us off outside of Palmer at a beautiful lookout and perfect spot to find our next ride. Cara and her kids were so lovely to us! Ava was a big help in getting more pins done :) Thank you so much Cara, Ava and Lucas for your wonderful kindness! 2 Clubs, 2 Diamonds. Pass the Pin!

We decided to enjoy the beautiful view and have a snack before getting our next ride...

While having a picnic of almond butter and rice cakes we met Ridin' High, musicians Sharron and John, Bill and Trisha.

Thanks for the beautiful serenade and delicious donations! Pass the Pin!

John- 5 Spades, Sharron- 3 Clubs, Trisha- 5 Diamonds and Bill- 4 Diamonds

On the road again....within 15 minutes Len stopped for us and took us to Sutton. Thanks Len! 7 Hearts.

Alaska is BEAUTIFUL!

Naomi hitching for us in Sutton...15 minutes later we got a ride from Jill, Mimi and Annie (the dog) to Chickaloon. We were on a 10-15 min roll with getting rides! Thank you Jill, Mimi and Annie! 6 Diamonds. Pass the Pin!

Following with our trend of getting a ride within 10-15 minutes along came Boaz and Elan. Two brothers from Israel doing some travelling around Alaska. Before we even said hello they were already trying to make room for us in their already very full car...they have some mad packing skills! They got us and our packs in! They agreed to drive us to the Glenallen Junction where we would then go in separate directions. However, after a fun trip filled with stories, a glacier visit, Israeli music, and amazing scenery, the boys said they wanted to drive us the entire way to Valdez! Our trip continued with great company, delicious food, the Worthington Glacier, harmonica playing and much much more! A huge thank you to Boaz and Eilan for such a fun trip down to Valdez and all their kindness!