Family Vacation

One of the really nice benefits of working at YK is the CME (continuing medical education) reimbursement.  As a PA I have to keep up with my CME earning so many hours every 2 years.  There are a lot of ways to earn CME: reading articles, gaining qualified certifications, attending approved lectures... But my favorite way to earn CME is at a conference.  Several months ago I found a great 3 day primary care conference at Walt Disney World.  Even though I was going to be 7 1/2 months pregnant at the time, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take the kids on their first Disney trip.   
The last time we traveled to the East Coast from Bethel we only went for a week, and it was so exhausting we vowed never to go for such a short period of time again.  So our plans for this trip was a week in Disney followed by a week split between visiting Kentucky friends and family and visiting Georgia friends and family.  But you know what they say about the best laid plans...
About a week and a half before we were set to leave we ran into our first kink, a good kink, but a kink none the less.  

     Side note: For about a month I had been causally checking   out the job market back in the lower 48.  My 2 year contract with YK expires this June and Mark and I were curious to see how feasible it would be to move back this summer.  We knew that we had the advantage of being able to be really picky about if and where we moved.  We both have good jobs here, and even though life in Bethel has its challenges, we are doing well.   

A job had opened up in beautiful Sandpoint, Idaho and the clinic really wanted me to come in for interviews and a site visit.  There was no way we were going to be able to go before leaving for Disney, and to try and go after we got back was getting really close to my due date.  So suddenly that second week of vacation was going to be slammed with traveling!

Our adventure started on Valentine's Day with the night jet into Anchorage followed by a several hours lay over in the airport till our red eye left bound for the lower 48.  Change planes in Portland, deplane because no one would claim a lost computer battery and security had to re-sweep the plane, arrive in Atlanta in time for a late dinner.  I truly think one of the most exhausting things in life is to travel from Bethel, Alaska to the East Coast (and vice versa) with 2 toddlers.  Picture this: It's 3:00 am and everyone on the plane is trying to sleep (including you) and your two kids are screaming and crying from being over-exhausted themselves.  All they want is to curl up in your lap, get comfortable and fall asleep.  Only every time they get out of their seats the flight attendant flutters over and kindly reminds you that they have to stay seated with their seat belts fastened.  I would honestly rather wrestle an alligator than try to fasten the seat belt of a toddler who doesn't want to stay in their seat and knows how to undo their seat belt with the angry eyes of every other passenger in a 3 row radius staring at you!

Animal Kingdom

So, Day 1: Leave Bethel, Day 2: Arrive in Atlanta, Day 3: Wake up bright and early, load up the cars and hit the road to Orlando.

We spent a fabulous 6 days at Disney!  Nana and Papa and Auntie joined us, along with one of my best friends from Charleston and her daughter.  We had beautiful weather, the kids got to meet all their favorite characters and we ate so much amazing food I could write a whole blog post on the food alone!  

The conference was awesome!  I won't bore you with the details, but the presenters were knowledgeable and the information I learned had me excited to bring back into my practice.  The timing of the conference was perfect as well.  Three days and over by noon so I could join my family where ever they were.  

Day 8: We said good-bye to Disney, vowed to visit again soon and headed back to Atlanta.  

Our Tour Guide

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair

 

The remainder of the trip was sheer craziness!  Day 9: Mark and I flew bright and early from Atlanta to Spokane, Washington, rented a car and drove to Sandpoint, Idaho.  Day 10: We spent interviewing, meeting everyone at the clinic and checking out the area.  Day 11: While I shadowed the doctor I would be working with, Mark called on a few job opportunities, followed by lunch with the CEO and a job offer - yeah!  From here, the plan was (there are those pesky plans again) to drive back to Spokane, take a night flight to Vegas, a red eye to Atlanta, arrive in Atlanta at 7:00 am, drive from the airport to Kentucky and spend a couple days with Mark's family.  All went accordingly till Vegas (I doubt I'm the first to say that) when our flight was canceled and we couldn't get another one till the next day.  To sweeten the situation, the airline refused to put up the stranded passengers in a hotel for the night.  So there I was nearly 8 months pregnant trying to sleep on the floor of the Vegas airport (because of course there were more slot machines than chairs, and all the benches were divided by arm rests so you couldn't stretch out on them).  Day 12: Finally arrived in Atlanta at 3:30, borrowed the car from my parents with the kids already loaded and drove to Kentucky.  We spent the night and most of Day 13 in Kentucky before driving back to Atlanta, spending the night in Atlanta and then on Day 14 flew back to Alaska.  

It was a whirlwind of a trip, but worth every minute.  Now we just wait for a baby to be born and start preparing for our big move this June!