Time for Another Adventure – The Pacific Northwest

Last year my birthday present to myself was a motorhome, so as another birthday approached I started thinking about what my adventure for this year would be. I finally settled on a great adventure: I decided to go on a cruise to Alaska.

   I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska – probably from reading a lot of Jack London stories as a child (he’s also from Oakland, and Dad was a big fan). OK, I wasn’t really looking to be in the wild with wolves, but Alaska has always had an appeal to me. And as friends have taken this trip and shared the beauty in photos, the longing to see it for myself has grown.

   Last Fall I heard about an LDS Singles Group going on a cruise to Alaska, so I read up on it – but then it was suddenly full, and I’d missed my chance. I was bummed. Then a few months ago I was talking to a coworker about Summer Shutdown (since Adobe shuts down the whole company for a week every summer) – and he shared his plans for a Family Reunion. I bemoaned that I had missed that chance at Alaska, and started to consider just going to Alaska with a friend. And as soon as I got back from lunch that day, I had an email that one-last-spot had opened up on the Singles Cruise – so I grabbed the phone and booked it. I mean, answers to prayers don’t usually appear in my email within 30 minutes – but when they do it’s important to act.

   I’d been working crazy overtime for a few weeks, so it was perfect timing – I needed a break. And although it didn’t exactly align with Summer Shutdown, it was worth taking a week off to have this experience.

   This past Christmas, on my Route 66 trip, I’d ended up in Nashville on New Year’s Eve, at one of the biggest parties in town:  BB King’s Blues Club.  It was amazing and the music was spectacular. But I was all alone, and I was probably the only Mormon in that bar. I spent the evening dodging drinks from strangers, politely explaining that I was “driving” later (because who wants to get into a philosophical discussion about Personal Prohibition in a bar?)  But on a cruise I knew I couldn’t pull that off – “Oh, the captain is going to let me drive for a while so I really shouldn’t drink”???  Hanging out with a bunch of Mormons, even ones I didn’t know, sounded like a lot more fun.

   So, I’m off on another Adventure. I’m driving to Seattle, staying with family and friends, leaving on my cruise for a week – and then after the cruise working at the Adobe Office in Seattle for a week – and THEN I’ll have Shutdown for another week. So for 3 weeks I’ll hang out in the Pacific Northwest, visit a few friends, and just play it by ear.