7/25/09

 

            I was feeling down and stressed out tonight.  I left Tok this morning to head to Haines.  I knew there was a deadline of 7:00 p.m. to cross the border, but I gave myself 11 hours.  Plenty of time.  (For those of you who don’t know, to drive from Anchorage to Haines you have to cross into Canada and then back into Alaska.  So really I had 2 border crossings.)  The first one was no problem.  I was across by 10:00 a.m.  On my way and feeling good.  Unfortunately, the Yukon Territory has bad winters and the weather is not easy on the roads.  There was road construction and very bad roads.  The roads were horrible and then they have signs that say “Road Damage.  Reduce Speed.”  Just a tip, when they say that, do it!!!  The road has to be BAD to warrant a sign.  There are little orange flags everywhere there is a bad bump.  The higher I got, the more flags on the side of the road.  A few years ago our school got one of those giant bouncy houses for a day and my students dragged me in there with them.  Perpetual bouncing up and down and from side to side.  This road was very similar.  I was extremely annoyed by the bumps after an hour and yet they kept coming.  Then there was the road construction.  Time after time I sat waiting for a pilot car to come guide me through miles of dusty, dirty construction.  By the time I got to Haines Junction I was a mess.  If I miss the border today it doesn’t open again until 7 a.m tomorrow.  I have to be at my ferry at 7 a.m. tomorrow.  So I powered through.  I stopped twice all day.  By the time I got to my B&B in Haines I was exhausted, stressed and feeling blue.  I went for a walk hoping it would help.  It didn’t.  And then I remembered.  I have wine.  Lucia gave me wine.  Yes!!!!  So I went to my car and opened my bottle of wine with the wine key I’ve taken to carrying in my purse.  (What exactly does that say about me?)  Now, what to put it in?  The only thing I have is an empty camelbak water bottle.  Perfect.  So I put my wine in my camelbak, went to the beach and enjoyed.  It just shows you, wine is always a good idea.