Saturday States: Alaska

Alaska

State Nickname: The Last Frontier

Year of Family Trip: 2010

Cities Visited: Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway

Can't Miss Tourist Attractions:
Tracy Arm Fjord, Mendenhall Glacier, Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, Totem Bight State Park, White Pass & Yukon Route Railway

After our big Hawaiian adventure in January, we were SO close to completing our goal of visiting all 50 states.  We didn't wait too long to cross off our final state!  That August, we all flew to Seattle where our Sapphire Princess cruise ship departed for Alaska!  It was more gorgeous, green, and lush than I could have ever imagined - a truly great trip!  In Ketchikan, we visited the Totem Bight State Park and watched the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show.  Then, we spent time on Mom and Dad's balcony admiring Tracy Arm Fjord before docking in Juneau to check out Mendenhall Glacier and a salmon hatchery.  Finally, we made our way to Skagway where we enjoyed a trek on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway and saw some huskies up close.  The cruise also briefly landed us in Victoria, British Columbia, where we took a stroll through Craigdarroch Castle.  Of course, we had our share of fun on the ship as well!

A Birth Order Disembarkation

It was a moment we'd all been awaiting for quite some time.  Some longer than others.  It seemed only fair that Dad be the first one of us to set foot on Alaskan ground since he'd been on this journey the longest.  He and his mom (our Mamaw) drove all over the place racking up a number of states together before he began the process with all of us.  Once we decided Dad should go first, we figured it only made sense to just descend from the ship in birth order...and that's what we did!

Tic Toc's Totem Tales

Totem Bight State Park is a phenomenal and unique place.  We enjoyed checking out the various totem poles, but we quickly tired of Tic Toc's tales.  Tic Toc served as our tour bus driver for a portion of our time in Ketchikan...and we still aren't sure if she took one single breath for the entire time she spent with us. At least she kept things interesting...

Family Feud...and Other Cruise Fun and Games

Mom, Dad, and McKinley were first time cruisers when we set sail.  Each day, it was exciting to gather in Mom and Dad's room to figure out what activities or shows we wanted to check out on the ship.  We typically split up and did our own thing since interests varied, but on occasion we all ended up in the same place.  One of those times found us as participants on a cruise style Family Feud game show - we lost on a steal, but we had a lot of fun playing together!  My brothers and I also managed to work in a number of "training" runs for our half marathon scheduled the following month.  Those were exciting with the wind blowing us like crazy on the track atop the ship.  There was lots of bingo, some fruit carving demonstrations, and even a few craps lessons in the casino - something for everyone!  And the absolute best part of the cruise turned out to be our servers, Joel and Allen. They were part of the family before it was all said and done!

Wildlife Wins

One thing that Alaska doesn't run short on is wildlife!  We visited a salmon hatchery in the Juneau area.  And McKinley tried fish eggs - ugh!!  We also saw salmon jumping around in the wild several different times.  The other animal that proved never scarce was the bald eagle!  At Mendenhall Glacier, we saw a slew of them!  And then we managed a major wildlife win on our bus ride to Skagway - a black bear...and its cub!!  Everyone on the bus immediately produced a camera and scurried to the right side of the bus to capture the perfect photo!

Can You See Canada From Here?

Not only did we see Canada, but we also spent a bit of time in two different provinces - the Yukon Territory and British Columbia.  The Yukon was stunningly beautiful.  The White Pass & Yukon Route Railway was certainly a highlight of our trip.  The train was exciting and we learned so much about the area, too!  There was even an elaborate mail system that basically used graffiti as a tracking system!  We spent some time with Alaskan huskies and checked out the spectacular views before we ventured back to Skagway.  Later, the trip ended with a brief visit in Victoria, British Columbia - unfortunately, it was dark for most of our visit there though.

And Then There Were None

And just like that, we visited all 50 states!  We were in a bit of shock as we played cards and chatted about our adventures through the years while waiting on our return flights at the Seattle airport.  It was quite strange to not have another trip to plan in order to conquer our next chunk of states. Mom and Dad had spent the better part of 18 years figuring out the most efficient way to accomplish our family goal.  My brothers and I are certainly thankful for all the time, money, and effort that went into making sure we spent time traveling together - even though we fought like crazy all too often! We enjoyed learning about people and places that were different from what we knew back home. And now we have lots of fun stories to tell our future families on road trips across America!

Have you ever ventured to the lovely land of Alaska?

Andrea :)

Recent Reads

With the recent announcement of the ABC Reads Challenge that Mia and I will be hosting in the upcoming year, I thought it would only be fitting that I share a few of my recent reads with you today!  If you didn't get a chance to read about the challenge earlier this week, check out my post HERE for all the fun and exciting details!  Now that you are back, here are some of the books I have been reading lately...

 Paper Towns

by John Green

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...

My Thoughts:

I was hooked on this book from the beginning.  I loved Green's writing in The Fault in Our Stars and he won me over again with Paper Towns.  The story was interesting and engaging.  It was a mystery, but also a sort of coming of age tale, too.  It took me right back to my high school days where everything was SO important and dramatic.  I particularly enjoyed the portions where Q interacted with his parents.  Green did a great job of showing us the world through this high school senior's eyes.  A fun, quick read that I would certainly recommend to others.

Orange is the New Black

by Piper Kerman 

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

With a career, a boyfriend, and a loving family, Piper Kerman barely resembles the reckless young woman who delivered a suitcase of drug money ten years before. But that past has caught up with her. Convicted and sentenced to fifteen months at the infamous federal correctional facility in Danbury, Connecticut, the well-heeled Smith College alumna is now inmate #11187–424 — one of the millions of people who disappear “down the rabbit hole” of the American penal system. From her first strip search to her final release, Kerman learns to navigate this strange world with its strictly enforced codes of behavior and arbitrary rules. She meets women from all walks of life, who surprise her with small tokens of generosity, hard words of wisdom, and simple acts of acceptance. Heartbreaking, hilarious, and at times enraging, Kerman’s story offers a rare look into the lives of women in prison—why it is we lock so many away and what happens to them when they’re there.

My thoughts:

For quite some time, I have been intrigued by the whole Orange is the New Black movement.  I decided to wait until I finished the book to watch the Netflix series though.  After reading the book, I'm wishing I'd just moved forward with the series a couple years ago.  It's not that I didn't enjoy the book, but I found Piper to be a bit annoying.  I found the women's minimum security prison culture she described fascinating, but I kept thinking she just seemed so odd in the mix of all these other personalities.  And she seemed to have unlimited resources on her side.  However, I am glad she took the time to share her story and expose many of the major flaws in the rehabilitative portion of our US prison systems.  She provided a valuable insight that many citizens don't ever witness firsthand.

MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend

by Rachel Bertsche

Here is the Goodreads Synopsis:

When Rachel Bertsche first moves to Chicago, she’s thrilled to finally share a zip code with her boyfriend. But shortly after getting married, she realizes that her new life is missing one thing: friends. Sure, she has plenty of BFFs—in New York and San Francisco and Boston and Washington, D.C. Still, in her adopted hometown, there’s no one to call at the last minute for girl talk over brunch or a reality-TV marathon over a bottle of wine. Taking matters into her own hands, Bertsche develops a plan: Meeting people everywhere from improv class to friend rental websites, she'll go on fifty-two friend-dates, one per week for a year, in hopes of meeting her new Best Friend Forever.

My Thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Not only were the techniques Rachel used to meet friends interesting, but she really made it fun to take part in this adventure with her. I loved how she continually added research based theories and facts throughout the story.  I found Rachel to be very easy to relate to and quite funny!  Making friends in a new city is no easy task - believe me, I speak from experience!  I had the luxury of being single and not far removed from college when I undertook the task nearly a decade ago when I moved to NYC.  It would be increasingly more difficult given Rachel's newlywed status though. For anyone that is new in town or considering a change in location, this is a must read!  And even if you aren't, it was still a great story about the bonds of old friendships and the building blocks of new ones.  I would suggest it to anyone!

What have you read lately?  

Andrea :)

It's Cookie Swap Time!

The annual cookie swap I attend always has me searching for a fun new cookie recipe!  This year, I found a good one from Martha Stewart's online collection - Coconut Balls.

It only needed five ingredients and seemed like a quick cookie to make from the two basic directions listed.  Basically, I mixed everything up and then rolled it into balls to bake!  The trickiest part was coating the warm cookies in the powdered sugar topping.  What a sticky mess!

In the end, they turned out pretty tasty though!  I even tied for third place cookie at the party in the initial vote!  As always, it was fun to chat with the ladies and try all the goodies before the fellas crashed the event!  The cookie swap party is definitely one of my favorites of the holiday season in NYC.  Thanks to Reba and Amanda for hosting such a fun night!!

Andrea :)

Introducing ABC Reads!

Do you love to read? 

Always looking for your next great book? 

Enjoy a little friendly competition?

After starting a book club with a few friends here in NYC and taking part in another online book club in 2015, I managed to reignite my passion for reading! If you enjoy a good book or two or three, then you'll be excited to learn about a fun challenge Mia and I are announcing today - ABC Reads!

What does the challenge entail?  Well, I'm glad you asked.  There are 26 letters of the alphabet and we challenge you, during the course of 2016, to read a book that starts with each letter.  For example, Atonement (A), The Bell Jar (B), Catching Fire (C), and so on.  Makes sense, right? You don't need to go in order - if you want to start with S, go for it.  We're easy to please around these parts.

On the last day of each month, we'll host a link-up for you to share your ABC Reads.  We will award one point for each letter you review AND a bonus point for linking up with us!  At the end of the year (or when the first participant reviews a book beginning with each of the 26 letters), the winner will be awarded a $30 Amazon gift card.  So, what do you say?  Do you accept our ABC Reads challenge?

We'll begin on January 1, 2016.  Share with your friends, spread the word!  The more, the merrier. :)

Andrea :)

Health & Fitness in November

This month started strong with the running of my second NYC Marathon, but then it held some much needed rest!  I needed it desperately after the marathon.  However, I didn't want all of the efforts to get in running shape to disappear after the big race so I made the choice to sign up for a short 4-miler at the end of November.

I started back at the beginning the week before the 4-mile God's Love We Deliver run with one solitary mile.  I ran the entire mile...and it felt good.  Two days later, I ran a couple solid miles.  Still felt good.  Another two days, I gave it my all for three miles.  A bit more difficult for me to not take any breaks, but I did it.  I was ready!  My plan worked well because I ran for the entire time during the 4-mile race...finishing with my best time all year - 11:52 per mile!

Nov 16 - 1 mile run on treadmill

Nov 18 - 2 mile run on treadmill

Nov 20 - 3 mile run on treadmill

I gave myself another break for the Thanksgiving holiday, but I know I've got to get back to it for December.  I began tracking my daily steps with my new FitBit starting on December 1 so it will be interesting to see how I do with step counts all month!  I don't have any races on the books for the next couple of months so it will be more important than ever that I make time for the gym!

What are you favorite winter workouts?

 
Andrea :)

Saturday States: Hawaii

Hawaii

State Nickname: The Aloha State

Year of Family Trip: 2010

Cities Visited: Honolulu, The Big Island

Can't Miss Tourist Attractions:
Dole Plantation, North Shore, Diamond Head, USS Arizona Memorial, Luau, Snorkeling, Swimming with the Dolphins, Black Sand Beaches

We flew from near and far to gather for our Hawaiian vacation in January 2010. Initially, it was just Mom, Dad, McKinley, and me.  We spent the day at Dole Plantation and drove around the North Beach area before Jordan and Jen joined us.  After that, it was one adventure after another.  We hiked to the top of Diamond Head for a spectacular view, danced the night away at a luau, paid our respects when visiting the USS Arizona Memorial, and even hopped over to The Big Island for a day of volcano watching and black sand beach walking.  McKinley and I were the only ones to experience swimming with the dolphins - certainly a lifetime top ten moment for me!  And snorkeling turned out to quite an adventure for the Heflin crew.

Pineapple Maze

I had pretty low expectations for the Dole Plantation, but it turned out to be SO much fun!  We had the most fun in the Pineapple Maze! We searched high and low for each station...eventually finding them all!  A pineapple ice cream float was a fantastic reward for a long day of walking through the garden maze!

North Shore Shrimp and Shaved Ice

North Shore was full of more than just massive waves and hang ten surfers - it had shrimp trucks and shaved ice!!  Shrimp has grown on me over the years, but at this point in time it was not something I particularly enjoyed.  Mom selected a couple types from the extensive Shrimp Shack menu...and I was hooked!!  The coconut fried shrimp was absolutely phenomenal!  We also managed to locate Matsumoto's famous shaved ice stand.  This shaved ice packs a punch.  A punch full of ice cream!!  They load the bottom of the cone with soft serve before topping it with your choice of flavored shaved ice - YUM!!  Just be careful to listen closely and avoid the additional black beans option!

Hopping over to The Big Island

We didn't manage to visit all the stunning islands of Hawaii, but we did venture over to The Big Island for a fun day trip.  It was actually our first (and only...so far!) flight together.  It was short and took place in an extremely small plane, but we made it!  We spent the day roaming around sites with active volcanoes - fortunately, we never saw one erupt.  We did see lots of lava remains cooling in the distance on our black sand beaches walk though.

Zippy - the Flying Dolphin!

McKinley and I decided we wanted to play with dolphins on this trip so Mom signed us up for an amazing dolphin adventure.  There was lots of instruction and a life jacket requirement that left me wondered what exactly I had signed up for at Sea Life Park.  We participated in a number of warm-up activities with the two dolphins - received and gave kisses, danced with them, pet their stomach and back, and even had them wave at our family and friends watching us.  We were also able to participate in two tricks with them - a dorsal pull and a nose push.  I was nervous about missing the dorsal fins on the pull so I didn't fully enjoy it as much as the nose push.  My only concern with the nose push was that my dolphin would sneeze or something and open his mouth leaving me one leg shy of a pair, but thankfully everything went as planned.  And I easily had one of my most memorable life experiences!  We were so sad when the session ended!!  I have such a huge respect for the intelligence of these amazing creatures!

Man Overboard (AKA Snorkeling)

Next up for the Heflin bunch was a day at sea for some fun snorkeling time.  This was an utter disaster!  The day started like any other.  However, as we drifted further and further from the shore, the water became more and more choppy.  Our captain pointed out some wild dolphins nearby - a pleasant distraction for a bit.  Then, we began receiving instruction for the snorkeling excursion - masks and brief breathing techniques, fins, life jackets.  No "HELP NEEDED" code or signal...after all, each person was required to answer affirmative when asked if they knew how to swim.  Well, it didn't take long for half of our bunch to realize they were in over their head with this whole adventure.  Mom and Dad were completely out of their element.  Dad was certain he would be scattered into a million pieces by the boat's blade as he drifted closer and closer to it.  Eventually, they rescued Dad and threw Mom a life buoy.  I'm not exactly sure if they had ever seen a crew like ours before.  I managed to hang in there, but I swallowed enough water to make me sick - literally!  And I lost my fins on my trek back to the boat.  Jordan saved me from drowning without them, but it was no easy effort.  Jordan and Jen (they had initially proposed the idea) decided they would rather snorkel without us in the future!

Luau Memories

Attending a luau in Hawaii is an definite must do activity!  We spent a night having a blast at Paradise Cove.  There were tons of activities - tattoo artistry, canoe rowing, traditional games, dancing, arts and crafts, and more - to experience while waiting for the food to be ready.  We were also able to watch the unveiling of the roasted pig and try poi.  Jordan was brave enough to give it a shot.  I don't think he'd recommend it though!  Once the food was finished, we enjoyed it along with a show full of dancers and great music!

A Hike to Remember 

We decided to hike Diamond Head one day. It seemed like a good plan until I realized halfway up that I was wearing flip flops - not ideal!  The climb was steep and seemed to be never ending, but I'm glad we did it.  There were several landings along the way for photo opportunities which is nice for those that don't want to put in the effort to go all the way to the top! 

An Infamous Place

We visited the USS Arizona Memorial on our last day in Hawaii.  They give out free tickets, but the number is limited and given out first come, first serve so we went there early that morning to make sure we got ours. The memorial is very impressive.  When you enter, you are given a card with the name of an individual and some background information about them on it.  This was a great way to feel a part of the whole experience.  I definitely recommend checking out the memorial if you visit Honolulu.

Have you ever visited the beautiful islands of Hawaii?

Andrea :)

Aquarium Fun!

When a work trip took me to Cincinnati the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I couldn't have been more thankful!  The trip meant an opportunity to visit with my favorite niece and nephew along with my sister-in-law and parents.  We made plans to check out the Newport Aquarium.  And then I was even more excited because they have penguins there!! :)

It was an absolute blast watching Brinley and Landon explore and play all day.  We had fun checking out all the animals.  So many unique and different types were swimming around! Brinley and I even managed to pet a few of them.  She was so brave to pet the sharks!  I wasn't bold enough to try that one!

We even found Scuba Santa!!  Brinley was quick to let him know she wanted a "swed" for Christmas.  I have no idea where she learned so much about all the fun you can have on a sled, but I sure hope Santa is able to fit one down the chimney for her!!  Landon wasn't quite as vocal, but did seem intrigued by the whole operation.

I loved watching Landon chase the penguins.  The penguin area has a huge open space where little ones can view the penguins that decide to take a swim.  One particular penguin was really showing off swimming back and forth as kids chased after him!  He sure managed to tire the kids out!

The kids were mesmerized by the bubble machines at the entrance and a couple other locations throughout so we spent a good chuck of time playing there after we crossed the Shark Tank Hanging Bridge.  The other favorite moment of the day for the kids included the play area in the frog exhibit.  Brinley kept asking about it all day!

It was such a blessing that I was able to spend some time with these two cuties over the weekend!  Big thanks to Jen for driving them up for the brief visit!  Mom and Dad stayed the night so we had a tasty dinner and went to the movies before heading back to the hotel.  We all three highly recommend Brooklyn - great movie, but get your tissues ready!

Andrea :)