One month back in Austin...

... and memories of the trip are still as fresh as the first day there.

Thankfully, our group of people has found ways to keep in touch. We have since shared thousands of pictures, three quizzes, pictures of pets at home now reunited with their owners, started a Facebook group, sent postcards and DVDs, not to mention numerous emails back and forth about personal experiences of being reintroduced into our regularly scheduled routines. This team is really one-of-a-kind.

There isn't a day that goes by where I haven't passed by the group photo given to us by Brad and Lena (promptly framed and placed in my living room the day I got back) and felt a bit of nostalgia. For those of us with FOMO, it was the perfect moment; what was so effortlessly and casually taken with the camera ended up becoming one of the more common memories I see on a daily basis.

I do miss it. I miss the people and the friendships the most. I think about the beauty of the mountains, the cottonwood puffs in the air, the freedom of being in the wilderness with no connection to the outside world. It truly epitomized what I've tried to make my mantra: live in the moment.

Coming back, I also realized that friends and relationships cannot be taken for granted. When you live for two and a half weeks in such an intense environment, you cannot help but think about each and every person that has crossed your path back at home. You think about them... miss them... wish they knew how you felt about them... emotions run deep. And hard.

Work was interesting. Some say that the people who got to return to their 9-to-5's right after the trip probably had it easier than those who were on summer vacation or who took personal time off. Honestly - to sit at a desk, trying to catch up on two weeks worth of work was no easy task, especially after doing very physical work for 8 days and coming back to a chair and a desk. Like every rhythm in life, things have since returned to normal, and the routine is back in place. Strange how quickly it (had to) happen, too.

It's good to be back... but it still feels odd to be back... almost like I've returned after disappearing for a while, and life reorganized itself in the meantime. I had to catch up with work, stories, people, connections... everything. I was oblivious to current events and happenings, schedules were nonexistent, and responsibility was all of a sudden back on my shoulders. But the more I reacquaint myself with friends, places, home, it gives me a bit of peace. Things are definitely put in perspective now.

Alaska lives on....

A two-week journey takes a much longer time to write. It's not always about the obvious; it's just as much about the nuances and the things you remember days down the road that make you laugh to yourself.

Therefore, I've decided to keep writing little stories here and there to keep the trip going, even if we're not all physically in Alaska. I've sent the blog on to my teammates, and may reference their own writings at some point too (if they'll let me). Keep looking out, and I'll post some more stories as I get to them.

Cheers,

-E-

What an amazing journey.

Well, the two and a half weeks are over, the building and sightseeing is done, and I am (mostly) recovered from a red-eye flight back Saturday night into Austin (getting back Sunday morning around 10:30AM). All of the lack of sleep, the laughter, the pics, the memories... it was all worth it.

Pictures for your viewing pleasure will be up at the following locations:


Group albums: http://picasaweb.google.com/GV9014

My flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/Bendini

I'd also like to take one last time to thank all of the sponsors on my trip - they were what made this trip possible...

• Ottica Veneta


• Jennifer Idol


• Jessie Dawson


• Marshall Wright


• Myles Rose


• John Bender


• Don Roach


• Marie Perrone


• Timothy Chow


• Michelle Kaehler


• Janice Bender


• David J. Tozlosky


• Riley Dallas


• Amy Lee


• Betta Kaufmann


• Eleanor Tozlosky


• J. Jordan Bruns


• Brian Sharp


• Bryan and Lisa Rollins


• Ann Diegelman


• Chad Huff


• Jill Runyon


• Cristina De La Fuente


• Chris Wooster


• Christy Brewer


• Colin Campbell


• Nick Munro


• Kara Mccoy


• Amanda Jahnke


• Kate Morrill


• Kate Plows


• Rich Malley


• Susan Shaw


• Michael Bucklin


• Michele Arceo


• Kristine Coco


• Jen Faber


• Gabe Neila-Chapa


• Jean Wilsher

Official hairstyle of the trip: the French braid.

Jenny has become our ladies' hairstylist. Along with Maureen, she has managed to braid all of our heads at least once. For my particular style, she'll French braid pigtails into my hair. (She even says they work very well on me.) It has become a ritual post-shower at the Alaska Club, and by the last day of the trip, we all had our hair braided for the flight home. I am looking at it as a bit of a souvenir, or something to take back with us.

You think you have it bad...

You think you have it bad...
Originally uploaded by Bendini

R&R weekend: Seward, AK

Seward, AK
Originally uploaded by Bendini

On Friday morning, our group drove to Seward, Alaska for our final R&R trip. Seward is a small tourist town (used to be much smaller) that sits along Resurrection Bay and the Kenai Fjords area. The town is only about 6 streets deep, with a harbor/pier for boats and a few souvenir shops and bars downtown. Our planned trip was to go on the Kenai Fjords dinner cruise, a 6-hour tour of the bay/ocean and see some of the nature and wildlife.

The local Methodist church downtown was nice enough to let us stay in their church that night so we wouldn't have to drive another 2.5 hours back to Anchorage.

Before the tour, we were able to grab some lunch downtown and check out some of the shops. A few of us went to a small restaurant called Yoky's, where we enjoyed their Alaskan Clam chowder and bread. At 3PM, we met at the E dock to board our boat.

The boat itself was probably about 90', with three levels to sit/stand. We chose to take half of the bottom deck, as some were concerned about seasickness and getting a little dizzy. As the boat took off from the port, we had no idea what we were in for.

Once we got past Fox Island, the skies cleared up and the Pacific Ocean swells started to come in. Standing out on deck, it was no problem, but inside the cabin was a bit disorienting. We were only a minute or two out before we saw our first wild animal: a sea otter, floating on its back, eating some sort of fish. All of the tourists shoved to one side of the boat to snap photos. Once we got into the ocean, the wildlife started to increase; three humpback whales within a cove, horned and tufted puffins all over the place, stellar sea lions along the rocks of a fjord... all before dinner. It was amazing to see the humpbacks in the water; Lena was looking forward to seeing humpback whales her entire life. Puffins are much smaller than they look in pictures, but they're definitely high in numbers. The sea lions are pretty calm, chiling on rocks and barking every now and then.

Dinner was, of course, salmon... with wild rice, corn, and salad. As we were eating, the boat pulled up onto this massive ice wall, right on the edge of Harding Ice Field, that was nearly 300 feet tall. Ice chunks were floating by us over a mile from the glacier. As I went out on the deck to take pictures, I could hear these loud sounds - the ice was cracking on top. We didn't get to see any ice sheets fall, but we were able to hear it (and feel the coldness of it where we were).

Pulling away from the glacier, Dahl porpoises started swarming underneath the boat, flying by at fast speeds. Dahl porpoises are often mistaken for baby orcas because of their black color on top and white on bottom, but they're about the normal size of a porpoise. People started going out on deck just to cheer them along. They played around the sides of the boat for about 10 minutes before retreating.

The last treat of the night before heading back into Seward was another set of humpback whales near the Bear Glacier, which dove deep enough to let us see their tails out of the water. What an amazing sight to see these creatures.

Chili pepper and hot chocolate

Amy, having a little more knowledge of the town, had found an excellent tea shop on the south side of town called the Summit Spice Tea Company. A good number of the group wanted to hike Flat Top Mountain after our build the other day, but some of us were too tired to go up another hill (believe it or not). Instead, our little group went to this tea shop to check out they selection of loose teas (Yas is a big fan of tea, and was impressed to find they had clotted cream at this store, so she had to check it out firsthand).

Once we were there, the sense of smell took over. Not only was there all sorts of loose tea, there was also a large variety of chocolates, spices, olive oils, and gourmet popcorns. And they had samples.

Laura came with us and knew exactly what she was looking for. After her purchase, she found their drink bar with two varieties of hot chocolate - one plain, one with a dash of New Mexico chile powder. Intrigued by the choice, she purchased one while waiting and couldn't get the smile off of her face for the next 10 minutes. Now having us all curious about what was making her smile so much, we all had to get one for ourselves. After all, how often can you get a 20oz hot chocolate, handmade with chile pepper, for $1.75?

It doesn't sound good to everyone (and not everyone will like it), but it's actually kind of nice. The chile powder isn't spicy at first, but the afterburn is lightly warm on the back of your throat as you drink it. It's definitely a good drink for a place that gets to 20 below on occasion. Considering that chile powder is in no shortage in Austin, I might have to try it on a 'cool' day sometime.