Juneauuuuuuu! Schooooooool!
I had a good, relaxing time in Juneau. I arrived on Friday afternoon. Robin, Susan, and Gramma picked me up from the airport and we headed downtown because I desperately needed coffee. Hooray for Heritage Coffee Co.!! I think there's only one or two places in Anchorage that brew their coffee, which is a shame because it's fantastic. Anyway, the aunties had gelato. Then we all did some window-shopping whilst dodging tourists (there were FOUR cruise ships in that day). After a while, we went down to the Triangle Bar. I hadn't been in there since I was three years old! I remember they had a PacMan table in there back then. Anyway, a bunch of old family friends showed up and we drank and BS'ed, then we had dinner at the Prospector, which was not very good, and also a bit awkward, thanks to this one lady in our group who was a bit more controlling and prying in conversation than suited our comfort level. We Waddells are fairly introverted, reserved people. =)
On Saturday we got up fairly early, and my uncle Mike (my mom's older brother) came and picked me up and we drove out the road to Mendenhall Glacier and Auke Bay and just BS'ed. He's a great guy. Then we went to the Triangle (again) and had a couple of beers at around 11am. LoL. That afternoon, we all headed down to the shelter at Sandy Beach in Douglas to set up for the memorial picnic. Lots of people showed up, and I think Shannon and I were the only people under the age of 50. Everyone was hugging and catching up and telling me how tall I was the last time they'd seen me (generally about waist-high to the rest of them). Mike Notar and Mike West both gave little talks about dad and how great he was that brought a few people to tears. Well done.
Afterwards, several of us went over to Sandra Baxter's house, drank lots of wine, and chatted festively. Again, I was the only person under 50 (after Shannon left), but I wasn't bored at all. I loved hearing all of their stories of growing up and living in Douglas over the decades.
I got home yesterday afternoon, cleaned and organized the kitchen a little bit, and now I'm up early and totally ready for my first day of university!! My first class is Sight Singing & Ear Training. Should be a piece of cake. I hope. After that class, I'll go work at the Four A's for a few hours and then head back to campus for University Singers. I haven't sung in a choir for quite a while, so I'm excited.
On Saturday we got up fairly early, and my uncle Mike (my mom's older brother) came and picked me up and we drove out the road to Mendenhall Glacier and Auke Bay and just BS'ed. He's a great guy. Then we went to the Triangle (again) and had a couple of beers at around 11am. LoL. That afternoon, we all headed down to the shelter at Sandy Beach in Douglas to set up for the memorial picnic. Lots of people showed up, and I think Shannon and I were the only people under the age of 50. Everyone was hugging and catching up and telling me how tall I was the last time they'd seen me (generally about waist-high to the rest of them). Mike Notar and Mike West both gave little talks about dad and how great he was that brought a few people to tears. Well done.
Afterwards, several of us went over to Sandra Baxter's house, drank lots of wine, and chatted festively. Again, I was the only person under 50 (after Shannon left), but I wasn't bored at all. I loved hearing all of their stories of growing up and living in Douglas over the decades.
I got home yesterday afternoon, cleaned and organized the kitchen a little bit, and now I'm up early and totally ready for my first day of university!! My first class is Sight Singing & Ear Training. Should be a piece of cake. I hope. After that class, I'll go work at the Four A's for a few hours and then head back to campus for University Singers. I haven't sung in a choir for quite a while, so I'm excited.