Alaska to Florida- A Sister Adventure

And all the mini-adventures in between.

Somewhere in Canada.

I lived in New York City for eleven years, long enough to know that leaving in August was the secret to happiness and fulfillment. The city empties out, and the only ones left are a few Trader Joe’s cashiers, some waiters, and millions of waterbugs. The wealthy go to the Hamptons to compare Botox with Gwyneth Paltrow and Kelly Ripa. And the ultra-wealthy spend August diving off yachts anchored near the Amalfi Coast. I hated when the city felt like a ghost town. I moved there specifically to be surrounded by millions of strangers everywhere all the time. Since nobody invited me to the Hamptons or Yachting, I flew home to Alaska to see my golden retriever, Madison. And my family, too, since he lived with them. I planned to be in Alaska for two weeks, which was about twelve days longer than I usually lasted around my family.

Driving round town with the dog I love.

I grew up in Fairbanks, the second-largest city in Alaska. The population was around eighty thousand people, well, seventy-nine thousand nine-hundred ninety-nine once I moved to Manhattan. More people lived on my block in the West Village than lived in the entire Fairbanks North Star Borough.