Day 2

Mackenzie Horn

Where the Journey Begins

This is Day 2 of our Alaskan adventure. It’s been fondly named “Van Day” by everyone, well maybe just me. This day is essentially the start of our journey through the great state of Alaska.

We woke up around 8:30 a.m., and had some pretty great bagels. After we got dressed, we played games for 1 or 2 hours. The church was going to start service soon, so we had to get out of there. We decided upon taking a walk.

We walked around the town of Palmer, AK for a good hour and a half. We passed the Balto statue, Palmer City Hall and Library, and then we headed out on our own. Taylor, Ariana, Korinne, Bryce, Noah, Matt, Ashton, and I all went together. We walked for a bit and then passed a Subway though, Korinne, Noah, and Ashton all left us. We passed many restaurant and food places such as Purple Moose Espresso, and a McDonald’s. Bryce was taking pictures of everything! He’s already taken over 300 photos! We decided to try and find snacks in the grocery store.

We stopped and talked to a man from “The Wilderness”, as he calls it. He has no running water, so he used a lot of cologne. He also has no electricity, and he made it a point that everyone and everything leaves him. He said the squirrels, his kids, and his wife have all left him in Alaska and are now in other places. He’s lived in Alaska for 41 years, and is from Minnesota. He lives on the side of a mountain and only comes in town for food and water. He was very nice and said he’d hope to see us all again soon.

We all met back together and headed back to the church for a lunch of sandwiches, chips, grapes, and lemonade. Then, we got into our vans and headed out on our way to Sam’s Club for van snacks and dinner.

My van is the Puffin van with Lyle, Stan, Karla, Asher, Delaney, Josie and Anneke. We’re pretty cool; we played P’Diddle, and decorated our van. We’ve bonded quickly over oldies music like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “ Bohemian Rhapsody”. Anneke is very loud and whenever she sings, you can hear her over the song. We spent an hour shopping and stocked up on some food. We rode back to the church and are getting ready for dinner and a pool party.

This trip is off to a great start! I can’t wait until tomorrow!

Also to all of the FATHERS of participants on this trip…. HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!