Rain streaks the dirty cab windows. Alaska is grey, all shades of ash, splashed with a golden yellow of the setting sun and changing of the seasons. Clouds hang low and angry, swallowing the tops of towering mountains. I watch it all pass by, excitement in me mounting. It's the feeling of new adventures, of things yet to come, words waiting on the tip of my tongue, a week just starting. It sits in my heart, a bitter sweet sensation of anticipation spiced with the pang of truth that even as this moment begins it is working towards it's ending. I can't wait for it to start but am powerless to slow down the sweetness of it melting away to an inevitable goodbye.
I soak up every moment, watch every drop spatter, my heart overflowing.
I've waited for this trip for what feels like a lifetime, though the certainty of it was only cemented a month or so before this moment. Plastered into place by architects I'm grateful for, people building me up - changing me for the better ... people I could never truly repay for their unending kindness.
I am reminded how blessed I am to find wonderful souls, lighthouses in the dark.
Fall is all around me. My breath clings to the crisp bite of air in curling puffs, leaves crunch underfoot, I hug my jacket tighter. I crave soup, hot chocolate, and fireplaces. Every once in a while I can smell the sea, a salty spray on dampened breezes. I long to walk along its shores, to watch the ripples breath in and out from the horizon but the ever persistent tempest will change those plans.
I settle on traversing along it's edge in provided transportation, a snaking path through wild wilderness, past glaciers and wet meadows.
Alaska is wet. That is one memory I will take away... all the water - in every form.
There are so many thoughts I will keep and cherish from this trip, precious anamnesis meant for me and me alone. Even now as I look back I can't help but to smile.
I don't know if I will go back anytime soon, life has a way of deciding things for itself. But I will always remember and be grateful for such a wonderful experience.