Hawaii was so so so amazing!! I can't wait to go back next spring break! I took so many beautiful pictures.
I found the place we stayed at on Airbnb. It had a really nice rooftop with a beautiful view of Waikiki. We watched the sunset up there multiple nights. It was so pretty.
Our friend, Lawrence, the photographer and ukulele teacher.
My dad met some friends up on the roof while he was relaxing. We got really lucky that one of the friends he met lived in Hawaii for a long time and knew the island very well. He gave us a tour one day when it was supposed to rain. We drove all around the island to sight see and check out different parts of the island that locals know. He also happened to be a professional photographer...so we had mini photo shoots each place that we stopped! He made us a very nice photo album to take home. :)
The warm weather was a nice change from the icy and snowy Alaska weather. Unfortunately, it was windy for most of our time in Honolulu. We went to Pearl Harbor, but weren't able to see the Arizona Memorial because it was too windy and the boat wasn't able to take everyone out on the water. We also had a sunset cruise scheduled that was canceled because it was too windy. Lastly, I scheduled a helicopter tour for us, but the company I scheduled it with had a helicopter crash two weeks before we arrived. So, they canceled all of their tours. Even though we weren't able to do all of those fun things, we enjoyed our trip. Hopefully we can do them next year! We might visit a different island, although Oahu was beautiful! Everyone we met was so friendly.
We made the long red eye flight back to Alaska and arrived at 5:30 am. We had a long day ahead of us until we could check into our hotel. I went to Walmart and Target to get a few things to ship back to Napakiak and we went to the post office. I waited 1 hour in a loooong line to ship two things. Finally, we were on our way down the Seward highway to see Whittier, Alaska. The views on the Seward Highway are so amazing. This was the third time I drove it, but the views don't get old.
We finally were able to check into our hotel after our trip to Whittier. The hotel we planned on staying at was being renovated, so we got upgraded to a hotel across the street. It's one of the nicest hotels in downtown Anchorage! I visited the mall for a few things and to enjoy shopping one last time before returning to Napakiak for 10 weeks. We went for dinner at a restaurant called Club Paris. We both ordered steak and it was delicious. Unfortunately, our vacation was over and we had to travel back to Napakiak in the morning. We visited the grocery store one last time to pick up some refrigerated and frozen things to take back to Napakiak.
We took a short horse and carriage ride around downtown Anchorage!
Travel in Alaska is a bit different than the lower 48.
We drove on the ice road back to Napakiak. My dad was a little nervous about it at first, but it wasn't a big deal. It feels just like a normal road! While in Napakiak, my dad made plenty of meals while I was at school. I got to fill my freezer with some meals to last me until the end of the school year. My dad came into school one day and passed out some pencils we bought in Hawaii. My students were excited to see him again and asked him questions like "How old are you?" One student thought he was 35 haha!
All ice!
The weather has been warming up. It almost feels like spring here. There was an ice storm on Thursday which made things very messy! The boardwalks were complete ice and people were slipping and sliding everywhere. The next morning I woke up and the birds were chirping, the sky was blue, and the ice was gone. The river is melting and very wet. It's not very safe for travel anymore. Now that everything is melting, there is water everywhere and things are starting to get muddy. That's spring in Alaska. :)
The days have been flying by. The weekends are always busy with basketball or volleyball tournaments. Prom is coming up and graduation for our ONE senior will be in May. Luckily, our state test was canceled because they were having problems with it. I'm glad that I don't have to worry about that anymore. We give too many tests!! We've been lucky to have some older students visit us in the mornings. We enjoy reading to them. :)
She thought the classroom was a little too bright one day.
Skyping with a Pennsylvania class!
From today, there are 35 more school days left! I can't believe the school year is almost over. I'll be home May 22 and my busy summer will start. I'll be traveling many places. I'm looking forward to seeing Porter and Hunter again and checking out Wynnie and Austin's new house! I'll be visiting Emily in Florida and we are going to go to an ice bar! I'll also be going to Portland for a conference in June and Atlantic City in July to see the Impractical Jokers again with Kayla and Casey. Of course, I'm excited to visit State College for Arts Fest in July, too.
I want to say thank you to my Uncle Rich and Aunt Diane for the nice package. My students love Tastykakes and Peeps!!
Easter fun!
Also, thank you to Wynnie's Aunt Jill who sent us another package! We enjoyed the cookies and crackers. :)
I have decided to spend another year teaching in Alaska. I'll be teaching 3rd and 4th grade next year. That means I will be moving up with my students. It will be my third year with them! I'm excited to see how it goes. This year was definitely better than last year in my classroom. I'm hoping that next year is even better!
