Some firsts

We went to Anchorage this weekend.  It was the longest we'd gone between trips to "town."*  A friend asked Jeff to pick up and bring his truck back with him, which was supremely helpful to us, because it allowed us to get everything we needed!  Not just groceries, but also softener salt and a filing cabinet.  We never could have gotten everything home without that second vehicle for the trip home.

So, two vehicles for the trip from Anchorage to Glennallen, that means...
I drove the Glen Highway!  Like 180 miles of it!  Or something like that.  My very first time driving in those mountains!  I had been dreading my first solo trip to Anchorage.  Luckily I was able to follow Jeff, I had been on the route quite a few times already, we had decent (but windy) weather, and it was light out.  All things resulted in a safe and easy drive home.

Another first for me....  I'm sick.  My first time being sick in Alaska.  Head cold, or some such nonsense... It's ridiculous and I think being sick should be outlawed.  Hopefully I will feel better and go to work tomorrow.  I definitely feel better now that I have all day.  Perhaps that's a good sign.



*It had been 6 weeks since we'd been to Anchorage.  While we are very happy that we have a grocery store here in our town**, the prices and variety are just so much better that we do the bulk of our shopping there.  We mostly get dairy, fresh veg, and fresh meat, oh, and Jeff picks up lunch too, from the grocery store in town.  For the last week or 2 before we got back to Anchorage, I was really having a hard time figuring out what I wanted to make for dinner.  So we ended up with gyros more frequently than normal, and I actually willingly cooked with Velveeta.  Shocking, I know...


**If you don't live in Alaska, you may not know that the really nice, new grocery store in Bethel closed.  This blog here by a couple of teachers who live on the West side of the state shows more about the store - it even has a movie theater.
Bad news for us is that the same company owns the grocery store in our little town.  Everything we've heard right now might be rumor.  But it sounds like that company declared bankruptcy, so that's why they had to close the store in Bethel, and ours and at least one more as well.  Jeff heard that our store was purchased.  He also heard that it's closing this week, and we have no idea when (or if) a new store will open up in its place.
If it is true and the store does close, that will suck.  Silver lining is that there are other places that carry milk and basic (but expensive) groceries.  And I guess we will be running to the valley/Anchorage more often, too.
Fingers crossed that we continue to have a nice little grocery store, even if it is new owners!