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Welcome to my weekly update for June 27, 2021!
If you’re new here, you might not know that my husband is a traveling healthcare professional. He accepts three-month assignments to fill staffing needs at hospitals around the country and I tag along. I take care of chores and errands while he’s at work so that we can explore on his days off. We completed his last assignment in Sarasota, Florida earlier this month. We’re now in Anchorage, Alaska! It’s warmer here than you probably expect, with highs in the mid-60s and lows in the mid-50s, but still a bit of a shock to our systems! The sun sets at around 11:30 pm and rises around 4:30 am but the sky never truly gets dark. We’re getting adjusted though!
We normally travel in our motorhome but we didn’t want to drive 4000+ miles from home, cross the Canadian border (allowed for essential workers but it still sounds like a pain), and find a campground near the hospital. So this time we flew in, rented a furnished apartment, and borrowed a car from a friend of a friend. We’re used to rolling into town, plugging in the RV, and immediately sightseeing, so this experience has been different for us. We’ve had a lot of little chores that seem to take a lot of time. We haven’t gotten out much yet but hope to this weekend now that we’re settled in.
We visited the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on Tuesday. It was so cool to see all those native animals in their own environment! Let me know if you’ve visited Anchorage and have any suggestions for things we need to see!
The brown bear is a resident at the Wildlife Center so he was behind a fence and we were up on a boardwalk in a very controlled experience. That’s as close as I ever hope to be to one of those intimidating beauties!
The red barn is on the Wildlife Center property. I just liked the contrast against those snow-covered mountains.
The mountains and glaciers are on the Turnagain Arm on the drive from Anchorage to the Wildlife Center.
Posted:
Top Ten Picture Books from My Childhood
Read:
Ladies’ Night by Mary Kay Andrews, read by Kathleen McInerney–4 Stars
Currently Reading:
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
The Golden Tresses of the Dead (Flavia de Luce #10) by Alan Bradley, read by Jayne Entwistle
Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundy
Reading Challenge Update:
I’m including this in an effort to hold myself accountable. I’ll try to remember to update at the end of each month. Challenge title links go to my personal progress page and host links go to the relevant sign-up page.
- Books in Translation Reading Challenge (hosted here at Introverted Reader) Progress: 5/4
- Southern Literature Reading Challenge (hosted here at Introverted Reader) Progress: 5/7
- New (To You) Narrator Reading Challenge (hosted here at Introverted Reader) Progress: 15/6
- Uncorked Reading Challenge (hosted at The Uncorked Librarian) Progress: 6/12
- Nonfiction Reader Challenge (hosted at Book’d Out) Progress: 10/12
- Diversity Reading Challenge (hosted at Celebrity Readers) General Progress: 15/25; Monthly Progress: 6/12
- Audiobook Reading Challenge (hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and That’s What I’m Talking About) Progress: 25/20
- Book Voyage: Read Around the World Challenge (hosted at The Book Girls’ Guide) Progress: 6/12
- Classics Club (hosted at The Classics Club) Progress: 2/50 by April 15, 2026
Up Next:
I like to read books set in the states where we’re currently located. Several different lists inform my choices but if you have any personal recommendations for books set in Alaska, I’d love to know! I read The Snow Child earlier this year and The Call of the Wild several years ago.
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.
22 Comments
Ooo how exciting!! I would love to visit there one day. What an opportunity for you guys~ although that is as close as I would want to be to a big bear too!
And I loved the Serendipity books as a kid!! Now I want to go get them for my son!
WOW! Alaska sounds awesome. My first thought was, how the heck did you get there so fast in your RV?! 😉 We’re camping with some friends (we met them at this same campground 2 years ago and decided to meet again for the week) and have been tossing around ideas of traveling together to Alaska in our RVs. We’ll see if we actually follow through! The climate sounds very similar to the Oregon coast, which sounds heavenly right now (we were at 107 yesterday!). I’m looking forward to seeing your posts over the next three months, taking detailed notes of where to go, if and when we do make it to Alaska.
As far as books set in Alaska, have you read The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah? I thought it was good, but a lot of readers thought it was excellent. I’ve read three books by a woman who lives in Alaska and loved one and enjoyed the other two. Her name is Heather Lende and her books are nonfiction. You can see my reviews here. I think she still have a blog, as well.
Enjoy your adventure!
Florida to Alaska sounds like quite the system shock! Still, it should be an amazing experience. I’ve been to Alaska once (on a cruise) a couple of years ago and it was lovely. We didn’t make it to Anchorage, though. Have a wonderful visit!
I would love to be in Alaska right now. I live in Massachusetts, but it feels like Florida right now.
Bear necessities! For books set in Alaska, see if you want to try K.A. Tucker’s The Simple Wild. I haven’t read it, but have heard very good things about it.
Like most of the posters above I’m struck by the vast differences between Florida and Alaska. I’ve always wanted to visit that state. I hope you enjoy your stay there and see lots of wonderful things. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
Your traveling life sounds like fun! Especially when you take the RV, but an apartment would be a nice change, too.
Great photos!
Enjoy your week, and I’m curious about Ladies’ Night.
Here are my WEEKLY UPDATES
From Florida to Alaska, wow. But how wonderful. I read a couple of books by K. A. Tucker set in Alaska, The Simple Wild was the first one.
I’m jealous! We’ve been trying to get to Alaska for years now. We were planning to go last year, but then Covid happened. We didn’t plan it for this summer because we didn’t know what the situation would be, so maybe next summer!
I wouldn’t want to do it long term but a couple of years of your lifstyle once the kids are grown sounds great. Florida to Alaska is quite a change.
Wow! I can’t imagine traveling around so much. You must see some really incredible places.
What???? How did I work for the L.A. Medical Association for 8 years and never know anything about traveling medical professionals? I mean, I’ve heard of Doctors Without Borders, going to places like Haiti after a hurricane or whatever, but didn’t know we had doctors in the USA traveling around in the US. I thought we had doctors everywhere so why do places like Florida need a traveling doctor to come in? Does he travel around to hospitals or is he set up on a street corner tending to the poor or the homeless? Or maybe he makes housecalls to the homebound? And is he a GP or some rare specialist that we only 1 of or something? lol And how did he learn of and get the traveling doctor gig?
Sorry for all the questions but I find this fascinating and intriguing! And very cool that you get to “tag along”! I need to take a closer look at your blog. You’ve probably shared some really interesting adventures!
My husband isn’t a doctor; he’s a cardiac cath lab tech. He fills in wherever there are staffing shortages for one reason or another. Doctors do this as well but they have a different name for it…(checking)… locum tenens. Pretty much every specialty has travelers as far as I know. He’s always been hospital-based but I think there are some private-practice cath labs out there. Home health nurses, prison nurses, reservation nurses, school camp nurses, hospital nurses, physical therapists, radiology techs, respiratory therapists (there was a huge demand for this specialty during covid)… you name it, someone probably works as a traveler in that field. Our hospital back home always had travel staff so we knew about it that way. We love to travel so once he got enough experience in his current field to feel comfortable (travelers have to be prepared to work on their own within a day or two of starting), we took the plunge! We can’t just choose any place to go–there has to be a job opening. But we do get to choose where we’d like to go among all the posted jobs! We’ve been to Ocala, Florida; Portland, Maine; Austin, Texas; Newport Beach, California; Portland, Oregon; Oceanside, California (near San Diego); Sarasota, Florida; and now Anchorage, Alaska!
Oh wow! That is incredibly amazing and fascinating to me! What amazing experiences you both must have, together and separately. Thanks for explaining more about it.
I’ve got derailed in the Flavia Du Luce series at about book five. Should I pick it back up? I am envious of your travel experiences. Alaska right now sounds heavenly. My Sunday Salon post
Hi Jen! Alaska! Wow!! Please post some more pictures. I am intrigued for sure. The Snow Child…. I’ll never get over that book!
I am going to take a look at Code Girls. I’ve just finished The Rose Code by Kate Quinn and good grief it was EXCELLENT!!!! And I want to know more…
Have a good week and enjoy all your exploring.
Lots of Love,
Elza Reads
How exciting to get to travel to so many different places! I would love to visit Alaska. I bet it’s amazing. I’ve read two suspense books set there — How Quickly She Disappears and The Quality of Silence. Both were pretty good. There’s also a cute cozy mystery series that starts with Mousse and Murder. Enjoy your week!
Here’s my Sunday Post post this week. — Diana
oh I will be excited to hear about anything in Alaska. It’s the only state I’ve never visited and we want to go sometime. I’ve thought about riding my Harley to Alaska but it’s a long way from North Carolina.
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
Alaska? That’s one of my Bucket List places to visit! I love the photos you shared and I’d love for you to post more of the places you explore!
Ladies’ Night sounds good and I love the cover! I read a book similar to Code Girls and loved it.
The Snow Child and The Call of the Wild are very good books!
I hope you have a great week!
Wow those pictures are stunning!! I hope you guys have a wonderful time. I wouldn’t have wanted to make that drive either. I would bet it is a tad challenging to go from Sarasota to Anchorage! Quite a change.
Alaska?! That’s certainly a change from Florida, I hope it’s a wonderful experience. Your husband’s job is a great way for both of you to get to see so many parts of the US, it’s such a wonderful opportunity. And, I love the photos you include!
I am interested to see what you think of Code Girls as it’s on my TBR list.
Oh my! You are in Alaska, a place I’ve always wanted to go. I hope you will post lots and lots of photos, please, Jen. We spent a week in Maine, and it was hard for me to go to sleep with the sun still up, but I imagine you will adjust. The cool weather sounds delightful, and the opportunities to be with nature…wonderful.
Code Girls is a book I’ve been looking at, and, while I’ve heard of Scarlet Pimpernel, I know nothing about it. I’ll be curious to see what you think.
You are making great progress on your challenges. I need to update my challenges more often.
Three suggestions for books set in Alaska are The Call of the Wild, Two Old Women, and Julie of the Wolves. I’ve read all three of these, and they are all fabulous.