Anchorage

I met a new friend at the Anchorage Museum and as we looked out the window over the whole city she said with an almost rhapsodic voice, "Anchorage is not the ugliest city in America... but it's definitely in the top ten."  Walking around, it's hard to disagree.  It reminds me of the flat blocks back in Prague, built for one purpose, and aesthetics was not it.  

It's easy to look just in front of you.  It's easy to discount the city for its blocks of beige boxes.  But they serve an essential function.  The hold the offices of businesses and industry that provide us the opportunity to live in modern comfort and...

 to live in a city with this as the horizon.  

I've been in Alaska three weeks.  I found a job teaching preschool and I took it!  I do not view this as wildly-adventurous.  We live in a time when opportunities must be seized because it is unlikely that they will come along again soon.  But one thing I have found about Alaska is that there are opportunities here.  Things are not as rough as in the rest of the country.  This is the first place I've been where most recent college graduates I meet are working in their chosen fields.  

And I'm digging the people.  The fashion is blog-worthy.  The beer is good.  Public transit is working well for me so far.  The public libraries are awe-inspiring.  

And I can be friends with this reindeer on Facebook.  

(My roommate tells me that this is not the original Star, but a replacement.  As a child, she would drive by and whisper, "I will free you someday, little reindeer.")

Expect more Anchorage love from me!
-Colleen

Hooray for the Internet!

Here are some of my favorite things on the internet over the last few weeks. I have been so behind on all of my blogs! It has been nice to take some time over the last few days and catch up. I hope you all enjoy!!!

Ladies working through World War II.
via A Fine Day for Sailing 

I am in love with this bench seat!
via Apartment Therapy

A great post of a house's change from 1939 to 2012.
via Apartment Therapy

DIY for a gold-leaf dishes!
via Apartment Therapy

Next project: learn to make these adorable felted soaps!
via Etsy

I love the idea of using old drawers for storage!
via HGTV

DIY for a lace covered clutch!
via Secondhand Sundays

Lovin' this crown of curls!
via The Vintage Valley

<3 Amy

Welcome to California!

On Saturday night, I flew into San Francisco where Amy was waiting for me.  We now officially live in California!  This is the first time I have been to the west coast, aside from a layover at LAX.  On Sunday, we went on an adventure to the state capitol building in Sacramento.  

The idea of going to a state capitol originally sounded a little boring to me.  However, California did not disappoint.  There were grizzly bears everywhere!  The building itself was absolutely beautiful.

The state seal was all over the place too! 

The neoclassical building has ornate details carved into just about every inch.

The design is based on the United States Capitol Building, hence the dome.

I loved these lights because they are adorned with what appear to be winged sea horses.  Sea pegasus?

Amy feels that California has the best state seal.  While she may be a little biased, I agree that it's really neat.  There are tons of details, but my favorites are the two big ones: Minerva and the grizzly bear.  

Boring pole?  Put a grizzly bear on it!

The park around the capitol building has all kinds of botanic life.  I was so amazed to stand in one place and see a palm tree, a redwood, and an orange tree.  

I find myself looking around in amazement and thinking: I live here now!

Hooray for Going Home!

I will be home a week from Sunday!  By home, I mean in Greenport, New York--a quaint little village on North Fork of Long Island.  It's the kind of place you cannot wait to leave when you are growing up there but cannot wait to visit when you wise up and realize how good you had it.  The list of things I look forward to about visiting my home village is endless, but here are some links that are definitely on it!

The Coronet Luncheonette via Flickr

Breakfast or Lunch at the Coronet, a tiny diner essentially unchanged since 1949.  

Greenport Harbor Brewing Company

Tasting all of the brews at the local micro-brewery.

Wineberries via NYT

Foraging for wineberries at the very end of their season or just eating what my father and sister have stored in the freezer.  I also look forward to whatever foraging my father has on deck.  There is always something to be foraged!

Fifth Street Beach via Village of Greenport

Swimming in the Bay.

67 Steps 

Visiting my favorite beaches.

Greenport Tea Company via Arbor View House

High tea at the Tea Co. 

My Trip on the Emigrant Trail

The Emigrant Trail Museum

A Museum Dedicated to the Donner Party

As some of you may know, I am a huge history nerd. While my particular interests are in Central and Eastern European history, I do not discriminate, and enjoy all types of history. I believe that history gets a really bad wrap in society; most people find it boring. History most certainly can be boring, but I believe it is boring depending on the way it is presented. Every city and place has an interesting history that is just waiting to be discovered. The trick is to know what interests you and to be more active in learning about it... aka: go out and experience it. Oftentimes, you will be surprised that you do like different aspects of history, if it is taught/shown to you in the right way. 

Since this is one of several posts about my trip home, many of you know I went to visit my brother in Reno, Nevada. On the way home, my mother, nephews, and I stopped at Donner Pass on the Emigrant Tail to visit the museum. We wanted to learn a bit more about that fateful journey of the Donner Party in 1846. 

Front entrance for the Emigrant Trail Museum.

The Donner Party was attempting to get to California from the east. There were several routes that were well established and relatively safe at that point in time. The typical route went from Missouri through Nebraska, Wyoming, and Idaho. In Idaho, travelers would split between the Oregon Trail and California Trail. However, people were always searching out new and faster routes.

Yoke for the oxen.

The Donner Party, though, attempted one of these shortcuts, the Hastings Cutoff, which would end up being detrimental to their trip. The Hastings Cutoff split away from the typical path in Wyoming, adding a smaller mountain range to cross and the deadly Great Salt Lake Desert. While it appeared to be the more direct route, it added more miles and a lot more time to their travels. Therefore, the Donner Party arrived at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains later than year.

Statue inside the museum depicting the travelers. 

Due to some disputes among the travelers, when they arrived at the Sierra Nevada Mountains there was a lot of tension in the group. The journey had been long and arduous with the most treacherous part of their trek still ahead of them. In their attempt to cross the mountain pass, the travelers became trapped by that winter's heavy snowfall.

Wood carving of westward travelers. 

There were several groups of people who had gone ahead to get help for those trapped in the snow. Many were unable to make it through and returned to camp, others died in the attempt to find help. Those who did make it through were unable to return with help, this was on account of the Mexican American War and the harsh weather conditions. 

Person in the wild west.

The families had settled into several cabins that had been built the previous year near Truckee Lake. The winter was very harsh on the travelers and they soon ran out of food supplies, some even resorted to cannibalism for survival.

Patty Reed's doll.

The party was made up of 87 people, consisting of several families, including many children. One of the children, Patty Reed, kept this small doll with her throughout the journey. There is now a book written from the perspective of Patty Reed's doll of the Donner Party's story, named Patty Reeds Doll: The Story of the Donner Party.

Snowshoes for horses. 

Help came in mid-February; a group of people arrived with food and to help people down the mountain. They were shocked to see the conditions that the people were living in and were unable to bring everyone down at once. There ended up being three different relief parties to bring the survivors the rest of the way to California.

Depiction of those in the Donner Party. 

There were only 48 survivors that made it to California. News spread of this event throughout the United States. While migration westward declined over the next several years, it was revived in 1849 with the California Gold Rush. Many people headed westward to get rich!

A lot of snow for this California girl. 

Today the area is named after this party of emigrants. There is Donner Lake, Donner Pass, and Donner Peak in the area and their tale is notorious. 

Nephews at the memorial.

There is a memorial where the party was stranded. The pedestal that holds the statue is 22 feet tall to represent the depth of the snow during the winter of 1846-1847.

Path leading up to the museum.

Additionally, the area is now a popular place for skiers and snowboarders from around the world. If you are ever in the area, I recommend taking an afternoon to check out this awesome little museum and learn a little more about its history. 

Amazing view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 

It is always a pleasure to share some of my adventures with our readers! I hope you enjoyed the story and maybe learned something new.

<3 Amy

Lunch and Beers in Oakland

Oakland, California

As some may know, I recently took a trip home to California for a visit with family and friends. Living in Prague has provided me with an amazing opportunity to live in the heart of a capital city while working on my masters degree. Being given this opportunity has made me more inclined to really go out and see what the city I live in has to offer. This is something that I had never really done in the past. I was born and raised in California, and spent a good portion of my life living within an hour or so from where I grew up. I have always been interested in traveling and seeing the world, but I have found that I took little time to really explore the area surrounding my home. Yes, I would go to Sacramento or San Francisco for a day, and one of my favorite pastimes is wine tasting in Napa and Sonoma. However, now when I travel back to California it feels much more like a vacation and has inspired me to seek out new adventures. I now have more of the vacation mentality while spending time near my home. This is something that I hope to carry to any other city or place that I may live in the future. Many people live in a place their entire lives and do not see or experience some of the best treasures it has to offer. I hope to avoid this from here on and to treat my future homes as a collection of places to go out and discover!

One of my recent adventures while in California was inspired by two of my good friends, Jenelle and Becky. I was invited out to lunch and to a pub in Oakland. We started off at Quinn's Lighthouse for lunch. The lighthouse was originally established in 1890; however, it has been reconstructed and renovated several times throughout its long history. It has absolutely amazing views of the docks and bay from its upstairs dining area and patio. The menu has something for everyone. I had the Gilroy Hamburger, a burger on garlic bread, yummy! My favorite aspect of the restaurant was the extensive collection of nautical decor. This place was absolutely charming and delightful.

Lunch at Quinn's Lighthouse

Pirate piñata

One of my favorite features - A sailor door handle into the ladies room

This bar area is so charming

Partial view from the restaurant

Jenelle and me in front of the restaurant with lady liberty 

Jenelle and Becky - my event planners for the day

After lunch we adventured into the downtown area of Oakland. I had never been to the downtown area and was surprised to see what it had to offer. Often people only hear about the negative aspects of Oakland, but I feel that it is a city that has a lot to offer those living in or visiting the Bay Area. Here we went to a pub named The Trappist. The Trappist is located in a Victorian building from the 1870's and boasts a wide selection of Belgian, Scandinavian, Dutch, and American artisan beers. It was rather difficult to find space to stand or to order a beer, but was worth the wait in the end. This was obviously a very popular place for local people to spend a Saturday afternoon with friends. We managed to find a spot to sit on the back patio and enjoyed a few delicious Belgian beers. 

Would love to live in one of these adorable buildings in downtown Oakland

Each beer was served in its own distinct glass

Back patio area at the Trappist

Overall, the day was a huge success and was a great start to my trip home. I hope to share a few more of my adventures from California over the next few weeks.