A new home

I wrote this on Sept 1, after we'd been here for about 2 wks. One of the biggest adjustments has been the slow, stuttering and expensive internet access. And then my laptop has been wifi challenged on top of that. So I haven't posted it yet, but tonight it's all coming together so here we have it....

9/1/19

Flying to Anchorage from Glasgow for our a turn-around week I felt like I was at the beginning of a Ninja Warrior obstacle course. I was positive about my chances: I’m well trained up in transitions and was relaxed - yet focused on my tasks. It was a daunting list: move our ridiculous amount of stuff out of storage to either the Crash Pad or Unalaska, facilitate quality time with the kids’ friends, shop for back to school and living in Unalaska (hello Costco), get the car to the ferry in Homer, do all the “life maintenance” appointments we could fit in, hike, and get some quality friend time in myself. 

I didn’t frost the cookie to myself, and was expecting to be extremely stressed. So imagine my surprise, relief, and joy when I found myself, on my second evening home, jet lagged but happy: hanging out with a small smattering of dear friends from different areas of life and laughing, connecting, telling stories, and catching up. On of my oldest and dearest friends had come up from Seattle following the peaceful death of her elderly mom, and that healthy reminder of mortality set the priorities for the week. 

(Janet’s mom was just one of the moms in my life growing up - much like the parents in the Charlie Brown cartoons, we often were guilty of assuming our parents existed as a backdrop to our adolescent dramas. But, sitting in her service, I was in awe at her life. She was roughly my age now when she adopted her 2 daughters…stunning bravery. ) 

The days passed all too quickly, mostly filled with all good things. Of course there were the frazzled moments…alone in traffic…late to some appointment…with a car full of crap…and an endless list, but those moments didn’t dominate my week. Instead, I luxuriated in the love and support of friends and family: my nephew who helped me move furniture on 2 separate evenings, the hikes and other time spent with friends, dinner with my family, an evening with my book club, quiet time in the Crash Pad (a condo that we’re sharing with a few other out-of-town health care providers so that we can all have an oasis in Anchorage) ….all that is good in the world.  

Tuesday was my crux day and I got our Unalaska car to the Trusty Tustumena at the ferry terminal in Homer on time, and got help from an old friend who drove it onto the ferry while I took a flight home. In the process I created a life lesson for myself by leaving the keys to the “Anchorage car” in the “Unalaska car” that was on the ferry for 4 days. Lelia came to the rescue by getting the spare key from Mom’s condo, but it was interesting how ballistic I went on myself. How many of us a) panic and b) berate ourselves  when we make a mistake that, if anyone else had made it, we would have a) kindly said, “No biggie, we’ll figure this out.” And b) calmly problem-solve through it. AmIright?! AFGE

Murray arrived on Wednesday after tucking the Young Larry into her winter home in Ardfern Marina. Thursday…is a blur.  Friday Sam and I flew out too Unalaska….

So enough about getting out here: We are in Unalaska!!! LIVING HERE! 

In a nutshell: I love it. I’m so happy we’re here. I was terribly anxious about the kids. They have had to adjust in ways I don’t, and I worry how our nomadic life choices will affect them. They both miss their friends terribly, but I’m so impressed by their resilience. So far they’re meeting new friends, getting involved in activities, and settling in. I’m very, very proud of and impressed by them.

Unalaska is breathtakingly beautiful - that fact often gets missed in the stories about the terrible weather, WW II, the tragedies that the indigenous Unangan (Aleut) people have survived, and the Wild West fishing industry. It is a diverse community clinging between the mountains and the sea - thriving at the edge of the world. It is a liminal space in many ways - balanced between the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, Asia and North America, the land and the ocean, civilization and wilderness.

At this point our big effort has been devoted to moving in, starting school, and getting oriented at work. We’ve gone on a few fabulous hikes and just scratched the surface of the community.  We’ve also rested a lot and I’m enjoying the feeling of getting rooted in my space. 

**I'm posting photos on Instagram at akjenh. Mostly of hikes, because hiking makes me happy - which is when I take photos. **

Crinan Canal

We have been steadily moving and exploring. I may write additional posts on the different legs, but for now there is too much. Let me sum up: We left Holyhead harbor the very night we arrived, and arrived at the Isle of Man the next morning, where we spent 4 adventurous days. Then we were off to Northern Ireland, bowing to the dictates of the prevailing winds. After 2 nights in Northern Ireland, the winds were good for our sail back across the North Channel to Loch Ryan in southern Scotland. Next morning we had a cracking sail north, past Ailsa Crag (clouded over or we would've stopped to climb it), and into Ardrossan Harbor, just south of Glasgow. There we sadly said goodbye to Ry, enjoyed a day in Glasgow, then took the train to Edinburgh for an overnight and to pick up Ella, another of Natalie's friends. 

With Ella in tow, we sailed to Arran and anchored right under Brodick Castle. The next day we went further north to await our appointed date to go through the Crinan Canal. 

The next morning at 8:30 am we were waiting at the lock...and thus began our day in the Crinan Canal - what an experience. 

It's a beautiful waterway - so serene and cozy. At times also a little mind-bending as we glimpsed cars, houses, and even the sea below us. The narrow green corridors were periodically interrupted by the hard work of negotiating the locks. 

Mentally it's challenging to repeatedly dock, throw/secure lines, and manage the turbulence as the locks fill and empty. 

Physically the kids thrived on the work of cranking open and closed the locks, and running from one lock to the next. Murray and I stayed on the boat, so didn't get the workout they did, but I was still tired at the end of the day.

We went through the 15 locks in a convoy of 3 boats and developed a sense of camaraderie over the course of the 7 hrs. The kids, especially Sam, enjoyed being part of a larger team and he was thrilled to be invited to join their crews...But we wouldn't agree to give him up.

The hero of the day was another wonderful connection: weeks ago, a friend from Pomfret had emailed us that he had a friend who lived near the Crinan Canal. He mentioned, but we missed/forgot, that his friend was a pilot on the canal. The canal recommends private pilots to take people through, and we naturally thought after reading the literature available that we could probably do without. But the morning of, as we were arriving at the canal and thinking a pilot would actually be quite nice, Murray re-read the email and saw that George's friend was a pilot.

So we emailed him, just to introduce ourselves and ask if he had any advice...not only did he reply, but he came right down! And really made the day wonderful. I don't know what we would've done without him - I mean, obviously, we would have made it (I think), but the crews of the other boats (who had done the canal before) both raved about how smoothly and well this transit went all due to him.

We were all knackered when we got to the final basin, where we rested a day, explored, kayaked and ate at the lovely hotel/pub. We also met Mike's wife and got to see their amazing farm, overlooking the canal. A highlight of the trip.

Liverpool

We made it to Holyhead, Wales by the appointed date to pick up Ry from the Glasgow airport. Murray was excited about visiting Liverpool, so, with the Young Larry set on a secure mooring, we boarded a train to Liverpool, planning to stay 2 nights with a day trip by Natalie and I to Glasgow in the middle to get our newest crew member.

I'd never had a yearning to see Liverpool - I knew very little about it aside from the soccer team, Beatles, and industrial past but was up for the experience.

After checking in to our room with a view

we set off to explore.



Sam noticed that an ornate building we passed was the Liverpool Central Public Library, and insisted that we stop in...and we were so glad he did. We were blown away! It blends old and new design in a public space that is so welcoming and invigorating.

After spending quite a bit of time in the library, we walked to the waterfront for dinner and messing about.

The next morning Natty and I took the train up through the Lakes District and southern Scotland to Glasgow...such a nice relaxing ride. There is a soothing quality to staring out the train window at the landscape whizzing by on a train.
We smoothly caught our connections and were there in time to greet Ry as he came out of security!

The way back was hampered by connections missed by mere minutes that snowballed into more and more time, but as the public transportation is so good, it really wasn't a terrible thing. However, I watched myself get tightly wound as the bus from the airport to the train station fell the crucial 5 minutes behind schedule but talked myself down...repeatedly.
And it was fine.
And we got dinner at the train station.
And even though the next train was packed with commuters for the first hour, we couldn't find seats together (or even good seats at all) and I embarrassingly crushed some people with a near fall on a turn, we still arrived in good time and in one piece to Liverpool.

Travel tip: VirginRail (who we took on the way up) is the rail company to ride if you have the choice.

We spent one more night in Liverpool and then took the train back to Holyhead.