Day 29 Leaving Anchorage for Girdwood

Dear Diary,
Slept in.  Spent the morning packing and tidying up the apt.  Brenna has ridden her bike to work so we're making a grocery run for our days in Girdwood.  Brenn's apt is very nice.  Two good size bedrooms with a large bath.  Nice kitchen with all the amenities plus a pantry.  An L shaped living room/dining room combo with a small deck off the side.  Enough for a grill and a small 2 people eating.  The deck windows look directly east toward the Chugach Mountains, north toward the cityscape and central park strip and west, well there is no view, just ventilation, this is probably good for noise control since she is living in the downtown proper.

We leave for Girdwood with Brenna, loaded with groceries for the weekend.  It is partly sunny and fairly warm.  Turnagain Arm is beautiful and we see some eagles, it appears the hooligan runs have begun.  We turn into Girdwood off the highway, about 40 miles from Anchorage.  The rental office, a little log cabin, is located near the old Alyeska Lodge and most importantly the Bake Shop.  Our rented house is about two blocks away, it’s called Marshall’s Cabin.  It a whole house buried in some trees.  A ski chalet A frame type made of all wood with a cedar shake roof with a hot tub on the deck.  The deck wraps around the whole house on 3 sides, with large ski benches. We can hear the creek running nearby.  The first floor is all tongue and groove pine on the high peaked ceiling.  Large prow windows on 3 sides with beautiful views of the mountain valley.  Girdwood is the large downhill ski resort for state.  The valley is bowl shaped, ring of mountains with seven hanging glaciers.  It is semi rainforest with large pines, aspen and birch, lush up the valley sides.  The house has a full kitchen with a large sit down breakfast bar/stools with dining table for 6.  The same area is the living room with brick fireplace and huge wrap around couch.  There is a stackable wash/dryer in a closet and off the kitchen is a bedroom, full bath, a private owner room and a back room to the outdoor grill deck.  There is a large closet inside the front door with all sizes of flip flops and robes for the hot tub.  There is a steep stairway up to the second floor with a small loft and a large bedroom.  The master BR has built in drawers into the wall.  A large clothes closet, a full futon and a brass queen size bed.  There is a huge window seat with windows looking out the west side of the valley.  The bathroom is roomy with a huge shower.  The quality of the mattress is the only drawback.  Lots of nice artwork throughout the house and a pair of decorated moose antlers hang over the front door.  We make dinner of hamburgers and salad.  Take advantage of the hot tub, fun for a while and then too hot.  So, tired time for sleep.  Climb into the crow’s nest for some z’s.  The silence is so noticeable after all the city noise at Brenna’s apt.  Night.