OMG!! We go 50 feet away from wild moose!!

So Justin and I went down to this part of town that is a little ways out town but still really close to town, closer then 2 mile. We were walking into an undeveloped neighborhood and we saw all these Moose tracks in one area. So Justin and I decided that maybe we should go into the forest to see if there were any moose however we got kinda freaked out because there were little moose prints and then adult moose prints so we knew that it was probably a momma and her babies. Since Moose cause so many deaths here in Alaska we really didn't want to risk it so we left the forest and went back out. Well while we were looking around we decided that maybe we should sit down and wait to see if anything came out of the forest. So we sat on the ground and threw dirt clods and talked for like 45 mins. Well as we were sitting there dieing laughing a baby moose came walking out of the forest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then ANOTHER BABY CAME WALKING OUT! We both stopped laughing and just stared at them, we couldn't beleave it! We sat there takeing pictures and then the momma walked out of the forest and looked dead at us. She continued to walk on and she was fine with us. You could tel by there body language that they were ok with us being there .We both feel like they had been watching us for awhile and didn't mind us. The babies got a little too curiouse about us so we decided we needed to move before it became a dangerouse situation. So I slowly got up and then Justin did. We walked away and the moose didn't even care! It was so amazing.

Haines

So I have been here for 3 days and I'm loving it! My cell phone doesn't work which bothered me at first, but now I have to say I enjoy being cut off from the world. You never realize just how busy your every day life is until you get a huge break from it. I'm not running to answer my phone, wondering what my "big plans" for the weekend are or feel obligated to go somewhere I don't want to. Its like being retired and having all day to do nothing. Everyone is amazingly nice the smartest, sweetest people you will ever meet in your entire life live in the small town of Haines, it's amazing! It's fun, Justin and I were walking to other day and we met a guy that looked like a "thug" he had baggy pants, a baggy hoodie, tattoos and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. However he still stopped to say "hello" as we walked past him. The people who come into the museum come from all walks of life too. I have met people from Norway, Canada, Colorado, California, Australia, London and the list goes on! Justin is going to start a map in his room and mark off the countries as we meet someone from them. It sounds stupid but it's going to be cool when the summer comes to an end and we get to look back and see where the people come from.

Tour Guide #2...Poor Justin!

I'm in haines and I've been here for a few hours now. It is so amazing. I can't believe that when I walk through town all I have to do is look up and see a bald eagle souring over head or look up and see a glacier. I made poor Justin walk all around town with me. We had so much fun just chatting and walking around aimlessly. We went to the library and we were laughing so hard we had to leave because we feared people would kick us out soon. We then went down to the beach where I felt the water for the first time, it was cold! Ice cold! There was a huge cruise ship sitting just outside of town, they must be coming in tomorrow because we have a tour at 11. It was raining by this time and let me tell you, Haines is NOT warm. We went back to the museum where I grabbed my coat and he made us some salsa and then we headed out again. We walked down to the school and played some basketball. I lost poorly but we had a fun time trying to beat each other. Soccer was next on the agenda and we found this old soccer ball and played for a bit. He is better then he thinks! Tomorrow I am going to work at the museum for the first time and then Justin and I are going to meet up with some locals and goof off. If tomorrow is anything like today, I can't wait!

My first tour guide (cont. of my ferry ride)

On the ferry I had my own tour guide, lol. I guess I recruited him, or maybe he decided to recruit me? Either way it was so much fun! He showed me all around the whole ship, including this amazing room called the "recliner lounge" where it is just full of reclining chairs and 2 T.V.'s however when we were in there it was dark and most people were sleeping so we had to be quite. I then made him go out onto the deck and show me around. He was able to name most of the glaciers and there was one point when he grabbed me, spun me around just in time to see a humpback whale come up for a breath of air! It was amazing to say the least. He was so cool to talk to and he introduced me to a women named Donna who is going to stop by the museum sometime and take a tour. I can't wait to see her again. He said that he will probably be in Haines sometime next week and we will go sightseeing again. Sounds like fun to me!

On the Ferry

It’s so cold! I’m on the ferry to Haines and I’m frozen solid! I’ve been outside on the deck for about a half hour now and I had to come back in because every time I moved my hands it HURT. I was out on the deck for only maybe 5 mins when I saw a sea lion jump up completely out of the water! It was amazing! I have seen 3 large humback whales. I have seen tons of sea lions playing in the water. The glaciers are SO amazing and hug. Every person I meet is amazingly nice. I was standing outside trying to take pictures of myself in front a glacier when an older gentleman walked the whole way across the deck and asked if I wanted him to take my picture for me. I agreed and the picture turned out amazing! It so cool to stand on the decks and smell the fresh sea air and watch the sea lion’s play. It is not at all like I am anywhere near civilization and I feel like I am stepping into their territory on to there turf. I can only imagine what is going on below the ship under the water.

Juneau

I'm finally in Juneau! It only took me 9 hours and 2 flights to get here. The time zone difference is so weird, i'm sitting here and it's 4:34 in the afternoon but at home it's 8:34 in the evening! I'm excited to be here, finally. I toured the town and it's SO small. I can only imagine what Haines will be like! The main road has maybe 10 cars on it at one time, lol! My hotel room is nice, but everything seems.....dirty. This is definitely not a high class town, but I love it already! I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for me! I load the ferry at 7:30am and I get there around noon. I can't wait to see a familiar face, it definitely can get lonely without anyone to talk to. It will all be worth it soon though! I'm so glad I've come!!!