Alaska, I'm Coming Back

Summer has begun. I am not working. This teacher thing has worked out for me. In about two weeks, I will be heading north to Alaska. I'll have a tiny passenger on my lap for the 8 hour plane ride, but who's keeping track? The important thing is that I am finally going to get to Denali. I've read, watched documentaries and heard stories of this park and mountain, but now I will get to see it with my own eyes.

Below (left) is a picture of the highest peak in North America: Denali (or Mt. McKinley as you silly lower 48'ers call it). Since I am an Alaskan poser, I like to stick to it's native name of Denali for "the high one."

Kamie, Jeremy (and his folks) and myself will be travelling by the train (right picture). I've ridden this train before, but to the south (Seward, AK). It was an awesome trip because of the views that the train can offer since it goes back where the roads often cannot.

I have an Alaskan obsession. I wish I could pack up and move there, but Scott has a "no-snow" clause in our marriage. Whatever. I can just visit during the summers...since I don't work then. I love it when a plan comes together.

Family Tradition

We packed up and drove down to San Antonio this weekend to see Jack play linebacker in the area all star game and to celebrate his high school graduation. We had some great food thanks to Tricia, and we saw a good game where Jack kicked butt every time he was on the field - including a sack and a blocked punt. We aren't sure where he's going to play his college ball at yet, but we'll be getting to see him play a few more games never the less.

Jack is the last of our cousin generation, but he's maintaining family tradition by playing college sports. Our grandfather lined up for some college snaps at Vanderbilt, and our grandfather's brother, our great-uncle Tom, played football at the University of North Carolina. Their nephew (my mom's cousin, Bobby) played football for Georgia Tech. So, that is 2 generations of college football players, and Jack will be the 3rd! Now with our generation of cousins, Jack joins myself, Jeremy and Matthew in continuing the tradition of college athletes in the Suddarth Family. Most of us have kids of our own, but it will still be many, many years until we discover if any will make their mark as a fourth generation college competitor. Remind that Ransom that it is football not futbol!

Tree Hugger?

Could it be that I spent so much time outdoors as a child? Maybe it is the trips to beautiful places like Zuma Beach , the Redwood National Forest , and Carlsbad Caverns while I was young. It could just be that I love green grass and thunderstorms, but I have this inner voice hounding me, "Conserve! Recycle! Don't be a Selfish Pig!" Yeah, my inner voice is sort of abrasive.

Regardless, this post is a long time coming on the currently chic topic: "Environmentalism." I'm not just jumping on the band wagon here people. I used to recycle cans back when there was a Safeway on the SE corner of Coit and Beltline. Sure it was purely to finance my Galaga habit but still, I was out there. Ok then, I've always hated litterbugs AND I turned off the water while brushing my teeth way before it was vogue. Oh! And, I've been a pee in the shower girl from way back; every flush counts people!

I'm not saying the polar caps will melt next week if we don't toss our current light bulbs in favor of CFLs today. However, I do feel that it is our duty to take care of the Earth God made, and not be gluttonous when it comes to water, energy, and paper products.

I've added a sidebar diddy that I will try to update monthly or so, which is meant to highlight just ONE action to focus on. Hopefully, we can all do these together-if you haven't already! I'm also going to list some ideas here:

What I'm Currently Trying to Make Habits

1. Recycle! I'm back in the recycle zone. I'm so ashamed that I haven't been recycling our cans, bottles, and plastics for the past year--not to mention the paper. Our city lets you put them all in the same bag for curbside pick up, so there is NO excuse for me. I'm back on the blue bag plan now!
2. Turn A/C down (set thermo above 80) or off during the day when house is unoccupied.
3. Unplug small appliances. I'm unplugging the coffee pot and cell chargers.
4. Turn off computers. Since we have 3 in the house, and they often stay on all the time, I'm thinking this is quite a waste to eliminate.
5. Washing clothes in cold water. I started this one this weekend. I may still go for the warm/hot when it comes to socks and undies, but the rest is definitely cold now!
6. Turn off ceiling fans when not in those rooms. I always leave them on, but I just realized this is waste-waste.

My Future Conservation Goals

1. Changing to CFL light bulbs over time
2. Riding My Bike To Work. Right now Scout is my excuse, but I need to keep trying to pull this one off.
3. Getting a hybrid type car. I don't know if I'm ready to trade comfort, cost and performance for eco-friendly cars yet. Right now, I hope that the industry finds a way to make all cars run on alternative fuels without compromising what I like at the moment.
4. Use a home composter. The city made us tear down the one we had in our alley. But, I think I could build another set up in the backyard or side of house to break down organics.
5. Solar Panels! Expensive, that is very-very future...about the same time I have an eco-friendly house built that uses recycled materials for countertops and floors, as well as a rainwater harvesting system.

Finally, this topic can't be left out because I believe it in so much:

Limit Your “Stuff” Consumption: Virtually every physical object you buy in a store requires energy for its production and/or operation. This includes clothing, accessories, household furnishings, office supplies, appliances, sporting goods, decorative objects, and toys - which all consume energy. We could easily have happy, fulfilled lives while reducing this consumption, and save tremendous energy (and money) in the process. Unclutter your life and live more simply.

This Was How We Rolled

This van is tremendous. It is one of the many, many random vehicles my parents owned, but it may have been the best. Yes, those are my parents in the picture. They were 70's style hippies. I don't think we fit into Texas as well as we did Cali. Anyway, the best part of the van was the custom purple shag carpet interior. Please look at the background of the picture below to see the bench, purple carpeted walls, and the curtains! I don't know if we were going to the lake or going to score a bag. Either way, we rolled in style baby!