Philly!!

Wow. . . what a trip.

I left Unalakleet on Wednesday afternoon at 4pm and arrived in Philly 4:30pm, Thursday. I attended a conference Friday, half a day Saturday and then got back on the plane Saturday at 5:30pm!! I spent almost an equal amount of time flying as I did being in Philly. It was a whirl-wind trip that's for sure. But while I was there I packed in a little sight seeing and enjoyed some of the local culture.


I wandered in the Old City Center and saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. I also saw Ben Franklin's quarters and workshop.


Philly certainly has a lot of history and culture embedded in it. I wandered the city streets and got more people watching in then I have for years! I also got to eat a WIDE variety of cuisines- Indian, German, Cajun and even enjoyed a meal at an oyster bar! um, um, good!

Though I am a far stretch from a city girl, I enjoyed the city layout and beauty (they still had color on their trees, and lots, and lots of fall leaves everywhere!). I also had three remarkable interactions with Phillidelphians that renewed my belief that people are nice and generous beings. The first took place at the Saturday farmer's market. I was in line ready to pay for my fresh bread, and was told they only took cash. Before I could ask where the cash machine was, the woman in front of me, turned and said she would buy it for me! Nothing I said would change her mind. She said that someone had done it for her once, and she remembered how much she appreciated it. So it was her turn to 'pay it forward.' I guess it will be my turn next time :)

The next curiously nice thing happened when a woman from my session returned from lunch the second day with an extra serving of dessert for me to take home with me! "You have to try zocotta!" It was an amazing, sinfully chocolate dessert! Not to be missed if you ever have the chance at an authentic Italian restuarant.

And the last of the nice jestures, came from an airport employee! I had a rough time getting through security and ended up having to go back to the check-in counter and needed to put something in my bag, or have it confiscated. This of course is NOT allowed. But. . . this wonderful man must have seen the pathetic look on my face and went through all the checked luggage in the back to find mine! I was truely shocked. . . there aren't many places (aside from AK :) where soomeone would go out of their way to do something like that for a stranger. I was very grateful.

So, all in all, a fantastic, whirlwind, trip. Maybe next time I'll stay for at least 72 hours :)

A week in Anchorage with kids. . . plus more. .

I had a great week with the seniors in Anchorage going to post secondary schools and getting a chance to get hang with them outside of school. We attended the college fair at the Egan Center, toured Job Corps in Palmer, walked the campus of UAA and learned about the Native Medical Center off of Tudor. Another group of students went down to Seward and Kenai to see AVTEC and the Alaska Christian College. It was a successful trip knowing that some of the kids that didn’t want to do anything after high school saw and decided to get some specialized training of some kind. What more could we have asked for from the trip?! On the way home, Doug, the district pilot, took us on a fantastic flight along the Iditarod trail back home.

It was a beautiful day, and flying low along the route made the Alaska Range mountains seem like they were within an arms reach!





Over the weekend, I helped (try to at least) ref the volleyball games (That's me in the background playing the down ref :) I really enjoy doing it! Almost as much as playing. . . I'd really like to do it more. . .



I got out with the dogs to enjoy the nice (but windy) weather too, the temps are definitely dropping, and there is enough snow for some people to have their machines out already! . . though not quite enough to ski yet :( But there is ice starting to form on the Sound, and on one of my walks down the beach with the dogs, I found a strange site. A seal’s head- but not a single other body part to be found near by. Doesn’t he look like he’s smiling at you?! :) I love the whiskers. . .


Well, I hope you enjoy the week- I will be headed to Philadelphia on Wednesday to attend a conference on differentiated instruction. I can’t wait! I’ll let you know how it went next weekend. . .