This letter was written about 3 weeks after we arrived in Alaska. (If you were on our e-mail list, you, too could get updates like this!)
Hi folks!
Thought it might be time to provide a brief synopsis of the last few weeks. During the mad rush to turn our house into our "ex-house" Jane devised the plan of buying a 20 foot cargo trailor, loading it up with our stuff, head off to the North country and once there use it for storage with the idea of selling it a modest profit should the need occur. Great. Well thought out. However, as we found out after a horrific 36 straight hours of loading we had a problem. Not only did we have half a garage left of stuff (this after several weeks of possession purging) the trailor itself was grossly overweight. It would not make it. After much wringing of hands and great gnashing of teeth we came up with Plan B; rent a 24 foot U-Haul with car carrier for the Subaru and drag that up the ALCAN. We were assured by U-Haul that this vehicle was quite able to accommodate our weight requirements with room to spare. With the help of a good many wonderful friends working late into the night we unpacked the trailor and repacked the U-Haul truck. (I should say that all this took place in 95-100 degree heat and high humidity with no air conditioning, a further tribute to our many friends who helped us), and off we went. We thought we were finally, after weeks of dreaming, hard work and a lot of sweat, on our way. Thirty miles out of town BLAM!! we blew a tire. It took twenty four hours to get it changed! and this 2 miles from a certified tire repair facility next to a major metropolitan center and U-Haul dealership. Not only that but the tire technician showed us that the leaf springs on the truck, that should be curved upwards in a happy smile were turned down in a most unhappy frown. We were again overloaded. Now we were really feeling the pinch and the thought of unloading all our stuff yet one more time time was too much to bear so we just left it all there and made our way north released from the consummerist attachment to our meaningless possessions. What release! What freedom! What a load of crap! Actually what happened was this, we traded in the car carrier for a twelve foot trailor and redistributed the weight between the two vehicles. This solved the weight problem but we were left with the extra car to get up there but luck was for once on our side. Jane's old friend Tom Boland who just happened to be free for the next week or two volunteered to accept the mission of getting "Casa Tollefsrud" up to Alaska for gas, room and board. Jane, Zoe and I would take off in the pickup and Subaru (which is, incidentally the Japanese word for the "Pleides" constellation) and Tom and the rest would follow behind. Perfect.
Well, once we got going we had a nice 8 day trip up the ALCAN with no major problems. We celebrated Zoe's birthday in North Dakota with a visit to the world's largest buffalo and a pony ride . What could be better than that? We celebrated Jane's birthday belatedly in a Canadian campground alongside a beautiful lake with the unlikely name of Muncho Lake. We slept outside under the stars and woke to a dazzling display of curtained northern lights. This coupled with a few shooting stars from the Perseid shower made for a night that will be long remembered as a highlight of our journey.
The ALCAN, or the Alaska Highway as it is more properly known, is, while spectacular, about a thousand miles too long. Sightings of bear, moose, woodland caribou (!) helped break up the long stretches of woods, mountains, rivers, lakes and glaciers. After 8 days on the road even these magnificent examples of the splendor of our planet gave way to the driving butt syndrome. Anyway, we finally pulled into the overlook above Homer and began teasing ourselves with the thoughts of camping in our unfinished house. Imagine our surprise when we found a few 2x4's standing in the drizzling rain but not much else. After an initial "freaking-out" (and a few well chosen words with the contractor by Jane) we are now back on track and living fairly comfortably in the "Garden level" apartment of one of Jane's friends (where at this moment a tray of fresh halibut is baking and a bottle of bubbly commemorating our first three weeks here is nicely chilling in the fridge).
Although we have discovered first hand the builders mantra of "costs more, takes longer" is remarkably true and supremely accurate we find that it is a textbook example of understatement. As a consequence we will be working sooner than later. So much for retirement.
Tom rolled into Homer a few days after us with tales of being broken down in Saskatoon (is that the name of a song?), breakins (nothing of value was taken) and window shatterings by flying stones (no one hurt). With his help we were able to settle our stuff into a storage container to await its ultimate destination.
Zoe has taken all this remarkably well and has surrounded herself with a host of new found friends. She has also completed her second week of school and when asked how her first day of school went she bubbled, "PERFECT!" Every Saturday she asks how much longer until school. (I wonder what that says about the quality of our family time...hmmm). She handles most every change with an enviable air of nonchalance. What a trooper.
Homer is a great community. The art galleries outnumber the bars about 3:1 and we already are on a first name basis with our brew meister at the local brewery. A run to the spit is great way to go see some wildlife. Zoe and I spotted several sea otters (they're BIG!) and harbor seals as well as a couple Bald eagles the other day and Jane traded a slug of beer for a fresh crab. Life is good. We will write more as soon as we get in to OUR house. Stay warm!.
D,J and Z