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Welcome to my weekly update for July 18, 2021!
Today is my 43rd birthday and one of my good friends arrives for a weeklong visit! It should be a great day! My husband asked me what I learned in year 42, the year that should have been the answer to “Life, the Universe, and Everything” (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference). I told him that I learned that masks and vaccines are the answer to everything. I may not have learned any secrets of the universe in 2020/21 but 42 is a year I definitely won’t forget.
We went on vacation to Homer, Alaska and Denali National Park last week. We’re actually still in Denali as I write this. I was worried about rainy weather but it hasn’t been bad. Homer was cool and overcast but the rain only came through overnight. We can deal with that. The weather in Denali has been great. We actually saw Denali (Mt. McKinley) on Thursday. It’s a monster! It’s crazy how much higher it looks than all the peaks around it! (For those who don’t know, it’s the highest peak in North America at 20,310 feet or 6190 meters). The sky has been too hazy since then for us to see it again. We’ve read that only 30% of visitors actually see the mountain because it’s usually hidden behind clouds so we’re happy that we saw it at all. I haven’t even started to sift through my Denali pictures yet but here are a couple from Homer.
Images © Jennifer G. at Introverted Reader
The first picture shows the little town of Homer (“Halibut Fishing Capital of the World”) and Kachemak Bay State Park.
I took the second picture at Grewingk Glacier, which feeds a lake of the same name. It was so cool (pun intended) to see the icebergs! The glacier is located in Kachemak Bay State Park.
Posted:
Ten Books with Questions in the Title
Read:
Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich–4 Stars
Smoke Bitten (Mercy Thompson #12) by Patricia Briggs–4 Stars
The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly, read by Lulu Lam–4 Stars
Paying the Land by Joe Sacco–4 Stars
Currently Reading:
Changes (The Dresden Files #12) by Jim Butcher
Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic by Jennifer Niven
Watched:
Loki Season One on Disney +–This wasn’t our favorite Marvel show by any means, and I do like both Tom Hiddleston as an actor and Loki the character. Well, sometimes I like Loki and sometimes I enjoy seeing him get “Hulk smashed.” But this show was just weird. I’m not very excited about the multiverse direction that Marvel is supposedly heading in. I could change my mind though.
Up Next:
Probably not much. This trip to visit us in Alaska is a bucket list trip for my friend so I think we’re going to be hiking and exploring all over the place!
What did your week look like?
Deb Nance at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon and Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer hosts Sunday Post. Kathryn at Book Date hosts It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.
25 Comments
A very happy (belated) birthday to you! The photos are awesome and the ice looked particularly surreal. Here’s wishing you a very happy birthday year ahead as well. (And I’m going to check out Loki, thanks for the rec!)
Thank you for the birthday wishes! I hope you enjoy Loki!
Happy belated birthday! I’m glad you got away to Homer and Denali. As I plan our 2022 rv roadtrip to Alaska, I worry about the weather, but then I realize it really won’t be much different than Oregon. I can definitely pack for that! 🙂 How awesome that you actually saw Denali. I hear it’s only visible a handful of days every year. Incredible! Very cool to see those icebergs. My list of places to go is getting very long! 🙂
A belated happy birthday! What an amazing trip and I hope you are having a great time with your friend. one of these days I’d love to travel to Alaska!
Happy birthday! Looks like an amazing trip. I’d love to make it to Alaska one day. Beautiful pics. I hope you post a few more as you sort through them!
I enjoyed Loki but it wasn’t as good as WandaVision in my opinion. It’ll be interesting to see where it all goes.
Enjoy your trip and look forward to all the pics!
Happy birthday! Looks like you get to celebrate in a GORGEOUS location. Wow. Enjoy!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Happy Birthday! Today is mine so our birthdays are just days apart.
Your images of Alaska are wonderful; I’ve never been but definitely want to go some day.
My word Denali looks so amazing, the beauty of nature for sure. All the best for the coming year, hope there are lots of good things and more than masks and vaccines!
WOW … your trip to Alaska sounds amazing – and I loved your gorgeous photos! Alaska is one of only 3 states I’ve never been to, so it’s definitely on my bucket list, too.
You reminded me of Janet Evanovich! We used to read her Stephanie Plum novels EVERY year when they came out, but we sort of lost track somewhere around 22 or 24-ish. I miss Stephanie, Morelli, Ranger, Lula, and especially Grandma!
Enjoy the rest of your wonderful trip and your books!
Sue
2021 Big Book Summer Challenge
Happy birthday! Your pics of Alaska look great. Enjoy the rest of the trip!
Happy birthday! Great pics 🙂 Enjoy Alaska.
Happy birthday! I hop yo have a lovely day and vacation!
Your photos are gorgeous! Alaska is on my bucket list, too. I had not idea that only 30% of visitors actually see Denali… you guys were lucky! Hope you’ll post more photos later on. Enjoy the reat of your trip and Happy Birthday!!
Hope you have a great day! Love the 42 reference!! 🙂
I have mixed feelings about Loki too, but I’m only two episodes in. I like the mind bending concepts (a bit) but not sure where they’re going…
Nice pictures! I love icebergs…
Happy Birthday and congrats on seeing Denali!!!
Happy Birthday! My mom and dad have been to Alaska and loved it. I’d love to go sometime.
I hope you have a great week!
Happy birthday! It’s great you get to see so many interesting places. Love your photos! I enjoy Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Patricia Briggs and Jim Butcher. Happy reading!
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
Happy Birthday dearest Jen!! The meaning of life and everything else… You can find the answer to that in books! That’s why we love reading.
Thanks for sharing your travel photos with us again. Looks amazing!
Hope you will have a wonderful week and a good and prosperous new year.
Lots of Love,
Elza Reads
Happy birthday!! Beautiful pictures!
I’m nervous about the multiverse opening up too… It could get confusing and annoying very quickly. That said, I enjoyed Loki (I didn’t love it but I liked it) and I love Loki as a character so I’m happy there will be a season 2.
Happy birthday!
Lucky you to go to Alaska. Our Alaska trip in June was cancelled, but we’ll try again some day. Your blue icebergs are great: that was one of the memorable sights on our other trips to glacier territory.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Happy birthday! What a lovely part of the world to spend it in! As we swelter here in humid Virginia (thank goodness for AC!), Alaska sounds very tempting. Denali is on our bucket list; I hope we can get there one of these years.
I have been reluctant to give Disney+ my money (because they are gobbling up too many companies and franchises), but I may have to, just to catch up on the Marvelverse. I haven’t seen any of the new series.
Have a wonderful week!
Happy #43! I remember when my husband and I were 42 and we thought of the Hitchhiker’s reference too. Ada Blackjack’s story is fascinating! I haven’t read the book, but I remember researching her online out of curiosity. Enjoy your birthday!
Check out my weekly wrap-up post HERE! — Diana
Happy birthday, Jen! What a wonderful place to spend a birthday in. The photo with ice looks surreal to me here in Texas where temps cool off to 78 degrees F at night this summer. I bet that coolness feels delightful. More photos, if you please.
Ada Blackjack would be an interesting read for me. I’m afraid I would not survive twenty-four hours in the cold. I’ve lived in the heat too long.
Have a lovely week! It’s your birthday month!
Happy birthday 🎂
I’m glad you are enjoying good weather on your vacation
Wishing you a great reading week