Our new home!

We are finally settled in and relaxing a bit!  Everyone seems to be in a much better mood now that we can spread out a bit.  Our last box was unpacked this weekend and we have only discovered one box missing and only a few things broken!  For how far we have come that is not to bad!  I also took some pictures of the flowers surrounding our house.  Valdez is in bloom and it is beautiful!  Please enjoy the pictures!

Here are some of the more random sights we have seen.  The top picture is from a gas station in Canada...  Scary:)  The next two are of the snow removal equipment here in Valdez!  Also a little scary:)  The final one is of the sign for a Tsunami Evacuation Route...  You guessed it...  Scary!

We are very proud of Adam as he officially became the Commanding Officer of the USCGC Long Island yesterday!  I was also proud of Cooper as he was able to sit still throughout the entire ceremony! (It is important to celebrate life’s smaller victories too!)  The ceremony was very nice and afterwards there was a small reception with a lot of wonderful fried halibut caught on the Long Island!  The crew and families were very welcoming and have us even more excited about living in Valdez.  Please pray that Adam has a successful tour here and that the Long Island and its crew and families are safe and sound! 

Valdez, AK

Our first full day in Valdez was beautiful!  Please enjoy the pictures!

Stop #18 Valdez, AK

We made it!!!!!!  Getting to Valdez was a great conclusion to an amazing trip.  The final few miles did not disappoint!  We saw so many waterfalls, rivers, glaciers and mountains!  It was beautiful!  Valdez itself is awesome! We have some amazing views of mountains from our backyard or front porch!  We checked into the Totem Inn and are staying in one of the cottages for the next week or so. My camera battery died so I don't have many pictures from the actual town, but above are pictures from Richardson Highway on our way down  yesterday! 

Stop #17 Anchorage, AK 2

Stop # 17 Anchorage, AK.  Anchorage was a nice stop.  We were able to relax and spread out a bit at a Days Inn while we prepared to return the ol’ RV to Cruise America.  It was a little bitter sweet returning her today, but we were pleasantly surprised that she was able to survive her trip with us as we officially put an additional 5,527 miles on her odometer.  Our first weekend in Anchorage left us amazed at how much you have to pay for marginal food…  We will have to search out a good place to eat or be sure to pack food for our future trips.  We have been warned that we will be coming back to Anchorage for supplies about once month or so.  Today we are on the road to our final destination, Valdez!!  Enjoy the pictures!

Stop #17 Anchorage, AK

Stop #17 Anchorage, AK.  We made it to Anchorage, Alaska!  Alaska is beautiful!  The bugs are huge!  The gas is expensive!  We are happy to be here!  I’m afraid I don’t have any actual pictures of Anchorage, but above are some more from our drive yesterday.  We successfully got our truck and it no longer feels way to big, we actually blend right in here.  We then headed to the Air Force base where they have a nice little RV park.  The kids had fun playing on the play ground and we ordered pizza.  We are now cheating a bit…  We have decided that after 3 weeks in an RV we deserve a little more space and a much bigger shower, so we are checked into a Days Inn…  A hotel room has never felt bigger!  Ponzi is enjoying a doggie hotel a few blocks away for some relaxation and a good grooming.