North to Alaska

This week I will head north to Alaska! No, I have never been there, and honestly – I never imagined that I would go there. My spouse has little interest in it, and at our age and with our budget, trips have to be something we both want to invest in when we take them.

It was however a delightful surprise to be asked if I would be interested and willing to direct a weekend retreat in Juneau. A longtime blogging and Facebook friend Paula asked me this and of course I said yes. A very generous donor made my air travel possible with air miles. I will be spending a total of one week in Juneau.

Shrine

The retreat itself will be at the The National Shrine of Saint Thérèse which is on a small tidal island about 20 miles north of Juneau. It looks so beautiful – you will find many photos on the website. It will be with a group of women from the diocese and I am so excited to spend time with them on this faith journey.

Did you know that Juneau is the only state capital that is not accessible by road? If you go there you either fly in or come by boat – either cruise ship or car ferry. That’s pretty interesting! In any case, for all the people who have asked me where else in Alaska I’ll go, the answer is nowhere! I am very happy about seeing Juneau and the surrounding area.

Beyond the retreat, I will go on a whale watch and get to see the Mendenhall Glacier. The thing I am most looking forward to is meeting my friend Paula in real life at last, and being on retreat with all the other women. Please pray for us as we go on retreat and be assured of our prayers for you. If you have a prayer request, please let me know by Thursday.

In the meantime, things will probably be quiet here! See you on the other side! Here is a video of the shrine…