no kisses for me, thanks

I didn't even need to go looking for my adventure today. My adventure was found in a train car full of Indian tourists, and the smell of curry.
Seriously though, the smell. It was almost too much to handle.

BUT apparently, the smell didn't drive me away well enough... because one of the old men tried to KISS ME. Yeah, that's right. He wanted to kiss me.
Here's the story. So they all wanted to take pictures with me.. which is actually completely normal. But this guy, he wanted a kiss as well.  He had his arm around me and someone was taking a picture of us, and he said "how about a kiss?" He's probably about 50 years old.
I didn't understand him at first, but I caught on pretty quick.... probably because the whole car was chanting, "KISS! KISS! KISS!"
He said, "its ok, you are like my granddaughter! Its ok to kiss me!"

because yeah, its totally cool to kiss your granddaughter!
and I could tell they were not talking about on the cheek. There were a lot of giggles and whistles.
This went on for about a solid minute straight. Which is a freaking long time, in awkward seconds.

I just kept my head turned away and said "no no no" like 7 million times until the whole car finally gave up. WHEW. and I got out of there.

so hey, what do you know. how many people can say that has happened to them. I'm a little scarred for life and a little bit laughing my head off at the whole situation. I mean, at this time the group hadn't even whipped out their Indian food yet..... so the ride just went downhill from there! hahahaha.

Now, I deal with so many tourists that at the end of the day I usually have some accent stuck in my head. Its honestly usually Australian, not sure why but that one sticks. I find myself thinking with an Australian accent. Not today though..... at the end of the day, I definitely had an Indian accent in my head. I can't stop thinking in Indian.

Just another day in the life, right?

An Adventure a Day....

So I've been thinking. How would it be to live every day looking for at least ONE new thing to try. One brand new adventure, everyday.
The world is FULL of things to experience! You can never run out of things to try or do. They could be huge or they could be simple.
So, i'm going to try it. If you think about it, we probably already to at least one new thing every day, but we aren't looking for it. How much more would we appreciate life if we were looking for those things that make everyday different and unique?

Alright so. 2 adventures today. First, I hiked a waterfall!

Pitchfork Falls. Absolutely beautiful. 

My other adventure was that I think I ate all the food in the pantry by myself today. Not too impressive... and I probably should not have that adventure again. :)

well, there you go. more adventures to come.

Livin' the Dream

Update:

still loving life in skagway.

the weather is beautiful- seriously. it was 68 today. 

Alaska's rain forests are the best things that ever happened to me.

I gave my third tour today, and it was a success!

I gave my second tour yesterday, and it was one of the most stressful things ever. 

So what happened yesterday? Better question, what didn't happen yesterday haha. Almost all the afternoon trains had problems. Mostly because if one engine has a problem, then all the other trains behind it are delayed. So my train itself wasn't having mechanical issues- but 3 other trains were. And we were stuck behind them. We were delayed about an hour... so it could have been worse, but it was pretty terrifying for my second tour. The train wasn't really stuck in an ideal spot either... we hadn't even left town, and we were stuck in the boring and somewhat trashy section of town. I was basically pulling information and stories from everywhere I could think of. 

It all ended up working out though. Eventually we were moving up the mountain, and by the time we reached the summit people weren't angry anymore. Some of the other trains weren't so lucky, so i'm grateful! And it was good practice... now i definitely know better how to handle a situation like that.

I'm sure in a couple months I won't think this kind of thing is such a big deal.... it was pretty stressful yesterday though, maybe just because I'm so new. Or maybe because its always stressful when you are dealing with angry people.

Here's something I've learned though, already...

People are always quicker to comment about negative things. We, as people, need to be better about looking for the POSITIVE. Why is it that everyone wants to complain about the bad things, and very few want to compliment the good things? Something can be perfect 99 times, but people only talk about the 1 time that it wasn't. Why? do we find joy in looking for the negative? Because maybe we think we do, but the real joy is found in forgetting about the 1 thing and enjoying everything else in life that is beautiful.

Alright, i'll get off my soap box. here's some pictures.

first off, here's the first bear i saw. actually the second... but the first I couldn't get a picture of :) totally whistled at him and he looked at me, and then i snapped the picture. perfect.

a couple nights ago we went to portage lake, absolutely breathtaking. this is just across the Canadian border, maybe like 30-45 minutes from Skagway, just a little lake hidden in the mountains.

this is Long Bay- I know I've posted a picture of it before but its one of my favorite views. I can't get enough of it. This was at the end of our first 4 cruse ship day- you can see one of the ships leaving the Skagway Harbor. 

We hiked up to Sturgells Landing earlier this week- such a gorgeous hike! I can't believe there was a time in my life that I didn't love hiking. I feel like I live for it up here.

well, peace guys. life is good.

The Hand of God

Here's something- how can you see these views and not believe there is a God?

I'm seriously surrounded by so much beauty! And I cannot help but see God's hand in every beautiful thing around me. This is the first time I've been so far from home- and without my family and closest friends right here with me, it can seem a little bit lonely at times. BUT all I have to do is look out my window to be reminded that God is standing right beside me. He is literally in every aspect of our lives. 

I am blown away by the beauty of our earth! And if God created and shaped the earth according to His will, you better believe that he is creating and shaping our lives. We are becoming beautiful as well- in His eyes. Seems a funny connection to make just by observing His creations... but I truly believe that out Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. Somehow I ended up here in Alaska, and it has been just what I need right now in my life. GOD KNOWS US. 

Trains.

I feel like a 6 year old boy on Christmas morning. TRAINS are all I think about!
I work on the trains for about 10 hours a day, then I come home and talk about the trains, then sometimes I study about the trains......... no joke, last night I had a dream about trains. and its only the second week of the season.

ASK ME ANYTHING about Skagway, the history of the goldrush, or the railroad. I'll answer it. well, maybe not anything ;) I am learning quick though! I feel like I've learned more in the past two weeks than I did all of high school haha. I've been BOMBARDED with information, but I love it!

Yesterday was a really big day, I gave my first tour!

There. First day of school- i mean work- picture. Just for you mom! 

also, Me and Chris were on the same train. so fun! tour guide and brakeman.

I feel like it went really well! Get this though- the train broke down. and half of it was in a tunnel. Not really ideal.... especially for my first tour! But we got moving again after about 15 minutes, so it wasn't too bad at all. It was actually really good practice on how to handle a situation like that! Everyone on the train was happy and it all worked out :)

Ok so, I absolutely LOVE MY JOB. even though tourists are crazy... I love it. I love working with people, answering questions, and the beautiful views. I never knew before, but people REALLY love the trains. Its so cool when someone has been looking forward to this ride for months (or longer), and it is the highlight of their trip... and they ask you questions, and you can answer them, and their faces just light up! Even with the crazy Asians that want to take 1000 pictures of me every second, I can already tell after just a few days that I am going to love this job.

Ask me again in three months though, on a 6 cruise ship day when I'm on a train full of Koreans that don't speak English. We'll see if I still love it then. haha! 

So, Skagway is still breathtakingly beautiful. Spring is coming so fast, and waterfalls are EVERYWHERE. I'm in love! Its been so clear the last week (for the most part), and I am just soaking it in.

you could say i'm pretty dang lucky. 

Feeling happy and so blessed! Its impossible to be up here and not see God's hand in every beautiful thing. 

pretend you're a tourist.

So, MY NEW JOB. Its going to be hard. Its going to be so great. There's a ton of stuff I don't know... i'm learning as quick as possible.... but one thing I have already discovered. I have the best office views! :)

I took that. I'm basically a photographer.

If you're wondering what my amazing new job is... I'm a tour guide in Skagway, Alaska. A "train agent," if you want to be technical. But basically, I give tours to people that ride the train. If I'm not giving tours, then i'm walking around answering questions or selling merchandise or loading people onto the trains.... things like that. I guess there's a lot of things that people wouldn't like about this job, but I think I will really enjoy it! I haven't officially started giving tours yet.... so far its just been training for it. TRAINing.. ha!

Yesterday we got to ride the trains as tourists. We didn't have to worry about tour material or cues... we just got to enjoy the ride. Our trainer told us to pretend we were tourists. SURPRISE, I am a tourist. All this stuff is brand new to me! I was probably more excited than half the tourists on the train, lets be honest. I may live in Skagway but i'm definitely still in tourist mode. Anyway, the White Pass train route is AMAZING. Everyone should do it. ok? ok. If you ever have the chance to go to Alaska, ride it.

BUT, please don't plan a trip this close to the beginning of the season... which brings me to my next training experience. Today. Today there were a bunch of avalanches- oh wait, excuse me. Let me rephrase that, "so we don't scare the tourists to death..." Today there was some snow that fell on the tracks, so the trains were... delayed. AKA the 8:30 am Summit train didn't arrive back at the dock until 5:30 pm. So although there was nothing we could do about it, (we were clearing the tracks as fast as possible) a train full of tourists was stuck on the mountain for over 8 hours. Apparently this is super unusual, most of the Skagway people say they've never seen the snow this bad this late in the year.

The train I was on was one scheduled to leave in the afternoon, and we ended only making it a quarter of the way up the mountain before we had to turn around. It was good experience though, to see what you do as a tour guide in those situations. And all the people on the trains got refunds and compensations, so don't worry :) I'm praying for better conditions though, I really don't want that to happen to me the first time i'm giving my tour. I think I would cry.

Next step, write my tour! wish me luck! I'm a little nervous, but I hope it will come together well. Updates to come.

ROADTRIP

4 days.
42 hours.
2500 miles.
4 states, 3 provinces, and 1 territory.

BUT WE HAVE ARRIVED!!
Skagway, Alaska is officially the most beautiful place on earth. You have the mountains and the ocean (even though its freezing), so basically its perfect.

The drive was longggggggg, but I can't complain too much. I love long drives. I love the views, and the music, and reading good books. So it all worked out well, especially because the 2 awesome boys I drove with were more than willing to drive the whole way and let me do my own thing.
Not gonna lie, Utah, Idaho, and Montana were pretty boring. Even into Canada there wasn't much to see. We cranked all that out on the first day though. And once we got to the Alaskan Highway, I seriously couldn't stop looking out the window. GORGEOUS snow, trees, mountains. seriously unexplainable.
and THEN we got to Skagway... FINALLY. by the end, all i wanted was to be there. But of course, it was a blizzard, so we couldn't even see the amazing views of the ocean and the mountains. Chris keeps telling me we have all summer, and I know i'll get to see everything eventually.  I'm a sucker for beautiful views though, and I don't want to wait....

I wish I had pics of the views, but they are all on Chris's camera. I will get them though, I promise :)

and THIS is skagway. I can't wait to see it from this viewpoint.... I just have to take a helicopter ride. Its on my summer bucketlist. 

So right now, I just woke up to my first morning in Skagway, Alaska. Its freezing cold, because this house is heated by a wood burning stove thing. Also, my bed is the most uncomfortable thing EVER. talk about springs in my back all night. (luckily, a mattress pad is on the way :) ) Its going to take some adjusting to the lifestyle and people here, everything is slower and more rough around the edges.
BUT I don't even care! I love it! I have such an adventure waiting for me this summer. I'm going to make the best of it and love every second.

Over and out, from Skagway, AK.