Sorry I haven't updated in so long! It's crazy to think that I've already been here for more than half the summer and even crazier knowing that the end is starting to creep up on me, probably faster than I'd like it to. I haven't had a whole to much going on besides what has now become "normal" (aka - driving a bus and giving tours) regardless, I still have a few stories I'd like to share. ;)
I'd like to start off with saying that it's been officially summer here in Juneau for a while. I can say that because we have the fireweed out. It's one of those plants that helps you determine the seasons. It starts with summer and always ends 6 weeks before winter. It's called fireweed because it's the first plant to grow after a forest fire, but it also turns this bright red color when it goes to seed. It's a very beautiful flower. :)
And with summer comes more tourist families with younger children, like this one couple who tried to leave their daughter on my bus at the glacier. Typical protocol is I drop off all my people, stage offsite in the bus parking lot, and return just in time for pick-up. This couple thought I would be parked in the drop-off zone for the duration of their visit so they left their daughter on my bus. I didn't even know she was there until I started pulling out to go stage. She tried to explain to me that her parents were coming back for her later, but I had to convince her that she wasn't allowed to wait on my bus. Eventually we figured things out, but who leaves their kids on some random bus? Oh wait, they did. ;)
I gave my first "Flavors of Juneau" Tour which includes Mendenhall Glacier, Chez Alaska Cooking School, and the Alaska Brewery. Needless to say, I had very happy and well-fed people on that tour. ;) Then there was the first day I did luggage crew. I hopped into the luggage truck with Bailey and said to myself, "Now, where is the switch for the headlights?" Bailey: "You've never driven this before?! Great, we're gonna die." However, we did NOT die and I must say that driving the luggage truck is much easier than driving a bus in some ways, even though it really WAS my first time. ;)
I've also had a few ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) or Wheelchair transfers. The people have been really nice, and I've done pretty well with the lift. Even that one day where I had to use the manual over-ride to pump the lift back up and then switch out buses. But still, not as scary as I thought they would be. :) At least the bus was still running. There have been two days when I've had to switch out buses during my pre-trip time because they had something wrong with them. I even had my first breakdown while I was up at Eaglecrest picking up passengers. I'm pretty sure in that case it was a battery problem, but everything worked out in the end. :)
Also, I had my first our audit the other day. Jenny rode along as a passenger and critiqued my tour. Luckily it was a Glacier & Gardens tour because it's my absolute favorite! :) The feedback I got was mostly that I had to speak slower. I guess I have enough tour information to fill 3 tours, if only I talked slower. But then they said that I have to explain more about the destination points before we get there. So, I need to use less of my cool info and more of the stuff they're gonna find out by going on the tour... Oh well, I think I've been coming to a happy medium so far. ;)
That's enough about the tours I've given, let me tell you about some of the tours that I've been on! On a company "fam" tour we went Ziplining up at Eagle-crest. I had never been zip-lining before and I definitely loved it! I still need to try out the Canopy's Zip-line, but that's for another day. Cody drove on the way up to Eaglecrest and then I drove on the way back down. Also, just cause I could, I sang to everybody on the way back to Bullwinkle's Pizza. It was so much fun!
I took a tour from Allen Marine out to Tracy Arm. The two Sawyer glaciers are out there in the Fjord. It was so beautiful all the way out, but the best part was when South Sawyer had a period of extended calving! It calved for a full minute and a half! I even got it on video. :) On the way back I sat out on the upper deck just to feel the wind blow through my hair and smell the ocean breeze. It was the first time I'd been in a boat since last year in Afognak, and it felt good to be out on the water again. :)
The last tour I've been on recently was when I shot the Mendenhall. I didn't literally shoot at the Glacier itself, it's a rafting tour down the Mendenhall River. ;) The water was 34˚ F and of course they put me in the very front of the raft. Needless to say, I got soaked. Pretty well. But I kept my camera dry enough that I got a few pictures here and there. :) It was nice to have a different view of Juneau from the river.
Now it's time for a few more of my antics and other random stories! :D First things first, I must tell you about the 4th of July! I was still working that day so I didn't see the Parades (They have one on both Juneau and Douglas), but I still saw the fireworks. Fun fact about Juneau is that we actually have fireworks starting at Midnight on the 3rd, because if we waited 'til it's dark enough on the 4th then it would actually be the 5th. We're the first State to celebrate Independence Day! :D (As per tradition, I made Homemade Snickers to help celebrate)
And one night I went out with Sean and Marie around 1:30 AM so we could see the Aurora Borealis! It was showing up at a "3" in the North-East so we drove to False Outer to see them. I even took a few pictures. :)
I spent some good quality time at our neighbor's house one week when I wasn't able to find my keys for a few days. I ended up being the first person home for that time, so I'd have to wait for my roommates to get back before I could get in. Thank goodness we have really nice neighbors, like Nicole, who would let me come watch movies with her while I waited. :) And speaking of movies I went and watched the Lone Ranger at the local theater one day with a few coworkers. Then on another night I went to see the silent movie "Safety Last" with a live piano player providing the accompaniment.
I've been having a relatively hard time trying to decide what I should read since I finished the Mistborn series a few weeks ago. I'm open for suggestions, though I might have to throw a bunch of them on the steadily growing list of future reads. ;) However, I have been spending a bit more time playing on my guitar. Oh, if you didn't know, I went on craigslist and found a guitar to buy here in Juneau. If you're lucky (and I have enough time) I might just try making a couple rough recordings of my songs and some covers. ;)
As for a little fashion update, earlier this month Jenny gave me some fake nails from "Impress" to try out. They actually worked really well and it was kinda fun to wear them. I actually have another couple sets I might try when I decide I can give up playing guitar for a week again. ;) Also, when it gets more humid here my hair has a slight curl to it. Not that it means much because I usually wear it up, but still. :)
Saving some of the best for last, ACT won the Kickball Tournament we had with Temsco last Friday! :D We all have shirts that are somewhat matching. Mine turned out to be an XL white one with a Tlingit art style Dragonfly on it. :) Definitely a very fun evening for the whole gang! :D
I miss you all bunches, and I'll see you in about two months. Please keep updating me about your lives and let me know if there's anything specific you'd like me to find out/blog about! :)
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase],
Shawni
P.S. Watch for Part II of this post tomorrow, in which our Heroine actually posts all the pictures she's been promising. ;)
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Lodgemaiden Chronicles, Juneau Journeys: Happy Summer Solstice!
It's been forever since I made a blog post, but since it's such a special occasion I decided I should probably let you guys know that I'm still alive and driving buses. As opposed to dead and driving buses. On 2nd thought, maybe I'd make better tips if I was an undead driver... ;) I wonder if I'd leave more or less people at the glacier that way. Speaking of which...
I had to leave a lady at the glacier. I had a group of 8. Time was fast approaching our time to leave because these people had a whale watch as the next segment on their tour. I only had 5 of the 8 and the three that were missing were from a party of 4. I waited while the party member looked for the others. He found 2 of them. I waited an extra 15 minutes through these proceedings and finally explained that we had to leave without her to make the whale watch. She called them (why they didn't call her when they couldn't find her in the first place I have no idea) and we ended up giving her my phone number so I could get her in contact with her company that she booked through. Haven't heard anything since. I felt horrible, and I'm pretty sure there's some disgruntled Asians somewhere in the world who don't like me very much. But I was just trying to do my job.
I've also been meeting a lot of new people while here in Juneau. I met a guy named Ted who works in the State Museum Gift Shop. He's from Juneau and was telling me a lot of stories, Mostly about fishing and bears. And when I picked up my first float trip I got to meet some of the people who work there. In fact, I played hackysack with them! Or at least tried to. :) I only know the names of a couple of them. There's Kian (sp?) who's here from Ireland and the one I know best is Scout. He's the one who takes pictures of everyone in the rafts at a particular spot on the Mendenhall River. I did end up going on a date with the guy from Glacier Gardens. We went up flume trail, had lunch at Bullwinkle's Pizza, and then went to the Alaska Fudge Co. for some Huckleberry ice cream. It was fun, but not really worth more than a sentence or two on the blog.
But last Friday night I got to go out for my friend Whitney's B-day! :) She drives for HAP (Holland America/Princess) and a bunch of the HAP driver's I've met were there. We went out to Asian Gardens for Dinner and then went to see Man of Steel. I had more fun that night than I had in a while. :)
I've actually been going out to quite a few different things lately. I've been to the Island Pub and grill for the past couple Tuesday nights. The first time was when Don (my trainer) and his wife were visiting in Juneau, and the second one was for Ryan. He's been one of our Mechanics but recently moved to go work for Caterpillar. I've been to Institute every week so far, and we just saw President Olsen off at the Ferry because he's moving. We'll miss him and Sister Olsen a lot!
The weather's still been crazy, mostly for the fact that We've had way too much sun this summer. I'm not trying to sound ungrateful, but I feel like this is out of place when I know it's supposed to rain! All the time! It even got up up to 86˚ last week! Our poor Mechanics heard no end about the A/C for quite a while last week. Luckily no one died, except one almost did. My co-worker Dylan had someone have a heart attack on his bus! They got him help and life-flighted him out. No one's heard anything, but I give props to Dylan, Jake, Nigel, and everyone else at Allen Marine who helped out. There were definitely some "angels on Earth" in Juneau that day.
Speaking of angels, last Sunday I received my first pamphlet from a lady on my bus. She handed it to me with her tip inside of it. She told me that it was to help me find the way to Christ. Little did she know that I already believe in Him, but I was touched by her willingness to reach out like that. Wish I could have swapped a pass-along card with her...
Today was Summer Solstice! That means we had approximately 18 1/2 hours of sunlight today! How did I celebrate? By taking a ride up to the Mendenhall Glacier, what else? I got to go on a comp helicopter tour with Temsco today. Erik and I both were able to go today. I got a lot of pictures while I was up there and it was so cool! Later on I went with Rachel and Jed (Rachel's Boyfriend) to False Outer so I could get some pics of the sunset. Being out there reminded me a lot of being on Afognak. I absolutely loved it except for the Noseeums. You know those little bugs that you can never see but bite you really hard. Well, everything's bigger in Alaska, so these Noseeums were dubbed Seeums. I might have to invest in some bug spray if I want to start going out to things like that (provided the weather decides to stay the way it's been for most of the summer.
Once I was asked what I do in my spare time.Mostly I read and cook. I finished reading the first Mistborn book on the 11th and I'm currently making my way through number two. I highly recommend the book series to anyone! :) I also read lds.org talks and the Ensign on Sundays to help remind me whose day it is.
I'm trying to think of any other stories I'd like to share with you. I bought some new work shoes recently. They're a boy's size 3 basic George church-style shoes from Walmart. Yeah, I have "fairy feet" still. ;) Oh, there was one day I was staged out at Era when a little boy came up with his Dad to ask me if he could come take a look at my bus. He couldn't have been more than 3 and he was so adorable! I let him climb up in the seat and honk the horn. I seriously think that was the best thing that happened to me that day. :) And I definitely can't forget to tell you about Jenny's new earring display case. You see, I was walking home from work when I saw this commercial Earring display stand on the sidewalk with a "FREE" sign on it. I knew Jenny liked to make earrings so I thought I'd get it for her. Only thing is, I couldn't carry it and I didn't have a car. Luckily I got a hold of Steve and Jess and they helped me to get the whole thing up to our apartment. It was bigger than what Jenny thought it would be. She thought it was one of the large counter-top size ones. But his one is the kind that stands on the floor and is taller than I am. Needless to say, we're still trying to figure out what to do with it now that it's here. But it's still pretty cool. :)
I think that's just about it for now. I'll make a post with just pictures soon so you can "see" what I've been up to. I love and miss you all!
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase],
Shawni
I had to leave a lady at the glacier. I had a group of 8. Time was fast approaching our time to leave because these people had a whale watch as the next segment on their tour. I only had 5 of the 8 and the three that were missing were from a party of 4. I waited while the party member looked for the others. He found 2 of them. I waited an extra 15 minutes through these proceedings and finally explained that we had to leave without her to make the whale watch. She called them (why they didn't call her when they couldn't find her in the first place I have no idea) and we ended up giving her my phone number so I could get her in contact with her company that she booked through. Haven't heard anything since. I felt horrible, and I'm pretty sure there's some disgruntled Asians somewhere in the world who don't like me very much. But I was just trying to do my job.
I've also been meeting a lot of new people while here in Juneau. I met a guy named Ted who works in the State Museum Gift Shop. He's from Juneau and was telling me a lot of stories, Mostly about fishing and bears. And when I picked up my first float trip I got to meet some of the people who work there. In fact, I played hackysack with them! Or at least tried to. :) I only know the names of a couple of them. There's Kian (sp?) who's here from Ireland and the one I know best is Scout. He's the one who takes pictures of everyone in the rafts at a particular spot on the Mendenhall River. I did end up going on a date with the guy from Glacier Gardens. We went up flume trail, had lunch at Bullwinkle's Pizza, and then went to the Alaska Fudge Co. for some Huckleberry ice cream. It was fun, but not really worth more than a sentence or two on the blog.
But last Friday night I got to go out for my friend Whitney's B-day! :) She drives for HAP (Holland America/Princess) and a bunch of the HAP driver's I've met were there. We went out to Asian Gardens for Dinner and then went to see Man of Steel. I had more fun that night than I had in a while. :)
I've actually been going out to quite a few different things lately. I've been to the Island Pub and grill for the past couple Tuesday nights. The first time was when Don (my trainer) and his wife were visiting in Juneau, and the second one was for Ryan. He's been one of our Mechanics but recently moved to go work for Caterpillar. I've been to Institute every week so far, and we just saw President Olsen off at the Ferry because he's moving. We'll miss him and Sister Olsen a lot!
The weather's still been crazy, mostly for the fact that We've had way too much sun this summer. I'm not trying to sound ungrateful, but I feel like this is out of place when I know it's supposed to rain! All the time! It even got up up to 86˚ last week! Our poor Mechanics heard no end about the A/C for quite a while last week. Luckily no one died, except one almost did. My co-worker Dylan had someone have a heart attack on his bus! They got him help and life-flighted him out. No one's heard anything, but I give props to Dylan, Jake, Nigel, and everyone else at Allen Marine who helped out. There were definitely some "angels on Earth" in Juneau that day.
Speaking of angels, last Sunday I received my first pamphlet from a lady on my bus. She handed it to me with her tip inside of it. She told me that it was to help me find the way to Christ. Little did she know that I already believe in Him, but I was touched by her willingness to reach out like that. Wish I could have swapped a pass-along card with her...
Today was Summer Solstice! That means we had approximately 18 1/2 hours of sunlight today! How did I celebrate? By taking a ride up to the Mendenhall Glacier, what else? I got to go on a comp helicopter tour with Temsco today. Erik and I both were able to go today. I got a lot of pictures while I was up there and it was so cool! Later on I went with Rachel and Jed (Rachel's Boyfriend) to False Outer so I could get some pics of the sunset. Being out there reminded me a lot of being on Afognak. I absolutely loved it except for the Noseeums. You know those little bugs that you can never see but bite you really hard. Well, everything's bigger in Alaska, so these Noseeums were dubbed Seeums. I might have to invest in some bug spray if I want to start going out to things like that (provided the weather decides to stay the way it's been for most of the summer.
Once I was asked what I do in my spare time.Mostly I read and cook. I finished reading the first Mistborn book on the 11th and I'm currently making my way through number two. I highly recommend the book series to anyone! :) I also read lds.org talks and the Ensign on Sundays to help remind me whose day it is.
I'm trying to think of any other stories I'd like to share with you. I bought some new work shoes recently. They're a boy's size 3 basic George church-style shoes from Walmart. Yeah, I have "fairy feet" still. ;) Oh, there was one day I was staged out at Era when a little boy came up with his Dad to ask me if he could come take a look at my bus. He couldn't have been more than 3 and he was so adorable! I let him climb up in the seat and honk the horn. I seriously think that was the best thing that happened to me that day. :) And I definitely can't forget to tell you about Jenny's new earring display case. You see, I was walking home from work when I saw this commercial Earring display stand on the sidewalk with a "FREE" sign on it. I knew Jenny liked to make earrings so I thought I'd get it for her. Only thing is, I couldn't carry it and I didn't have a car. Luckily I got a hold of Steve and Jess and they helped me to get the whole thing up to our apartment. It was bigger than what Jenny thought it would be. She thought it was one of the large counter-top size ones. But his one is the kind that stands on the floor and is taller than I am. Needless to say, we're still trying to figure out what to do with it now that it's here. But it's still pretty cool. :)
I think that's just about it for now. I'll make a post with just pictures soon so you can "see" what I've been up to. I love and miss you all!
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase],
Shawni
Monday, June 3, 2013
Lodgemaiden Chronicles, Juneau Journeys: Disco Fever!
What did I do this past week, you ask? Let me e'splain... No, there is too much, let me sum up:
Sunday was my first "Disco Day" I've had yet this season. Disco is our term for "Glacier Discovery", though if anyone wants to choreograph a dance or create a dance move called the Glacier Disco, please record it and send it to me. :) Anyways, a Disco day requires multiple trips to the glacier back and forth the entire day. It's pretty time sensitive because you end up dropping off a group at the same time you pick up the previous one. Luckily I only had 3 groups because my first group was an half hour late leaving the dock that morning. It made it so that I had to be late picking up my 2nd group. My 3rd (and last) group was fine and didn't even realize there was a time frame problem earlier. Just a typical Disco day, or so I'm told. :)
On Monday I had my first evening whale quest. Basically it's the last Whale watch tour for the day. When I was done I was finished late enough that I couldn't go to FHE, but that's alright because I did get to go to Institute on Wednesday.
Tuesday was a pretty normal day, and I got done early enough that I went for a short hike up near my apartment. I was looking for Perseverance Trail and accidentally to the "Flume" Trail. It's kind of like Cress Creek because most of the trail is actually built walkways. It was a nice hike, which means I'll have to try perseverance another time. ;)
Wednesday... oh, you mean Wednesday! Well, that started off as a very interesting day... I was having a good time, the weather was great, I got all my passengers on, and I had just gotten a green light from Tim (the Allen Marine dock rep) to head out to the BIMA (their barge/dock). Then, while I was backing out of Marine Park, I accidentally hit mirror on mirror with the bus to my right. I was backing up and thought my tires were straight, but they must have had a slight turn to them. I was watching my backer out of the driver-side mirror when I heard the sound on my right. I stopped, but it took just long enough to stop that my mirror went back on it's hinge. No damage, just misplaced. My co-worker pulled it out into place so I could see out of it, and then I left for the BIMA. I was kind of shaken and flustered but after I got onto the road I started my tour and everything was uphill from there. Later that day I even got a compliment on my driving from Justin at Allen Marine. I did have to fill out some paperwork on the incident, but I'm glad it was something minor as opposed to a real collision. Anyways, I did get to go to institute and make some new friends. :)
Thursday I gave my first Juneau Highlights tour. That's where they go to the Glacier, the State Museum, and the Salmon Hatchery. I really liked visiting the Hatchery, and my people were very punctual for transfer the whole trip. :)
Friday was my day off when I got to go shopping. I also got a piano to borrow for the summer from my friend/co-worker Dylan. It's a really old Analog-Synthesizer piano, but it'll do for practicing and having some fun every once in a while. I'll have to look up a manual sometime soon so I can actually figure out how to do the "voices" etc. :) Technically I guess you could call Saturday a day off as well. First they switched my schedule with Kyle (who I later found out drove a Temsco transfer for Alex Trebeck) so the only thing on my schedule was an Evening Whale Watch. I got to the yard, started pre-tripping my bus and then got a call that my Whale Watch was cancelled because not enough people signed up for it. I spent most of my time that day reading Mistborn. If you haven't read it yet, please do!!!
Yesterday I had two tours that were sandwiched inside of each other. I went to the glacier with a group and after I dropped them off at Allen Marine I went to do a Glacier Bake for a new group. They were both pretty good, and my tours are starting to flow normally now. I still need to learn more info that I can tell people though. I got to go to evening Church last night!!! They recently had some council that we should only be having the evening Sacrament meetings once a month though, so it'll be the first Sunday of every month. They're encouraging us to try and find slots in our schedules and work with our employers to attend one of the normal meetings at least for the sacrament. I'll see what I can do, but at least there is still one a month even if I can't. Afterwards we went over to Douglas to drop off the boys who live there and we all decided to go inside and have a little testimony meeting. The Spirit was so strong and I'm so glad to be working with these valiant brethren. :)
Today we have an afternoon ship so I don't know what the day has in store for me yet, but I'm sure I'll always make the best of it. :) Also, I've gotten into the habit of trying to read a bunch of different LDS/Devotional talks. If you have any that you would like to recommend, please let me know!
I love and miss you all!
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase],
Shawni
Sunday was my first "Disco Day" I've had yet this season. Disco is our term for "Glacier Discovery", though if anyone wants to choreograph a dance or create a dance move called the Glacier Disco, please record it and send it to me. :) Anyways, a Disco day requires multiple trips to the glacier back and forth the entire day. It's pretty time sensitive because you end up dropping off a group at the same time you pick up the previous one. Luckily I only had 3 groups because my first group was an half hour late leaving the dock that morning. It made it so that I had to be late picking up my 2nd group. My 3rd (and last) group was fine and didn't even realize there was a time frame problem earlier. Just a typical Disco day, or so I'm told. :)
On Monday I had my first evening whale quest. Basically it's the last Whale watch tour for the day. When I was done I was finished late enough that I couldn't go to FHE, but that's alright because I did get to go to Institute on Wednesday.
Tuesday was a pretty normal day, and I got done early enough that I went for a short hike up near my apartment. I was looking for Perseverance Trail and accidentally to the "Flume" Trail. It's kind of like Cress Creek because most of the trail is actually built walkways. It was a nice hike, which means I'll have to try perseverance another time. ;)
Wednesday... oh, you mean Wednesday! Well, that started off as a very interesting day... I was having a good time, the weather was great, I got all my passengers on, and I had just gotten a green light from Tim (the Allen Marine dock rep) to head out to the BIMA (their barge/dock). Then, while I was backing out of Marine Park, I accidentally hit mirror on mirror with the bus to my right. I was backing up and thought my tires were straight, but they must have had a slight turn to them. I was watching my backer out of the driver-side mirror when I heard the sound on my right. I stopped, but it took just long enough to stop that my mirror went back on it's hinge. No damage, just misplaced. My co-worker pulled it out into place so I could see out of it, and then I left for the BIMA. I was kind of shaken and flustered but after I got onto the road I started my tour and everything was uphill from there. Later that day I even got a compliment on my driving from Justin at Allen Marine. I did have to fill out some paperwork on the incident, but I'm glad it was something minor as opposed to a real collision. Anyways, I did get to go to institute and make some new friends. :)
Thursday I gave my first Juneau Highlights tour. That's where they go to the Glacier, the State Museum, and the Salmon Hatchery. I really liked visiting the Hatchery, and my people were very punctual for transfer the whole trip. :)
Friday was my day off when I got to go shopping. I also got a piano to borrow for the summer from my friend/co-worker Dylan. It's a really old Analog-Synthesizer piano, but it'll do for practicing and having some fun every once in a while. I'll have to look up a manual sometime soon so I can actually figure out how to do the "voices" etc. :) Technically I guess you could call Saturday a day off as well. First they switched my schedule with Kyle (who I later found out drove a Temsco transfer for Alex Trebeck) so the only thing on my schedule was an Evening Whale Watch. I got to the yard, started pre-tripping my bus and then got a call that my Whale Watch was cancelled because not enough people signed up for it. I spent most of my time that day reading Mistborn. If you haven't read it yet, please do!!!
Yesterday I had two tours that were sandwiched inside of each other. I went to the glacier with a group and after I dropped them off at Allen Marine I went to do a Glacier Bake for a new group. They were both pretty good, and my tours are starting to flow normally now. I still need to learn more info that I can tell people though. I got to go to evening Church last night!!! They recently had some council that we should only be having the evening Sacrament meetings once a month though, so it'll be the first Sunday of every month. They're encouraging us to try and find slots in our schedules and work with our employers to attend one of the normal meetings at least for the sacrament. I'll see what I can do, but at least there is still one a month even if I can't. Afterwards we went over to Douglas to drop off the boys who live there and we all decided to go inside and have a little testimony meeting. The Spirit was so strong and I'm so glad to be working with these valiant brethren. :)
Today we have an afternoon ship so I don't know what the day has in store for me yet, but I'm sure I'll always make the best of it. :) Also, I've gotten into the habit of trying to read a bunch of different LDS/Devotional talks. If you have any that you would like to recommend, please let me know!
I love and miss you all!
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase],
Shawni
Friday, May 24, 2013
Lodgemaiden Chronicles, Juneau Journies: Never Stop Learning...
Sunday morning I took off early from home and took a leisurely walk down to the yard, whistling hymns along the way. It was positively lovely weather out and then it started to rain. And then the wind picked up. And then it began to hail. Don't worry, it cleared up a bit before I picked up my passengers. On our way out to the glacier I had mentioned to my passengers that the weather could be a bit bipolar sometimes. It was actually partially sunny at the glacier when we arrived. However, in the 15 minutes before I picked them up it rained, the wind picked up, and it hailed... again. Needless to say, my passengers came back to the bus believing me. ;) After that we went to the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery for the tour there. I had a pick up at Era later that evening and they ended up tipping me really well because I gave them a tour on the way back when they weren't expecting one. ;) That night we had a pancake party "fhe" down in apt 2 complete with religious discussion in lieu of not going to church that day.
Monday we had an afternoon ship come in. It was a sunny beautiful day, but it was so windy that Allen Marine cancelled all of their whale watch tours (10ft swells). All the tours got turned into Glacier Discovery tours instead. I also ended up with a later Temsco (helicopter) drop-off/pickup so I didn't have the chance to go to ward fhe. However, we got wifi installed in our apartments! Now I don't have to go clear to town to check my e-mail. Regardless, I'm still probably going to stick with a weekly blog post. Unless something really fun or amazing happens. ;)
First thing Tuesday I had one Temsco and two Era drop-offs. I'm very glad to say I haven't missed the Douglas Bridge for Era since that first run. ;) After I dropped of my 2nd Era, I went up to Eagle Crest to do another Zipline/Glacier (Zip/Mendy) tour. It went well because I had a lot more tour material to work with. You see, I've been reading two books about Alaska History and Tlinget legend/customs. Did you know the Tlinget (local tribes) believed that the Raven brought water and sunlight to the earth and that he created man from beach grass? It's really cool if you want to look into it. I also gave my first Best of Juneau (BoJ) tour which includes includes Whale Watch in Auke Bay, a visit to Mendenhall Glacier, and the Salmon Bake. However, since the winds were still really high the whale watch portion was cancelled. It seemed nice enough out. It was sunny with wind so it was the perfect temperature, but there were still high swells. Everyone still had a great time, and I feel like I'm getting a lot more comfortable giving my tours.
Wednesday- Wash crew day, except I was called in for a charter tour for another company for a BoJ. On our way out my people were laughing at my jokes and having fun, my tour material was flowing smoothly. We're almost to the glacier and I'm about to give them driver's standard time when I realize that this group was supposed to have the whale watch first. So we turn around and I start heading for Allen Marine. I get to De Hart's and call in to Allen Marine and find out over radio that they're not expecting me. Then I realize the BoJ gets dropped off in Statter Harbor. So luckily I'm in one of the cut-away busses and turned around in a semi-circle lot while apologizing to Nigel for the confusion. We get to Statter harbor and they were luckily only a little bit late. I staged at Brotherhood Bridge and shopped at the Safeway while they were on their whale watch tour. After I picked them up from the dock The rest of the tour went well. We went to the Glacier (for reals) and then I dropped them off at the Salmon Bake. I must not have done anything too horribly wrong (or they must have felt sorry for me) because they still tipped me pretty well. I didn't get to go to institute because my route ended later in the day, but I'll go again when I don't have late work. Besides, my Mistborn books arrived today and I got to stay up with Rachel reading things about Juneau on the internet! We learned about the ice worm wiggle, an awesome ice worm song, and we even memorized the words to the Alaska state flag song (still need to learn the melody). Hopefully I'll be able to remember in the future that there are alternate routings to the different tours.
Yesterday morning I had an Era run with Bryce (my assigned Era rep) riding along for the safety speech. Which means I tour until we reach the Douglas round-about and then he takes over. He told me he liked my tour and that he learned stuff about Juneau that he hadn't heard before. Then I had a Glacier/Salmon Bake tour and this time I actually watched the movie in the visitor's center. My group was very diverse in ethnicities: Indian, German, Spanish, Asian, Great Britain, and American. A lot of the people couldn't understand what I was saying so they weren't very responsive to my material, but they were very polite nonetheless. Then in the afternoon I ran my first Glacier/Glacier Gardens tour! I was really excited because this 2nd group was a lot more responsive than the first one. After I dropped them off at glacier I got a call from Shaner. I found out that my routing schedule was supposed to be Gardens first. She figured it out with Tina and they re-scheduled for my people. The rest of the tour was without mishap. I got my complementary hot chocolate (almond caramel) and one of the workers (LDS) saw my ctr ring and started talking to me. He said we'd have to go hiking sometime and got my number. Also one of my passengers was rummaging through her pockets and found a sand dollar she had picked up on the beach back home in California, and she said that she decided to give it to me because I was such an interesting person. :) On the way back to the dock near the end of the tour I was even able to recite the lyrics to the Alaska State flag song and everyone applauded for me! When I got home I made cracker toffee with the ingredients I bought at Safeway yesterday. It turned out to be a very good day. :)
Today was wash crew day! It started out with just me and Ammon there. Then Kyle and Sean came out and helped. I also met our new trainee Lewis. He seems really nice (from the 10 minutes I got to talk to him). It's been a laid back day ever since I got home, which translates to: I started reading Mistborn! :) But as of today, I only have 120 days left in Juneau. That means I really have to start planning out all the activities I need to do before I leave at the end of the season.
Something I learned this week is that it's definitely human to make mistakes. However, as long as you're actively working to fix the problem in a professional manner most people won't fault you for it. Something else I realized recently is that since I've been wearing make-up every day for work, it's very likely that by the end of the season I will have worn make-up more in 5 months than I have cumulative in the last two or three years. ;)
If there's anything in particular that you'd like to hear more about, or have me clarify, just ask. I still love and miss you all!
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase]
Shawni
Monday we had an afternoon ship come in. It was a sunny beautiful day, but it was so windy that Allen Marine cancelled all of their whale watch tours (10ft swells). All the tours got turned into Glacier Discovery tours instead. I also ended up with a later Temsco (helicopter) drop-off/pickup so I didn't have the chance to go to ward fhe. However, we got wifi installed in our apartments! Now I don't have to go clear to town to check my e-mail. Regardless, I'm still probably going to stick with a weekly blog post. Unless something really fun or amazing happens. ;)
First thing Tuesday I had one Temsco and two Era drop-offs. I'm very glad to say I haven't missed the Douglas Bridge for Era since that first run. ;) After I dropped of my 2nd Era, I went up to Eagle Crest to do another Zipline/Glacier (Zip/Mendy) tour. It went well because I had a lot more tour material to work with. You see, I've been reading two books about Alaska History and Tlinget legend/customs. Did you know the Tlinget (local tribes) believed that the Raven brought water and sunlight to the earth and that he created man from beach grass? It's really cool if you want to look into it. I also gave my first Best of Juneau (BoJ) tour which includes includes Whale Watch in Auke Bay, a visit to Mendenhall Glacier, and the Salmon Bake. However, since the winds were still really high the whale watch portion was cancelled. It seemed nice enough out. It was sunny with wind so it was the perfect temperature, but there were still high swells. Everyone still had a great time, and I feel like I'm getting a lot more comfortable giving my tours.
Wednesday- Wash crew day, except I was called in for a charter tour for another company for a BoJ. On our way out my people were laughing at my jokes and having fun, my tour material was flowing smoothly. We're almost to the glacier and I'm about to give them driver's standard time when I realize that this group was supposed to have the whale watch first. So we turn around and I start heading for Allen Marine. I get to De Hart's and call in to Allen Marine and find out over radio that they're not expecting me. Then I realize the BoJ gets dropped off in Statter Harbor. So luckily I'm in one of the cut-away busses and turned around in a semi-circle lot while apologizing to Nigel for the confusion. We get to Statter harbor and they were luckily only a little bit late. I staged at Brotherhood Bridge and shopped at the Safeway while they were on their whale watch tour. After I picked them up from the dock The rest of the tour went well. We went to the Glacier (for reals) and then I dropped them off at the Salmon Bake. I must not have done anything too horribly wrong (or they must have felt sorry for me) because they still tipped me pretty well. I didn't get to go to institute because my route ended later in the day, but I'll go again when I don't have late work. Besides, my Mistborn books arrived today and I got to stay up with Rachel reading things about Juneau on the internet! We learned about the ice worm wiggle, an awesome ice worm song, and we even memorized the words to the Alaska state flag song (still need to learn the melody). Hopefully I'll be able to remember in the future that there are alternate routings to the different tours.
Yesterday morning I had an Era run with Bryce (my assigned Era rep) riding along for the safety speech. Which means I tour until we reach the Douglas round-about and then he takes over. He told me he liked my tour and that he learned stuff about Juneau that he hadn't heard before. Then I had a Glacier/Salmon Bake tour and this time I actually watched the movie in the visitor's center. My group was very diverse in ethnicities: Indian, German, Spanish, Asian, Great Britain, and American. A lot of the people couldn't understand what I was saying so they weren't very responsive to my material, but they were very polite nonetheless. Then in the afternoon I ran my first Glacier/Glacier Gardens tour! I was really excited because this 2nd group was a lot more responsive than the first one. After I dropped them off at glacier I got a call from Shaner. I found out that my routing schedule was supposed to be Gardens first. She figured it out with Tina and they re-scheduled for my people. The rest of the tour was without mishap. I got my complementary hot chocolate (almond caramel) and one of the workers (LDS) saw my ctr ring and started talking to me. He said we'd have to go hiking sometime and got my number. Also one of my passengers was rummaging through her pockets and found a sand dollar she had picked up on the beach back home in California, and she said that she decided to give it to me because I was such an interesting person. :) On the way back to the dock near the end of the tour I was even able to recite the lyrics to the Alaska State flag song and everyone applauded for me! When I got home I made cracker toffee with the ingredients I bought at Safeway yesterday. It turned out to be a very good day. :)
Today was wash crew day! It started out with just me and Ammon there. Then Kyle and Sean came out and helped. I also met our new trainee Lewis. He seems really nice (from the 10 minutes I got to talk to him). It's been a laid back day ever since I got home, which translates to: I started reading Mistborn! :) But as of today, I only have 120 days left in Juneau. That means I really have to start planning out all the activities I need to do before I leave at the end of the season.
Something I learned this week is that it's definitely human to make mistakes. However, as long as you're actively working to fix the problem in a professional manner most people won't fault you for it. Something else I realized recently is that since I've been wearing make-up every day for work, it's very likely that by the end of the season I will have worn make-up more in 5 months than I have cumulative in the last two or three years. ;)
If there's anything in particular that you'd like to hear more about, or have me clarify, just ask. I still love and miss you all!
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase]
Shawni
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Lodge Maiden Chronicles, Juneau Journeys: Live Through First Tour Week, Check!
Well, Last sunday I wasn't able to go to church because I was giving a whale watch tour. I really don't think Nigel (the Allen Marine dock rep) likes me very much. I had to back with passengers again that day in order to get out. And there were three of us running passengers to the dock anyway. I'm sure it's nothing personal, but still. When I finished that run I got to go on a Ride-along with Kelly to the Salmon Hatchery and the Glacier. We do ride-alongs to see how others do their tours and to gain more material. Actually, a lot of my phone call to my Mom that day was about different odd facts I've learned for my tours. I heard that Braden is doing well and I sure wish I could have talked to him, but c'est la vie. I love him anyway. ;)
Monday I actually had a day off! However, Jenny and Rachel didn't, so I had the house to myself. I blasted my music while I cleaned and did some laundry. After that Sean came over for a while before we went exploring downtown with Jonathan. If you ever come to Juneau I MUST recommend just a few places to you. The Alaska Fudge Co (which has positively amazing chocolate/fudge/candy), Imagination Station (a really awesome toy store), Trove (a store with lots of fun novelty items such as plunger magnets, mustache cookie cutters, etc), and Samovars (a great russian restaurant that opened just this season). After out explorations we hitched a ride to FHE out at the Auke Bay Recreation Area. While there we beach-combed, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and explored the peninsula. I had a really great time, and met some great new friends. :) However, I didn't get home till about 10:30 and I had a ferry drop-off at 4:15 the next morning...
Tuesday I was up at 2:30, to the yard by 3:15, pre-tripped the bus and then left out to the ferry with Dylan. We loaded the two busses that are being shipped to our Ketchikan division. Afterwards we drove the company van back to the yard where we talked until it was time for breakfast. We ate at a fun little coffee shop called The Rookery*. It has really great hot chocolate and these amazing pastries that reminded me a lot of Brian's cooking from last year. :) My next adventure was when I tried to get the Goshen into Franklin dock at 8. I had to circle to the Tram lot twice to wait in order to get a parking spot to meet my passengers. I drove them out to Auke Bay where I dropped them off. Then I went to stage at Brotherhood Bridge where I promptly took a nap. ;) I picked up my passengers and dropped them off at the dock just in time for the next company vendor tour. We learned the routes to the Alaska Brewery, The Cooking School, and Angel Gardens. All three are amazing places. After we got back I fueled the Goshen, walked home, ate a little something, took two Benadryl, and went straight to bed. So I slept from about 4:30 pm clear through the next morning. After and 11.5 hour day, sleep felt glorious!
On Wednesday I had my first ever Era drop-offs. Era is one of our helicopter companies that we transfer passengers for. On my first run I was so into telling a story that I missed my turn at the Douglas bridge. I called in on my radio to find out where I could turn around (because there are only so many places big enough to turn around a bus) and by the time Shaner told me where to turn onto, I had already passed that road. I ended up telling my passengers that they were just getting an extra-long tour and I turned them around at the salmon hatchery. We eventually got to Era and there were quite a few people who told me that they loved the extra part of the tour, so obviously I didn't do too bad. ;) Parking in Era is very fun thoug, especially when there are multiple busses down there. What's really funny is when tourists jump on the first bus they see instead of trying to find the bus they originally came on. It has actually happened. ;) Later on I had a drop-off at Allen Marine and I got out on my first try! I hope Nigel is happy with me. ;) One of the girls that works at Era is also in my ward. After she got done with work she gave me a ride to Institute. Considering I couldn't attend church on Sunday, I really enjoyed it! The teachers are a senior missionary couple, and I met more people that live in my area of Juneau! I really hope I get home/visiting teachers soon. That'll also help. :)
Thursday I got called into work and while I was pre-tripping the Goshen wouldn't start. I looked around and found that someone had left the exterior lights on the day before. I found Matt (our head mechanic) and he helped me jump-start the Goshen. Matt also told me I couldn't turn it off until after my first passenger run. It was ok; it just made for an interesting morning. My first run was a drop-off at Auke Bay. Then I dropped off at Era (without missing the bridge), and went straight up to Eagle crest for a pick-up at the Zipline. From the zipline I drove them clear out to the Glacier. On the way I used up basically all of my tour material so I had to think really hard for things to say on the ride back from the glacier to the docks (ie: Isostatic glacial rebound, etc). It went well though, and I even made a tip. After that I went on a ride-along with Bryce to Glacier Gardens (which has the most amazing hot chocolate!) and then up to the Glacier. While we were staging I got a call from Shaner asking if I wouldn't mind coming and helping out with cars. Turns out that ACT also owns the Hertz car rental at the airport and they didn't have enough staff to finish washing cars by closing time. So I helped clean and wash cars for about an hour. Then on the way back to the yard Brenna got us Oreo Mcflurries. :) After work we went out to a pizza place inside The Wharf for Shaner's birthday. It was really fun to have everyone there. :)
Yesterday we had wash crew and I was assigned as a sprayer, so I got the hose. Mwahahaha... Just kidding, I was nice. ;) It really reminded me of the MHS Fine Arts Car Washes we had back in Marching Band. Happy memories at that. :) Also, we had an old radio tuned to a local station that had a good mix of a lot of songs. Every once in a while it would play a perfect Lindy hop song though, and it made me really miss my Swing scene in Rexburg... Sigh, I might just have to teach my co-workers how to dance swing. :) Anyways, when we finished there we cleaned up our office area before going out on a grocery trip. We packed everybody into the 15-passenger van and made trips to Costco and Fred Meyer (I guess our Fred Meyer store is the largest one in the western United States. Who knew?). Getting everyone's food to fit in the van (not to mention all the people) was an adventure, but we all made it home safely. I'm set for the next while on food, but I'm mostly excited because I have the stuff I need to make cookies... :)
Today I gave a Glacier/Whale Watch tour and I'm positive that it's the best tour I've given yet! It flowed really well, mt passengers were responsive, and I even made tips at the end! The boat today was unique in the fact that it left by 3:00 this afternoon. Since I had some "free time" I decided to spend it making homemade chicken noodle soup from scratch and then white chocolate craisen oatmeal cookies. It was all very delicious. :)
I'm still having a wonderful time, but every once in a while I'll miss something from home. Regardless, I'm sure all things are turning out for the best. I love and miss you all!
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase],
Shawni
*There are tons of crows/ravens/rooks (one of the above) here in Juneau! They're really smart too. They have a system where they work together to undo the latches on the bear-proof garbage cans to get at food...
Monday I actually had a day off! However, Jenny and Rachel didn't, so I had the house to myself. I blasted my music while I cleaned and did some laundry. After that Sean came over for a while before we went exploring downtown with Jonathan. If you ever come to Juneau I MUST recommend just a few places to you. The Alaska Fudge Co (which has positively amazing chocolate/fudge/candy), Imagination Station (a really awesome toy store), Trove (a store with lots of fun novelty items such as plunger magnets, mustache cookie cutters, etc), and Samovars (a great russian restaurant that opened just this season). After out explorations we hitched a ride to FHE out at the Auke Bay Recreation Area. While there we beach-combed, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and explored the peninsula. I had a really great time, and met some great new friends. :) However, I didn't get home till about 10:30 and I had a ferry drop-off at 4:15 the next morning...
Tuesday I was up at 2:30, to the yard by 3:15, pre-tripped the bus and then left out to the ferry with Dylan. We loaded the two busses that are being shipped to our Ketchikan division. Afterwards we drove the company van back to the yard where we talked until it was time for breakfast. We ate at a fun little coffee shop called The Rookery*. It has really great hot chocolate and these amazing pastries that reminded me a lot of Brian's cooking from last year. :) My next adventure was when I tried to get the Goshen into Franklin dock at 8. I had to circle to the Tram lot twice to wait in order to get a parking spot to meet my passengers. I drove them out to Auke Bay where I dropped them off. Then I went to stage at Brotherhood Bridge where I promptly took a nap. ;) I picked up my passengers and dropped them off at the dock just in time for the next company vendor tour. We learned the routes to the Alaska Brewery, The Cooking School, and Angel Gardens. All three are amazing places. After we got back I fueled the Goshen, walked home, ate a little something, took two Benadryl, and went straight to bed. So I slept from about 4:30 pm clear through the next morning. After and 11.5 hour day, sleep felt glorious!
On Wednesday I had my first ever Era drop-offs. Era is one of our helicopter companies that we transfer passengers for. On my first run I was so into telling a story that I missed my turn at the Douglas bridge. I called in on my radio to find out where I could turn around (because there are only so many places big enough to turn around a bus) and by the time Shaner told me where to turn onto, I had already passed that road. I ended up telling my passengers that they were just getting an extra-long tour and I turned them around at the salmon hatchery. We eventually got to Era and there were quite a few people who told me that they loved the extra part of the tour, so obviously I didn't do too bad. ;) Parking in Era is very fun thoug, especially when there are multiple busses down there. What's really funny is when tourists jump on the first bus they see instead of trying to find the bus they originally came on. It has actually happened. ;) Later on I had a drop-off at Allen Marine and I got out on my first try! I hope Nigel is happy with me. ;) One of the girls that works at Era is also in my ward. After she got done with work she gave me a ride to Institute. Considering I couldn't attend church on Sunday, I really enjoyed it! The teachers are a senior missionary couple, and I met more people that live in my area of Juneau! I really hope I get home/visiting teachers soon. That'll also help. :)
Thursday I got called into work and while I was pre-tripping the Goshen wouldn't start. I looked around and found that someone had left the exterior lights on the day before. I found Matt (our head mechanic) and he helped me jump-start the Goshen. Matt also told me I couldn't turn it off until after my first passenger run. It was ok; it just made for an interesting morning. My first run was a drop-off at Auke Bay. Then I dropped off at Era (without missing the bridge), and went straight up to Eagle crest for a pick-up at the Zipline. From the zipline I drove them clear out to the Glacier. On the way I used up basically all of my tour material so I had to think really hard for things to say on the ride back from the glacier to the docks (ie: Isostatic glacial rebound, etc). It went well though, and I even made a tip. After that I went on a ride-along with Bryce to Glacier Gardens (which has the most amazing hot chocolate!) and then up to the Glacier. While we were staging I got a call from Shaner asking if I wouldn't mind coming and helping out with cars. Turns out that ACT also owns the Hertz car rental at the airport and they didn't have enough staff to finish washing cars by closing time. So I helped clean and wash cars for about an hour. Then on the way back to the yard Brenna got us Oreo Mcflurries. :) After work we went out to a pizza place inside The Wharf for Shaner's birthday. It was really fun to have everyone there. :)
Yesterday we had wash crew and I was assigned as a sprayer, so I got the hose. Mwahahaha... Just kidding, I was nice. ;) It really reminded me of the MHS Fine Arts Car Washes we had back in Marching Band. Happy memories at that. :) Also, we had an old radio tuned to a local station that had a good mix of a lot of songs. Every once in a while it would play a perfect Lindy hop song though, and it made me really miss my Swing scene in Rexburg... Sigh, I might just have to teach my co-workers how to dance swing. :) Anyways, when we finished there we cleaned up our office area before going out on a grocery trip. We packed everybody into the 15-passenger van and made trips to Costco and Fred Meyer (I guess our Fred Meyer store is the largest one in the western United States. Who knew?). Getting everyone's food to fit in the van (not to mention all the people) was an adventure, but we all made it home safely. I'm set for the next while on food, but I'm mostly excited because I have the stuff I need to make cookies... :)
Today I gave a Glacier/Whale Watch tour and I'm positive that it's the best tour I've given yet! It flowed really well, mt passengers were responsive, and I even made tips at the end! The boat today was unique in the fact that it left by 3:00 this afternoon. Since I had some "free time" I decided to spend it making homemade chicken noodle soup from scratch and then white chocolate craisen oatmeal cookies. It was all very delicious. :)
I'm still having a wonderful time, but every once in a while I'll miss something from home. Regardless, I'm sure all things are turning out for the best. I love and miss you all!
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase],
Shawni
*There are tons of crows/ravens/rooks (one of the above) here in Juneau! They're really smart too. They have a system where they work together to undo the latches on the bear-proof garbage cans to get at food...
Lodge Maiden Chronicles, Juneau Journeys: West Glacier Hike Pictures!
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| L to R: Kelly, Shaner, Zach, and Jake |
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| Jake and Zach by a stream that's eroding into the glacier surface |
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| The Glacial lake and valley from the Glacier itself |
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| A waterfall near the mouth of the glacial cave |
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| A frozen waterfall just inside the cave |
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| Looking through the cave mouth from inside the cave |
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| Inside the cave |
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| The entrance from even further in |
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| It was a long hike so I stopped for a drink on the top of the Glacier ;) |
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Lodgemaiden Chronicles, Juneau Journies: Season Officially Starts!
On Wednesday I finished my dual driving so I have official clearance to drive all the vehicles! We also did our first wash crew day where we clean and fuel all the busses that will be used for transporting passengers. It's been positively beautiful sunny weather since Monday! Our clients really loved their tours on Thursday. Speaking of Thursday, I had a great time. Although, I did have a few troubles. My mike wasn't full volume when I started my tour, so I got nervous right off. After a little while I felt better, the drive was going smoothly, I was giving my tour material well, and then I got onto the radio to call in for Allen Marine. Everyone had told me to set my radio to "talk" channel, so I did. I kept calling out and no one responded. Finally I went past to turn at the ferry terminal, and at the time I was switching my radio to "dispatch" I stopped on the "vendor" channel just in time to hear Allen Marine call out and ask me if I had just passed the boat ramp. I got down the ramp, my people got on their boat, and I had time to talk to the dock reps to clarify what was going on. Nobody was mad or annoyed, they were very nice and informative.
Then I went to stage (park and wait) my coach at Brotherhood Bridge. It was a long staging period, and next time I'll bring a book with me. ;) Anyways, I picked up my passengers at Allen Marine and didn't turn wide enough to meet up with the ramp so I had to back up (twice) with passengers on my bus (which you're supposed to avoid if possible) in order to get up the ramp. But we got on our way and made it up to the glacier without any mishaps. I staged in their bus lot and caught up on some of the material in my binder before picking everyone up. Only, I was one person short on my people count. The time came for me to leave so I started pulling out and turning around the loop to go out of the lot when all of the sudden my passengers started yelling. I looked to my left and Irene (one of the glacier park workers was running after me with my step-stool (The extra step to help people get down from the bus). I stopped, put away my stool and we left on our way back to the dock. When we got to the traffic light for Egan drive I didn't even realize I missed the left turn until after I already drove through it. Luckily there was a construction sign ahead so I just told my passengers we'd have to turn around to take another route back. So I had to make a three-point turn (which meant backing with passengers again) in the middle of a road with traffic going up and down it. Luckily the other vehicles were being nice to me and let me finish quickly. I got them back to the dock and even made a tip. Then I got back to the yard and told Brenna and Shaner about it. They said it sounded like a typical first day, so that made me feel better. :)
Friday was beautiful as well, and even more so because I had a day off! I got to go down to Wells Fargo to get quarters for laundry and then I walked down to the Douglas Bridge. I took pictures of every angle of the landscape which I want to splice into a panorama when I get home. Then I walked home by way of the 8th street stairs. Oh, did I not tell you that Juneau has city-maintained stairs with street names on them? I walk down "Franklin St" stairs every day for work. :) Anyways, I ate lunch and watched Jane Eyre before heading out on a hike to the Mendenhall Glacier cave with Jake, Zach, Kelly, Shaner. It's quite the hike! It's like Waterfall, Barbie Island, R Mountain, and the Ice Caves all rolled into one! But was definitely more than worth it to see the cave. You see, water from he snow melt runs into the glacier and starts to melt a little river underneath it. The outside water is so much warmer than the ice that it starts to create steam in the tunnel and eventually widens into a cave! I filled up my waterbottle with glacier water (kind of silty, but tastes good) and I took LOTS of pictures... :) On the way home we went over to the island pub and grill for pizza, which was really good (The only thing I drank was cranberry juice and water).
Today our good weather streak ran out of luck, but we didn't have any tours. However, Zach and I were on airport transfers. He was driving the luggage truck and I drove the passenger coach. The first trip was rather uneventful, but the 2nd one was interesting. I was supposed to pick up 18 people from the hotel but there were only 16 present. I called dispatch and they told me to wait. All of the sudden my passengers started freaking out saying that they were going to miss their flights and that I needed to leave right that 2nd. I had to keep apologizing and saying that I couldn't leave until my dispatch said I could. Then people began telling me that I needed to tell my dispatch what a hurry they were in and that I was just going to leave without the two people. I waited until dispatch released me, but I was very tense the whole drive. At least I can say I dealt with it professionally, even if the passengers didn't like me afterward. I had one more transfer after that before returning to the yard. Once there I did my ADA (American Disabilities Act) training where I learned how to properly use the lift on the truck. Then I cleaned up the office area because everyone else was almost already done with wash crew by that time. Then I caught a ride home with Dylan (because it was positively pouring rain by then) and watched a movie with Jenny. It's raining so hard that I could barely see the outlines of the mountains out my apartment window. I wish it was sunny, but at the same time I love seeing it rain. :)
Well, I have a tour tomorrow so I should probably get home soon. I'll add pictures when I can.
Then I went to stage (park and wait) my coach at Brotherhood Bridge. It was a long staging period, and next time I'll bring a book with me. ;) Anyways, I picked up my passengers at Allen Marine and didn't turn wide enough to meet up with the ramp so I had to back up (twice) with passengers on my bus (which you're supposed to avoid if possible) in order to get up the ramp. But we got on our way and made it up to the glacier without any mishaps. I staged in their bus lot and caught up on some of the material in my binder before picking everyone up. Only, I was one person short on my people count. The time came for me to leave so I started pulling out and turning around the loop to go out of the lot when all of the sudden my passengers started yelling. I looked to my left and Irene (one of the glacier park workers was running after me with my step-stool (The extra step to help people get down from the bus). I stopped, put away my stool and we left on our way back to the dock. When we got to the traffic light for Egan drive I didn't even realize I missed the left turn until after I already drove through it. Luckily there was a construction sign ahead so I just told my passengers we'd have to turn around to take another route back. So I had to make a three-point turn (which meant backing with passengers again) in the middle of a road with traffic going up and down it. Luckily the other vehicles were being nice to me and let me finish quickly. I got them back to the dock and even made a tip. Then I got back to the yard and told Brenna and Shaner about it. They said it sounded like a typical first day, so that made me feel better. :)
Friday was beautiful as well, and even more so because I had a day off! I got to go down to Wells Fargo to get quarters for laundry and then I walked down to the Douglas Bridge. I took pictures of every angle of the landscape which I want to splice into a panorama when I get home. Then I walked home by way of the 8th street stairs. Oh, did I not tell you that Juneau has city-maintained stairs with street names on them? I walk down "Franklin St" stairs every day for work. :) Anyways, I ate lunch and watched Jane Eyre before heading out on a hike to the Mendenhall Glacier cave with Jake, Zach, Kelly, Shaner. It's quite the hike! It's like Waterfall, Barbie Island, R Mountain, and the Ice Caves all rolled into one! But was definitely more than worth it to see the cave. You see, water from he snow melt runs into the glacier and starts to melt a little river underneath it. The outside water is so much warmer than the ice that it starts to create steam in the tunnel and eventually widens into a cave! I filled up my waterbottle with glacier water (kind of silty, but tastes good) and I took LOTS of pictures... :) On the way home we went over to the island pub and grill for pizza, which was really good (The only thing I drank was cranberry juice and water).
Today our good weather streak ran out of luck, but we didn't have any tours. However, Zach and I were on airport transfers. He was driving the luggage truck and I drove the passenger coach. The first trip was rather uneventful, but the 2nd one was interesting. I was supposed to pick up 18 people from the hotel but there were only 16 present. I called dispatch and they told me to wait. All of the sudden my passengers started freaking out saying that they were going to miss their flights and that I needed to leave right that 2nd. I had to keep apologizing and saying that I couldn't leave until my dispatch said I could. Then people began telling me that I needed to tell my dispatch what a hurry they were in and that I was just going to leave without the two people. I waited until dispatch released me, but I was very tense the whole drive. At least I can say I dealt with it professionally, even if the passengers didn't like me afterward. I had one more transfer after that before returning to the yard. Once there I did my ADA (American Disabilities Act) training where I learned how to properly use the lift on the truck. Then I cleaned up the office area because everyone else was almost already done with wash crew by that time. Then I caught a ride home with Dylan (because it was positively pouring rain by then) and watched a movie with Jenny. It's raining so hard that I could barely see the outlines of the mountains out my apartment window. I wish it was sunny, but at the same time I love seeing it rain. :)
Well, I have a tour tomorrow so I should probably get home soon. I'll add pictures when I can.
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase]
Shawni
Monday, May 6, 2013
Lodgemaiden Chronicles, Juneau Journeys: Shout Out to the Lower 48!
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| This is the view outside of my Apartment Window. |
Hey everyone, I made it to Juneau alive! :D On the flight up I found Cody and we sat near each other for the SLC and SeaTac flights. It was really nice to have a travel buddy. :)
I've got myself settled in my apartment. Currently I'm living with two other girl's from the company. ACT (Alaska Coach Tours) rents apartments for the summer and they are spaced out between Juneau and Douglas.
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| This is me at the Mendenhall Glacier |
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| View from one of the Public Library Windows |
I was able to go to the YSA ward on Sunday and ha a really great time. We get to go to evening Sacrament meetings on the 1st and 3rd Sundays starting in June, so that'll be good. We also have FHE as well as Institute if I can ever make it.
So far, as for work, I've been dual driving to learn the "lay of the land" before we get our first cruise ships on Thursday. Today we took a Company Fam Tour and met all of our vendors. I am so excited!
I don't have a whole lot of time right now, because the Public Library Only lets you use their Wifi for an hour. The Juneau Public Library (which happens to be located on the top of a parking garage) is right on the river. I already have my Temporary Library Card, so I'll all set to try and read in my spare time this summer. ;) I haven't been able to take a whole too many pictures yet, so I hope you'll be contented with the ones I currently have. I promise I'll post more soon when I have them!
I love and miss you all!
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase]
Shawni
Friday, August 31, 2012
Lodge Maiden Chronicles: Commence Last Semester in T Minus 10 Days and Counting...
I can’t believe the summer’s gone by so fast! I still remember getting off the plane with Syd to see a dead bear on the dock our first day. It’s crazy how much has changed since then.
Just in case you thought I’d fallen off the edge of the earth, let me assure you that I am alive and well. Here’s some of my life happenings I’ve had since my last blog posting.
All in one day: I went out on the boat, got dropped off at portage and hiked up with Mckenzie, Jordan, Ed, and Chad to Laura lake (or at least the vicinity of it, I never actually physically saw it). On the way back down we went spinning for salmon at a waterfall and a couple other spots along the river. I caught my first silver salmon on my 2nd or 3rd cast! (and I didn't catch a single one after that…) After dinner that night Luke took a few of us out to Waterfall and we saw 9 bears! (5 at one time!). One even tried to follow us along the trail for a while. On the ride home we saw lobbing whales and I rode on top of the boat the whole way back. :)
Garrett's family has been coming to visit us as well. During one week his brother Brandon’s family came to stay with us. Brandon’s wife Martha and I went kayaking to the “Barbie Island” rock arch and then to the back bay where we ate a picnic on one of the islands back there. We saw a few otters and one came within 10 ft of us! Also Garret’s mom (Debbie) and his daughter Maddie came to visit. While they were here we celebrated Little Garrett's birthday. He turned 3 this year. He got a batman cake and a mini trampoline. :) And Garret’s dad (Harry) came out and helped with the foundation for the new warehouse. It’s gonna be awesome! Needless to say, I like Garret’s family. I’m missing Huong, Sophia, and little Garrett a lot right now because they left to go back to town before Huong has her baby. I love you guys and miss you!
On another day both Syd and I went out on the boat and I saw whales so I climbed up on the roof of the boat. I rode up there for at least the next half hour. The wind in my face (as well as the occasional spray of water from the bow). I love the feeling of being suspended in air for that slight second just as you reach the crest of the swell. That freedom that makes you feel you could almost start to fly before the boat drops down into the next swell. I really felt like I connected with the ocean that day.
One evening Syd and I kayaked out into the channel to see the sunset. While we were out there we met Garrett and his kids in the whaler. He offered to tow us home, and on the way we went a little to fast and got water up over the front of the kayak. We didn’t flip over, but we both got wet. That was when Syd decided we should jump off the dock that night. So we did. I was really cold, but fun! And it was my first time swimming in the ocean. :)
Speaking of Syd, I really miss her…
She already left to get back in time for school to start at BYU. She has no idea just how much of an amazing person she is! She has changed my life in ways that she will never understand. I could write pages and pages about our experiences together! And to think that if we both hadn’t come to Alaska we never would have known each other. I guess God knew how much we needed to be friends. Summer sisters for life, right Syd? :)
For a few days I got to go out on the boat with Jim and his fiancé Gail. They needed more people on board to catch all the fish that he wanted. He’s taking it all back to a local homeless shelter to help out. Also, Jim is a cosmetic surgeon. He offered to fix Luke's nose because it had gotten broken once before and was crooked. So he did it right there in the crew cabin with Luke in the recliner and everybody watching (I think someone has it all on video somewhere). Anyway, Luke’s nose is straight again, and is healing up well.
Oh yeah. Jim, Gail, and Max (a dog-trainer from California) had to stay an extra night because of bad winds. The planes couldn’t fly out and the waves were too high for the boats to make it to town reasonably. The other thing that keeps planes from flying in is fog. Depending on the visibility in certain areas, routes have to be delayed, thus delaying clients from going in and out. That’s happened a few times this summer.
Right now we have a big group of mexicans. Remember the group I told you about last time? Well that was a grandfather and all of his grandsons. This time it’s the same grandfather with all of his sons/sons-in-law. Luckily they are tidier, and more adept at using coffee makers than their sons. ;)
Other random fun comments: I got complimented for my no-bake cookies. Swiss guests have left the crew chocolate as housewarming gift/tips. I’m bringing home some rockfish otoliths; see if you can figure out their significance.
I love you all and will see you soon!
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase]
Shawni
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Lodge Maiden Chronicles: 1st Day of Deer Season - (Also a good day for a blog post)
Hey all!
I'm finally sitting at my computer long enough to write a new blog post! :D As aforementioned in the title of my post, today is the first day of deer season! Have we shot any deer yet? No. Will we soon? More than likely. ;) (Especially with the crew we have here)
So much has happened since I last posted, so I guess I can start where I left off. We had a group come from Mexico a couple weeks back. A Grandfather with 15 of his grandsons came and took home at least 100 lbs of fish each! They were very interesting to have around, but the most memorable thing for me was the coffee maker incident. You see, the first night a bunch of the younger kids asked me how to make hot chocolate. I said you heat the water in the coffee maker and add the powder to the hot water. Little did I know that they tried to use the powder like coffee grounds in the filter, or put powder in the water holding tank, or even try to run milk through the coffee maker instead of water. Needless to say, all of the cabins now have new coffee makers, and I'm never going to assume that people automatically know what I'm talking about, especially if there is a slight language barrier. ;)
Also, while the Mexican group was here, one of the young kids convinced Sydney to try a chili pepper that they brought. She believed him when he said it wasn't hot. A pitcher of lemonade and a few glasses of milk later... Yeah, you can guess the rest. ;)
We also had a group of guests that are friends of Luke and Josh. In fact, they were the team that made the Vantage this past winter. One night we had a bonfire back at the sawmill, and these guys were drinking. I left, but the next morning there was quite a story. I guess one of the guys got on the 4-wheeler, went really fast and somehow flipped it over, and ended up cracking and/or breaking his collarbone. Yeah, luckily both he and the 4-wheeler are ok now. But I guess that was quite the night.
I've been kayaking again. :) Syd and I took a picnic lunch and went out to an island in the back bay and ate lunch there one day. And we were able to be guides and take some ladies to "Barbie Island" to see the rock arch as well as to hike around part of the island. On our way we found some drift material and brought it back with us.
The group that had those ladies in it also caught our biggest fish of the season so far. A 205 lb halibut! Personally, I've caught some more Ling cod and Halibut when I went out on the boat the other day. That was also the day I accidentally stepped in the fish hold, as well as the day I learned how to clean fish for the first time. :)
I spent some time reviewing my sewing skills and I made a beach-towel bathrobe for Mckenzie for her birthday. And I've been picking up many other useful skills this summer, including learning how to properly give massages. So, if anyone wants to prepare bribes for when I get back...
I have about 5 1/2 weeks left here. I'm excited to come finish out my last semester, but I'm also hesitant to leave here. I'll just have to make the best out of my time left here, and try not to act too wild when I get back. ;)
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase]
Shawni
I'm finally sitting at my computer long enough to write a new blog post! :D As aforementioned in the title of my post, today is the first day of deer season! Have we shot any deer yet? No. Will we soon? More than likely. ;) (Especially with the crew we have here)
So much has happened since I last posted, so I guess I can start where I left off. We had a group come from Mexico a couple weeks back. A Grandfather with 15 of his grandsons came and took home at least 100 lbs of fish each! They were very interesting to have around, but the most memorable thing for me was the coffee maker incident. You see, the first night a bunch of the younger kids asked me how to make hot chocolate. I said you heat the water in the coffee maker and add the powder to the hot water. Little did I know that they tried to use the powder like coffee grounds in the filter, or put powder in the water holding tank, or even try to run milk through the coffee maker instead of water. Needless to say, all of the cabins now have new coffee makers, and I'm never going to assume that people automatically know what I'm talking about, especially if there is a slight language barrier. ;)
Also, while the Mexican group was here, one of the young kids convinced Sydney to try a chili pepper that they brought. She believed him when he said it wasn't hot. A pitcher of lemonade and a few glasses of milk later... Yeah, you can guess the rest. ;)
We also had a group of guests that are friends of Luke and Josh. In fact, they were the team that made the Vantage this past winter. One night we had a bonfire back at the sawmill, and these guys were drinking. I left, but the next morning there was quite a story. I guess one of the guys got on the 4-wheeler, went really fast and somehow flipped it over, and ended up cracking and/or breaking his collarbone. Yeah, luckily both he and the 4-wheeler are ok now. But I guess that was quite the night.
I've been kayaking again. :) Syd and I took a picnic lunch and went out to an island in the back bay and ate lunch there one day. And we were able to be guides and take some ladies to "Barbie Island" to see the rock arch as well as to hike around part of the island. On our way we found some drift material and brought it back with us.
The group that had those ladies in it also caught our biggest fish of the season so far. A 205 lb halibut! Personally, I've caught some more Ling cod and Halibut when I went out on the boat the other day. That was also the day I accidentally stepped in the fish hold, as well as the day I learned how to clean fish for the first time. :)
I spent some time reviewing my sewing skills and I made a beach-towel bathrobe for Mckenzie for her birthday. And I've been picking up many other useful skills this summer, including learning how to properly give massages. So, if anyone wants to prepare bribes for when I get back...
I have about 5 1/2 weeks left here. I'm excited to come finish out my last semester, but I'm also hesitant to leave here. I'll just have to make the best out of my time left here, and try not to act too wild when I get back. ;)
[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase]
Shawni
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