Move from Alaska Day 1

Ahhh, what a bittersweet day this has been. More bitter than sweet. This is our first day of our 15 day trip. Today we drove from Eagle River, AK to Tok, AK. Pretty uneventful drive really. Our journey began this morning with some very sad goodbyes. We said goodbye to Melissa (and Ace, her dog) this morning in her driveway. I have been dreading that moment for about six months. It wasn't any different than I had imagined. It was a tearful farewell. She and Chuck have been like family to us. We are going to miss them tremendously! Our friends across the street waved goodbye from their porch. And Nick's best buddies gave him goodbye hugs in their pjs. I just could not believe that we were leaving. I took my last looks around the neighborhood as we drove out. My eyes were full of tears but everything was as beautiful as it ever was. I sobbed the whole way to the highway. And I can still get myself choked up if I remember that we are moving away. I believe we will be back. It will just be a little while. The kids did great. We even picnicked for lunch. Nick is so anxious to get to his new house in Oklahoma. Right now we just have to focus on getting to bed and getting up EARLY. We have a nine hour drive tomorrow to Haines. We catch the ferry tomorrow evening.

Here are a couple pictures of our drive today.
Matanuska Glacier:


Kids at playground in Tok:


I am going to miss this place. It has been a dream to be up here. It just feels so magic.