Susan's Perspective

I am, three days later, still pinching myself.  We are well and truly here.  We arrived on a sunny day, stopping at the local Ace hardware store so Vernon could pick up a shipment.  A huge cruise ship was in port, and the place was full of tourists.  But we ain't tourists no more!  We are HOME, and we were expressing our jubilation with hugs and tears.  Made friends within ten minutes.  Folks we did not yet know were welcoming us...the salesman at the hardware store, the lady out front who liked our camper, the engineering recruiter Vernon met.  And the tourists were watching and listening with gazes of envy.   I felt like yelling "WE don't have to leave again....!"  The mountains were glorious across the bay.  The drive from Anchorage to Seward was so familiar; we had driven it four times on our last two visits.  The highway  runs along the Kenai Fjords,  where earlier in the year you can see whales  breaching.  The mountains all along the drive are so high you  can't see the tops due to clouds.  And covered with snow and glaciers.  Beauty such as this cannot be described.

View From St. Peter's

  We are camped in the driveway of our dear friends Larry and Lisa, and their sons, Ethan (5) and Joel (10).  We're "plugged in" and comfy, surrounded  by snow covered mountains and tall sweet pine trees.   Friday we spent at DMV, the post office, the bank, and picking up job applications.  Also rented a storage unit down the street.  We have unloaded the pickup truck, as well as the stuff in the camper we stored.  It has been a couple days of work. 
  Last night, we went for ice cream, and a walk in the rain on the docks.  Folks were coming in off the water, with enormous fish  We watched them hosing off their boats, unloading gear, and swapping stories.  Vernon had a ruddy glow about him.  His smile is quick to his face now.  He is living near the water again, and breathing salty CLEAN air.  It was not long before he was engrossed in conversation with these fisherman, talking boats and tides and rudders.  He is happy.  And I am blessed to be married to this man who guided us thru 4,567 miles of terrain to get us here.
   As we knelt in church today with our new family around us,  I  thanked  our God who was with us every step of the way, and who continues to guide us here.  Every new face we see has greeted us with  genuine warmth and  handshakes, if not hugs.  We are here because He wants us to be.  We still have alot to do...a house, jobs, etc, but we will do the work to make that happen.



    To all of you who have followed our journey, it is not over yet--we will continue to update.  But I also want to thank you for  your prayers.  You know who you are. 
    And to those of you who think a dream cannot be achieved,  I say YES it can.  Get out from behind your desk and DO it.  This life affords you one go 'round.  DON"T waste it wishing.  Get off your butt and SEE THIS COUNTRY and meet the people who live "out there"  on the road.   Take it from me...it is worth EVERY mile.