Safely in Nome

Yay! We finally made it to Nome. We left Eugene at 6:40am (after leaving my house about 4:30am) and got into Nome about 8pm (9pm Oregon time). So, yes, 13 1/2 hours later . . . I'm back! I haven't been to Nome for 2 1/2 years. I've really missed it.

The good news is that not a lot has changed. My cousin Toni's house is relatively the same. The people I know here have not changed their phone numbers so it was easy to get into the groove to let people know that I'm here.

Everyone seems happy to hear from us. I'm happy to talk to them all again.

We had a good visit with Becky today and a really brief one with her daughter, Barbie, and kids.

We're relaxing at Toni's tonight - she and her family went to camp so we have her house to ourselves.

Tomorrow, we will go to camp in the afternoon - it'll take about an hour and a half to get there (with an arrival around 3pm), but since it doesn't get really get dark at night - it might be dusk-like from about 2am to 5am - we won't feel like we have to get home before dark! In fact, it's 10:30pm right now and it's as light out as if it were about 6 or 7pm at home.

One change was that Toni and her husband put blinds up in the room that we use when we're here. Last time, there were no currents, so even in the middle of the night, the light was getting in.

It's feeling a bit like it was in 2005 and 2006 when everyone gathered together for the King Island placenames project. That project was one of the best things I've ever done - it was surely one of the hardest, but in the end, it will be worth it. That same feeling of excitement is there now - maybe not to the same extent, but just getting to see people is fun.

Well, I really need to get to bed. I'm bushed! Have a great week-end everyone!