Sunday, September 11, 2016

Autumn is arriving soon and so are the movers...



Autumn is my favorite season. There's football, crisp cool air, leaves changing colors, Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and of course all things pumpkin flavored or scented. And in the North Country that means apple cider and cider donuts. 

It also means a time of change and preparedness; back to school, animals prepare for Winter and the Army tells us it's time to head to another duty station. 

So after 3 years in Upstate New York, we're moving to Alaska. More specifically the largest interior city in Alaska, Fairbanks.
 It's population is roughly the size of Salisbury, NC, the birthplace of Cheerwine. There are no sit-down chain restaurants, just a few fast food options. Everything else is a locally owned restaurant, which is going to be kind of a nice change. Their coldest months are November and December, but here in upstate NY its January and February. Another welcome change is the amount of snowfall. Fairbanks averages 65 inches of snow all winter and here in Watertown, they average 106 inches each year. The winter of 2014/2015 we saw 181 inches. That's 15 FEET of snow! And I'll take sub zero temps over crazy amounts of snow anyday. 

My husband is over the moon and excited about all the hunting, fishing and endless outdoor activities and of course no silly NY gun laws. I'm pretty excited too, mostly for the opportunity to see the Northern lights in person, all the wildlife, ice sculptures and cooking all the wild game that makes its way into my kitchen. 
Our kids are slowly warming up to the idea of a new state, new city, and new friends. But we've made the best out of every duty station we've been assigned. Now we 'hurry up and wait' for the movers to arrive and enjoy one last fall season here in New York.