The Backpacker Pub: A place for our friends and families to come, sit down, have a drink and share stories.

Yes, we are part of the Who Dat Nation. We were over the top excited to go to the game, especially such a big one. And to see Drew Brees break the passing yards record made it so much more special. To top it all off, we were fortunate enough that Drew Brees even took the time to take a picture with Josh. Thank you, Drew!

Since we haven’t posted any new entries in a while, I thought our weekend Juneau trip was a good excuse to show you a couple of new pics. Juneau is a cute town that is very colorful. The temperate rainforest is lusciously green and a great place for hiking which we did a lot of this weekend. On our last day we went to Mendenhall glacier:





We also visited the capitol. This is the senate:





This picture is from a few weeks ago when Josh took out his whitewater kayak:



And this is Josh with our new double folding kayak for which he traded in his whitewater kayak:

Here we are again on our second trip back to Alaska. We started out journey from Dothan, Alabama on Saturday, December 12, 2009 and headed towards LaPlace, Lousisiana where we spent the next two weeks. After indulging in all the great southern Cajun food and spending Christmas with Josh’s family (Thanks to you all!!! It was great to see and spend some time with you again), we left LaPlace with full bellies and probably a few more pounds on December 26. Although we wanted to avoid traveling as heavy as we did on our first trip to Alaska 5 years ago, our small Toyota Rav-4 again was packed from front to back with no room to spare.

On our first day we drove to San Antonio, Texas where we pitched our tent on a camping/RV Ground called Blazing Star. After eating dinner and showering we hit the sack in order to leave San Antonio early in the morning. Our second day of driving was a little longer than the first because we drove from San Antonio, TX to a nice Camp site in between Tucson and Phoenix, AZ. Although we saw the campground only in the dark, it was one of the nicest, if not THE nicest campground we stayed at thus far…talking about clean. In the early morning hours we were awoken by a loud noise which turned out to be an 18-Wheeler that blew up on the interstate…all we could see was a big ball of fire. We hit the road early in order to make it to our next destination at a decent time. Thus, after passing Los Angeles, orange trees and a huge cow farm, we reached Sacramento, CA on December 28 where Josh had previously made reservations for a small cottage/bungalow/mobile home. It was in a gated community and the nicest mobile home that I have ever seen. Everything was brand new and beautifully decorated. After our routine visit to Starbucks, we started heading north early in the morning.

Our destination for that day was Seattle, WA. After driving through the mountains where we experienced snow and icy conditions we thought that the worst part of the drive was over for that day…well, we thought wrong. 40 miles outside of Portland, OR it started to snow again and with the snow that traffic steadily started to slow and ultimately came to a complete stop with cars and 18-wheelers stalling. After making little progress for the next 3 ½ hours, we took the next exit and decided to “wait it out” for a little while. Apparently Portland does not get that much snow very often. That combined with the fact that we reached Portland right around rush hour was like poison to our strict time schedule. Thanks to the directions of a very helpful Target employee we took backstreets through Portland in order to detour the interstate in the city which turned out to be a great time saver. But by the time we made it outside of Portland it was getting very late and the road conditions were still very slick with 18-wheelers passing us at 80 mph. I as well as Josh was getting tired. Thus, we decided to pull over to take a nap in order to start moving again at dawn or when the weather was getting better. We parked the Rav in a Chevron parking lot and dozed off when the knock from a police officer on our window awoke us. After being told that we had to leave before the Chevron opened again, we decided that we were refreshed enough to continue our travels. About 2 hours later, at around 6 am, we finally made it to Seattle.

After checking into and being wowed by the Pan Pacific Hotel, we took a two hour nap, took a shower, and hit the streets of Seattle. After having a delicious breakfast at the conveniently located Whole Foods store (right next to Hotel), we visited Pike’s Place Market and took an underground tour of the “old” Seattle. After being spoiled with sunshine on our first Seattle day, the rain had to move in on the second…and it did…the perfect weather for a Wal-Mart visit in preparation of the ferry ride and exploration of the Seattle Aquarium. Since it was New Year’s Eve already we decided to watch “Sherlock Homes” at the movies and treat ourselves to a scrumptious dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Then it was already time to head to the Space needle…the place to be in Seattle for the countdown. We didn’t really have a countdown in that sense because we had no radio controlled watch with us, but we assumed the New Year began when the fireworks started. After celebrating the New Year with a waterfront walk, we hiked our way back to Hotel Silver Clouds which we had booked for that night.

The next morning we left Seattle for Bellingham in order to make our Ferry Ride back to Alaska. After stocking up on water and canned foods for the ride, we waited 4 hours in line to get on the Ferry.
Finally on the Ferry, we made ourselves comfortable in the small cabin we had booked and even watched a movie in the movie theatre on board. Luckily we had our own private little bathroom and the rocking of the ship and vibration of the engines actually helped us fall asleep at night. The scenery was beautiful and I enjoyed seeing southeast Alaska for the first time. One of the highlights was the sight of two whales. We could not make out what type of whales they were, but they sure were spraying the typical whale-mist in the air when breathing. Overall the ferry ride was a very pleasant experience. After spending three days on the ferry, we packed the few things we brought on deck and got ready to leave the ship on its second to last stop on Monday, January 4.

Arriving in Haines 5 hours after schedule, we first went to our bed and breakfast style room (the room was in a residential house, but breakfast was unfortunately not included) we had booked for that night. After unloading a few things and arranging an appointment early next morning to change the tires on the Rav-4, we went to THE sporting goods store in Haines in order to ship Josh’s guns because we would not be allowed to travel through Canada with them. After eating dinner at THE local restaurant, we hit the sack. We rose early in the morning to get the tires changed and left Haines for the last stretch of road separating us from our destination. While traveling through Canada we saw 4 moose, 2 wolves, and a fox crossing the road right in front of us. Around 6 o’clock that night we arrived in Tok, Alaska, where we stayed at a real bed & breakfast called “The Mooseberry Inn”. After a good nights rest and an excellent breakfast, we left Tok for the last 320 miles of our trip.

We arrived in Anchorage (Fort Richardson) at around 3:30 p.m. that night. What a great feeling! Even the Army lodging was much better than what we had expected. We started looking for an apartment that same night. We continued our search the following day and expanded our search from Eagle River to Anchorage. After looking at a couple of places, we found a winner. Our new home is a ground level one-bedroom apartment in the heart of Anchorage. The neighbors seem to be very quiet (thank god) and our landlords are very sweet and helpful. Now that we have received our household goods, we have started to make the place feel more like ours.
Yes, the land of the last frontier has us back =)



New Years at the Space Needle in Seattle



Views from the ferry



more views from the ferry

Als ich heute morgen aufgewacht bin und aus dem Fenster schaute, dachte ich ich bin auf nem falschen Planet. So ein merkwuerdiges Wetter habe ich noch nie gesehen. Nein, das ist kein altes vergilbtes Bild.
When I woke up this morning and looked out the window I thought I was on the wrong planet. I have never seen such weather before.


Josh hat nun seinen feuerfesten Pilotenanzug und einen brandneuen Pilotenhelm.
Josh now has his fireproof flight suit and brand new helmet.

Halli Hallo!
Hier sind wir wieder! Dieses mal mit sehr guten Nachrichten. Josh hat das sogenannte “Abzeichen fuer Leistungen im Truppendienst” von der Bundeswehr bekommen. Nachdem er beim Weitsprung, Kugelstossen, 3000m Lauf, 100m Lauf und 200m Schwimmen und dem 30 Km langen Fussmarsch mit hervorragend absolviert hat, wurde ihm das goldene Abzeichen uebergeben (siehe Bild).



Und ich habe nun endlich doch noch Arbeit in einem Labor gefunden. Ich habe nun meine erste Woche hinter mir und natuerlich ist alles noch super neu, aber ich freue mich riesig.



Hin und wieder werden wir von kleinen Geckos auf unserem Balkon besucht, die auch mal ins Wohnzimmer krabbeln wenn die Tuer offen ist.




IN ENGLISH:

Hello!
Here we are again! This time we have good news. Josh got the German Profciency Badge from the “Bundeswehr”. After completing the long jump, shot put, 3000m run, 100m run, 200m swim and 30 km ruckmarch he finished with outstanding results and got the gold badge (see pic).
And I finally found a job in a laboratory. I just finished my first week and of course everything is still really new to me, but I am so excited about it.

We sometimes are visited by small geckos on the porch, that even come in the living room every now and then if the door is open.

Hello everyone!
Here we are again. A few weeks ago we went to a college football game: Alabama vs. Kentucky. It was amazing to see all the celebrations and the huge stadium. We also went to the beach again a couple of weeks ago. I love this beach…the sand is amazing.
So, here are some pics.
Linda

IN DEUTSCH:

Hallo alle zusammen!
Vor ein paar Wochen waren wir bei einem College Football Spiel: Alabama gegen Kentucky. Es war beeindruckend die ganzen Feierlichkeiten und das riesige Stadium zu sehen. Wir waren auch wieder einmal beim Strand vor ein paar Wochen. Ich liebe diesen Strand…der Sand ist total feiner Quartzsand.
Hier noch ein paar Bilder.
Linda

Hello family and friends!
I know it has almost been a whole year since we posted anything, but since I found out that some people are actually still checking our weblog I thought I should give you an update.
Since the beginning of august we are finally both here in Alabama. Josh is studying hard for classes on helicopters and I am still looking for a job. The job market here really is anything but good. I have finally accepted the fact that I will not find a job as a laboratory technician any time soon. Bummer! That is really frustrating after finishing my Associate and getting certified. So now I am on the hunt for a clerical position, preferably in the medical field. Wish me luck!
Other than that I really cannot complain. We are doing well and even went on a short road trip to the beach yesterday. It was soooo nice! It is great to know that the beach is only a couple of hours away :)
We also recently finished our latest project: a mosaic table. Josh had the idea to “redo” our dining room table.
I hope everybody is doing well. Love, Linda
Here are some pictures.

IN DEUTSCH:

Hallo Familie und Freunde!
Es ist nun fast ein ganzes Jahr her seitdem wir etwas auf unseren Weblog geschrieben haben. Aber da ich gehoert habe, dass viele doch tatsaechlich unseren Weblog noch besuchen, dachte ich muss ich euch mal wieder ein Update geben.
Seit Anfang August sind wir nun beide hier in Alabama. Josh lernt sehr viel fur seine Helikoper-Ausbildung und ich suche immer noch nach Arbeit. Der Arbeitsmarkt hier ist wirklich alles andere als gut. Ich habe mich nun damit abgefunden, dass ich wahrscheinlich keinen Job in einem Labor finden werde. Schade! Das ist schon etwas frustrierend nachdem ich extra laenger in Alaska geblieben bin um einen Abschluss zu haben und zertifiziert wurde. Also bin ich nun auf der Suche fuer einen Buero-Job, am liebsten in einem Krankenhaus oder Arztpraxis. Drueckt mir die Daumen!
Ansosnten kann ich mich wirklich nicht beschweren. Uns geht es sehr gut und haben gestern einen kurzen Ausflug zum Strand gemacht. Es war richtig schoen. Es ist gut zu wissen, dass der Strand nur 2 Stunden entfernt ist :)
Wit haben vor kurzem auch unseren Esstisch verschoenert. Josh hatte die Idee unseren Tisch im Mosaik-Stil zu verwandeln.
Ich hoffe Euch geht es allen gut.
Liebe Gruesse, Linda
Hier sind noch ein paar Bilder:

As many of you probably know already, we moved into a new home just a few weeks ago. The neighbors next to our old apartment were just bugging us too much. Music was playing in the middle of the night when Josh had to get up early the next morning. So we decided to move to the “real” Alaska. So now we live in a small log house right next to the state park. Nobody can bug us here besides barking dogs. We love it! And we finally had some snow again :)
Take care, Linda and Josh
Here are still some pics:

Hallo o,
Letzte Woche hat Josh seinen Privatpilotenschein bekommen. Da haben wir letztes Wochenende natuerlich gleich eine Cessna gemietet und einen Rundflug gemacht. Wir sind nach Talkeetna (ein kleines Staedtchen noerdlich von Anchorage) geflogen, haben uns dort etwas umgeschaut und zu mittag gegessen und sind dann weder zurueck nach Anchorage geflogen. Talkeetna ist DIE Anlaufstation fuer Leute, die den Mount McKinley hochklettern wollen. D.h. super gute Sicht auf Mount McKinley und das Wetter hat super gut mitgespielt. Letzten Sonntag haben wir auch den ersten Schnee bekommen. War zwar nicht sehr viel, aber immerhin. Bin vor ein paar Wochen das erste mal bei einem Trainingsflug mitgeflogen….huiuiui!!! Da wurde das klitzekleine Flugzeug an seine Grenzen gebracht: Josh musste das Teil aus freiem Fall wieder ausgleichen. Da waren so einige Manoever dabei, bei denen ich schwitzige Haende bekommen habe:) Hier noch ein paar Bilder von Alaska aus der Luft.
LG, Linda


Mount McKinley


Cessna 172








The Chugach mountains


Downtown Anchorage