Howdy ya'll!
Back to my new years resolution of making 2013 a year of travel and adventure... I started off with a trip to the Grand Canyon, a childhood dream turned reality with hiking and a hot air balloon ride! I also visited Dubai, what an amazing experience with extravagant horse racing and beautiful desert safaris.
I've made a few local trips as well to College Station to celebrate with my brother Andrew for getting his Fighting Texas Aggie Ring, whoop! And to Texas wine country in Fredericksburg to celebrate one of my good friends engagements. I've got a few more trips ahead to soak up the sun before I head to Alaska. I'm going to Florida for a week to spend some quality time with my family before I head out. And I'm also going to float the river in New Braunfels, one of my favorite summer activities with my favorite girlfriends :) So I'd say I've gotten to do some amazing traveling and adventurous things this year to satisfy my news years resolution, but stay tuned, there is plenty more to come!
My new years resolution was to make 2013 a year of travel and adventure. And I'm about to embark on the biggest adventure of my life and make the move from my wonderful home state of Texas to Alaska! This is going to be quite a change, as I've lived in Houston, TX for about 3 years now after graduating from Texas A&M. Time sure does fly, which means the next 2.5 years in Alaska will likely fly by as well.
Why Alaska you might ask? Well I took a job in the oil and gas industry for the opportunity to travel the world. I've gotten to travel to Calgary and St. John's in Canada quite a bit but never outside of North America. So I've been anxiously awaiting the day my supervisor called me in to tell me what my next assignment will be and more importantly where! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my life in Houston. I have the best friends in the whole world that are loads of fun and I can't imagine my life without them, but its always been my dream to live internationally.. Anyways, the day finally arrived and my supervisor said, "Shut the door, I have an assignment for you." I was so excited, where could it be, Paris, Australia, Norway, Russia, Canada.. and then she said Anchorage, Alaska. I was totally shocked and honestly at first a little bummed. But then I went back to my office and immediately started googling Anchorage and within 10 minutes was completely excited! Although its not technically an international location, its about as foreign as you can get in the US. What an adventure, so many outdoor activities like hiking, skiing, cross country skiing, biking, ice skating, fishing... just about anything you can think of and its all right here in the city! And absolutely breathtaking when it comes to scenery.
Anyways, fast forward about 2-3 weeks later to the present. I'm wrapping up my first business trip in Anchorage and I already love it. There is a lot going on this week though that is slightly overwhelming... trying to transition to a brand new job, buy a house since the rental market here is slim pickings, and find a 4 wheel drive car so that I can survive the icy roads come winter. However, I've met some really neat people who are all super friendly. The people here are very similar to Texans, which makes me feel welcomed and more at home. I went out to eat last night by myself and got to chatting with the couple sitting next to me at the bar. They gave me loads of advice on moving to Anchorage and their contact information in case I ever wanted to grab coffee or a drink and get the scoop on local hair stylists, dentists, etc. Hopefully I'll settle in quickly being surrounded by such awesome people.
I've also gotten to experience some of the finest Alaskan weather this week, except for my first day where I was greeted by snow in May, yikes! This was a record setting year with the longest snow season ever, so at least its not normal haha. But now its summer time which means tons of sunshine, literally, the sun doesn't set till after 11. It will get 5 minutes more of daylight every day until peak summer. It's the opposite in the winter (more to come at a later date on how I handle that situation haha). I went on my first hike here in the mountains and saw some moose and an eagle! I'm really glad I'll be moving up here in the summer to take advantage of the warmer weather and long days. Below are a few photos I've taken on my phone from my first week in Alaska.
Anyways, fast forward about 2-3 weeks later to the present. I'm wrapping up my first business trip in Anchorage and I already love it. There is a lot going on this week though that is slightly overwhelming... trying to transition to a brand new job, buy a house since the rental market here is slim pickings, and find a 4 wheel drive car so that I can survive the icy roads come winter. However, I've met some really neat people who are all super friendly. The people here are very similar to Texans, which makes me feel welcomed and more at home. I went out to eat last night by myself and got to chatting with the couple sitting next to me at the bar. They gave me loads of advice on moving to Anchorage and their contact information in case I ever wanted to grab coffee or a drink and get the scoop on local hair stylists, dentists, etc. Hopefully I'll settle in quickly being surrounded by such awesome people.
I've also gotten to experience some of the finest Alaskan weather this week, except for my first day where I was greeted by snow in May, yikes! This was a record setting year with the longest snow season ever, so at least its not normal haha. But now its summer time which means tons of sunshine, literally, the sun doesn't set till after 11. It will get 5 minutes more of daylight every day until peak summer. It's the opposite in the winter (more to come at a later date on how I handle that situation haha). I went on my first hike here in the mountains and saw some moose and an eagle! I'm really glad I'll be moving up here in the summer to take advantage of the warmer weather and long days. Below are a few photos I've taken on my phone from my first week in Alaska.
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| Greeted by snow my first day in Anchorage |
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| First Alaskan hike |
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| The most beautiful water fall |
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| View from the hotel |
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| Mountain view from the office... terrible picture, but my mom wanted to see :) |
Back to my new years resolution of making 2013 a year of travel and adventure... I started off with a trip to the Grand Canyon, a childhood dream turned reality with hiking and a hot air balloon ride! I also visited Dubai, what an amazing experience with extravagant horse racing and beautiful desert safaris.
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| Grand Canyon at sunrise |
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| What an amazing sight! |
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| Hiking down the canyon |
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| Hot air balloon ride in Sedona, AZ |
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| Our hot air balloon going past the red rocks in Sedona |
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| Chapel of the Holy Cross built into the rocks |
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| Hot Air Balloon Festival in AZ |
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| At the Dubai World Cup horse races |
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| Burj al Arab |
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| My favorite building in Dubai |
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| Camel farm, my new favorite animal |
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| Camel ride |
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| Burj al Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Katie and I had high tea at the top! |
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| View from the bathroom at the top |
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| So tall we couldn't fit it all in the picture |
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| Beautiful resort in Ras al Khaimah along the Arabic Gulf |
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| Indian Ocean view from Oman, I've now seen 3 oceans! |
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| Textile souk / market |
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| Older Dubai architecture to trap cool winds inside |
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| Desert sunset |
I've made a few local trips as well to College Station to celebrate with my brother Andrew for getting his Fighting Texas Aggie Ring, whoop! And to Texas wine country in Fredericksburg to celebrate one of my good friends engagements. I've got a few more trips ahead to soak up the sun before I head to Alaska. I'm going to Florida for a week to spend some quality time with my family before I head out. And I'm also going to float the river in New Braunfels, one of my favorite summer activities with my favorite girlfriends :) So I'd say I've gotten to do some amazing traveling and adventurous things this year to satisfy my news years resolution, but stay tuned, there is plenty more to come!
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| Andrew's Ring Day |
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| Wine Tour in Fredericksburg |
