Aaand I didn't blog on my trip like I was supposed to. Surprise surprise.
So I'm just gonna go through some highlights, days that were somewhat eventful. Because 1. There weren't all that many so it won't be a whole novel by the end, and 2. No one wants to read about how much I enjoyed sitting at home with the fam reading books and drinking coffee and watching The Crown andThat 70s Show. So here we go.
December 21st and 22nd, 2017- "The One With the Premium Seats and the Fuji Water"
Okay, so if you guessed that I would be really, really eager to go back to California and out of the rural Alaska ville, you would be correct, my friend. I was up and packed faster than you could say "first Starbucks in 3 1/2 months." We landed in Fairbanks at around noon, and we did a whole buncha shopping for groceries for when we came back so that we didn't have to do that when we got back. We went to go see some friends while we were there too cuz our flight was a redeye (all the best flights are redeye flights, hot take). When we got through security was when I really started to get excited; something about getting through security really pumps me up. Fairbanks is a really small airport, and my dad and I saw some other teachers/educators there, all flying out to get to better things like us. We found out once we got there that we had premium seats which was awesome, and so we had extra leg room and priority seating. For a kid who's flying experience doesn't go beyond the back half of the plane, it was a pretty big deal. I slept the majority of the flight, but once we landed in Seattle I was hyped. We got food at Anthony's like all good Pac-North Westerners know to do, and went to sit in all that awesome food court seating. There was so much holiday decor, and it was LIT. My extra self specifically had wanted to buy a boojee Fuji water (lol that rhymed and I'm totally impressed with myself) and so I did and had no shame. I was wayy too excited to sleep on the flight to San Francisco, so I got a pretty decent photo of the Point (locals know) from the air.
We had our happy reunion with my mom, dog, and sister complete with the Starbucks, and drove to Santa Rosa to get my dad's motorcycle for him to drive back with WiLD 94.9 bumping on full blast the entire time (shoutout to WiLD, y'all are my number One. 👊). We then headed home to the bay, and all was well.
December 23rd, 2017 - "The One with the Star Wars Meltdown"
So incase you haven't picked it up, I'm a pretty hardcore geek. Fangirling is one of my main pastimes, and when it comes to Star Wars...let's just say that I go all in. Seeing The Last Jedi ASAP was one of the main things on my "to get done" list, and sure enough, the day after I got there my sister and I went to see it in 3D. I was shook, obviously. [Insert Victoria's spoiler-filled rant, brace thyselves and feel free to skip over it.]
I was pretty lucky in that I was able to see The Last Jedi twice on my visit, once in 3D with my sister, and then again in regular 2D with both my mom and sister. I confess, I had seen some mild spoilers on Tumblr beforehand, but it was partly intentional. I think. Anyway, here are some of my thoughts:
Poe Dameron's Amazing Self. He's the daring, dashing space pilot we all didn't know we needed and I would have been perfectly happy if the entire movie was just him and BB-8 cruising the galaxy
"WHERE'S MY DROID" was such a highlight
Reylo. I have been saying that Rey and Kylo were perfect for each other since 2015, when Obama was still prez and fidget spinners didn't exist and before crap really hit the fan. I was an O.G, and people, this movie was exactly what I NEEDED for these two.
The Preatorian Fight Scene™ ... I swear when this darn thing comes out on DVD I'm watching that scene on repeat.
Carrie Fisher/Princess Leia Tribute. Leia was absolutely lovely (duh) in this movie and her role as the Resistance general is the best thing ever. The "In loving memory of our Princess" at the end was heartbreaking but so so perfect at the same time.
And when she flew through space like flippin Superman, ...... what an ICON.
Luke's Zero Chill Moments. I've never been the biggest Luke stan, but in The Last Jedi he was hilarious.
Right when he threw his lightsaber behind his back with not one care I knew that we were gonna be dealing with salt from him, and I loved every minute of it.
Anyway, my sister and I seriously enjoyed it. 10 out of 10 would recommend.
December 25th, 2017 --"The One With the Christmas With no Photos"
We had an awesome, relaxing Christmas that included sleeping in, staying in pajamas all day, opening gifts until noon when the Cavs game came on, yelling at the Cavs to get their acts together, singing George Michael, and eating good food. It was perfect. No photos were taken to document it, which makes it all the better TBH.
December 27th, 2017 -- "The One Where I Fill my Entire Camera Album With Photos of Kevin Love" (Also Called "The Cavs Game")
Now, no one has to tell me about how mediocre at best the Cleveland Cavaliers are doing right now. I know full well that we aren't living up to expectations, especially for a team that has the best player on the planet. That being said, on December 27th when LeBron and the squad were in Sacramento getting ready to get beat by the Kings, my dad and I were hyped. We got up that morning way earlier than we had to, and drove to Sacramento with hours to go before the game started (it takes about 2 hours to get to Sac from where we live). We got In-N-Out burger (typical), went to a record store, and basically just idled until around 4:30, when we got coffee, chugged that down, and started heading to the doors of the stadium. The gates open at 5:30, and, just like back in Cleveland with Indians baseball games, we managed to get the 3rd spot in one of the several lines. Most of the people there early were Cavs/LeBron lovers, and like us wanted to be there to possibly get autographs, or at least watch the Cavs warm up. When we got in I legitimately ran down to the court side to be as close as possible to the players warming up for the game. My dad and I got good standing spots there, and like a ton of other Cavs people, stood there for the remaining two hours until they kicked us out back to our actual seats. It's crazy to see the size of these players, because the idea of how tall/short they are in your mind is totally different from seeing their size in real life. None of them gave out autographs which kinda sucked, but getting to stand so close to them was pretty ideal.
So then after taking 200+ photos of Kevin Love and LeBron still not showing up, we had to go back up to our seats, which were still really good. Not long after that the whole team came out to warm up as a group, and LeBron finally walked out onto the court, which was a revolutionary moment, or at least for that Cleveland diehard fan girl from Alaska in the seats who had never been in his presence. Then the game started, and we didn't leave our seats until halftime when we went to get pizza. It was a pretty tough loss, but breathing the same air as King James was enough of an experience.
December 29th-January 13th, 2017-2018 -- "The One With The Rest of the Trip"
We did some other kinda self explanatory things: people-watched in San Francisco, went crabbing and got seasick, got our dog medical help for a slipped disc in her back (she's doing okay right now, thank you for wondering), and just had a good time being with the fam.
I was so sad to come back to the ville, but I have less than 4 months till my dad and I are outta here for good. Being back in the middle of nowhere means not a whole lot of bloggable stuff going on, but I'm gonna try and get creative with maybe some lifestyle-type posts. Who even knows though.
Thanks for reading!
Peace,
Victoria xo
