Travel (or Things I'm excited about right now)

The list we've all (meaning me) been waiting for is finally here:

Alicia Paulson's (Posie Gets Cozy) Portland List!  

 (photo from travel.aol.com)

Someday, I will travel to Portland, Oregon, and I will visit many places on this list.  After Alaska. 

In other travel news, check out littleindiana.com.  It's a blog after my tourist-in-my-own-town heart.  Through articles and photographs, the blog's creator thoughtfully documents the hidden gems that she discovers in small towns across the Hoosier state (my adopted home).  

Also, the blog has started to film short videos to highlight small towns.  I am excited about the possibility that they will be able to create more films about local adventures.  Here's hoping that there is a sponsor out there for them!

View their video here or on youtube:

Looking forward to growing older

In less than 1 year, I will have a "milestone" birthday. Yup. It's inevitable. You either keep getting older or die. I have been described as a 90 year old woman in a 20-something woman's body, so I guess I am just catching up to where I should be. So, I'm celebrating in a big way:

Going to Alaska!!!!

I hope that I will have someone to join me on this trip (friends, family, any takers???), though I know it is expensive. Over time, I've accumulated lists of sights to see and reasons I have for going there:
--Seeing bears outside of the zoo (Denali National Park & Preserve)
--Whale-watching is so much better there than in the Midwest (Harv & Marv's)
--Lichen and other flora that withstand weather which I cannot imagine (even in space)
--Glaciers
--Wide open spaces, so few people (1:1 person per square mile ratio, acc'd to wikipedia)
--Totem poles and other signs and symbols from a different culture, different time.
--Riding in a train through the mountains
--Northern Lights! 

(photo source: http://www.alaskaantlerworks.com/)

So, who's with me?  Is Alaska your dream adventure or is there somewhere else you'd rather be?