We're at it again!

As the creation of this blog would suggest, Laura and I are going on another trip. This time, we are heading up north: through BC, the Yukon and eventually landing in Alaska. We plan on leaving mid-August and taking about a week to drive up. Our end point is Fairbanks, in the center of the state. I will stay there for about four months, returning to Edmonds before either Thanksgiving or Christmas. Laura will stay there for about two years. She's going to UAF for Grad school, so this trip is really just her life. I’m just following along for fun.

Back story:

When Laura first mentioned that she was deciding between Hawaii and Alaska for Grad school, the thought instantly popped into my mind to follow her. Especially if we went to Hawaii. Laura, Diana and I went to Hawaii in September, and it was amazing. I can’t wait to go back. 

Unsurprisingly, Laura got into both schools. Alaska had a better advisor, better research and better funding. So Laura and Diana made the decision to go there. 

A little bit less exciting than Hawaii, I was then left with the choice to follow. Since Diana has fall quarter left to finish at Eastern, Laura would be moving by herself. It only made sense that I went along, helping out financially and keeping Laura company. But of course there was one problem: I have to uproot my own life!

It was an extremely difficult decision for me. I love my apartment, like Bellingham, like my job and (now that I’m leaving it) love my life here. However I’ve also always known that Bellingham was temporary for me. My real life is in Edmonds, and my real job should be working with children. So though leaving the security of a good paying job in a good environment, I took the risk to leave it for the unknown. 

Because of the pre-leasing system of my property management company, I made this decision back in March. However I waited until this week to tell my boss and coworkers. Now that it is “facebook official” Laura and I decided to bring our blog series back to life. We both reread some of our old blogs, and it is an amazing way to look back on past trips. There is so much that I don’t remember, and I am so grateful to have it stored here. So, we plan to do that again.

We also noticed a few fun links between the various blogs. Apparently, the only reason we went on our road trip through the south was because we couldn’t go on a road trip to Alaska. We bought Charlie (our Laura’s car) for the road trip. Laura sold him for this one, and bought Ben (name isn’t official yet since I haven’t met him). I got my job at the Foundation office so that I could afford to go to Europe. I quit so that I could go on this trip. 

Most of the hard stuff is over. Laura got into the school, sold her car, and bought her car. I gave up my apartment and quit my job. Besides the minor detail of finding a place to live, all we have left is the fun planning. So, even though we have a few months before our adventure begins, we will chronicle our planning here!