Hello! I am happy to get this opportunity to introduce myself- Laura Michele Murphy here! 🙂 Truth is- I have a travel bug living in my heart. I can most likely point to my grandparents on how this happened. They owned a travel agency and my Grammie would fill my head of endless stories about their adventures, as she would show me the different jewelry she bought while touring around the world. Oh, turns out I have a bit of a jewelry issue too- but that is a different story. 😉
My route to Alaska included long stops in Arizona, Georgia and Wyoming. I got stuck in Wyoming for a bit, and when it was time for an apparant change, I came on up here with my two kiddoes to recuperate at my moms house. She had a bit of an adventuring streak in her as well, and she had came up here to teach in a small fly-in only village named Nanwalek. After a few month in this remote, but still very noisy village, it was time for my tiny family and I to move to a town with a grocery store. It just happens that the place closest to Nanwalek was this gem of a town- Homer.
Homer- with 5,000 people and every sport known to man kind that was available to offer your children. Homer- with every service that we needed, and kind enough folks willing to help get a single mother up on her feet. And last but not least, Homer- with really cool artsy shops, none which I could afford to shop in, but still fun to know that there was personality in this place. My plan wasn’t to stay in Alaska for long- just until I got my degree and then I would be off to teach in a place closer.
“Closer” to what you ask?
Closer to anything that resembled an International airport, or having multiple directions to be able to leave. You see, Homer has only one road out, which takes a reliable car and the gas money to travel away from here. The nearest other town is 1 1/2 hours away and the nearest International airport is 5 hours away. It turns out this place can get claustrophobic fast if you think too hard about it!
However, life had different plans for me. My oldest child had started school, joined boy scouts, and by the time I got my degree and was offered a position “Closer”- I had fallen in love.
So we stayed. 🙂
But every chance I get, I leave. Geoff has worked hard to keep me reined in a bit as well- since traveling is expensive and we do want to eventually be able to afford to both get out of here together. Fortunately, my work often flies me to conferences! And… if I happen to get to see a new place while I am learning the next new thing in education, well… that is just a lucky coincidence. However, traveling by myself is lonely- and I can’t share the excitement of discovering new places with my bestie! I feel a bit guilty, knowing he is at home while I am off gallivanting around.
Now that the time of escape is neigh (only 2 1/2 years left until the youngest graduates) it is time to make a plan. We talked about just jumping to Hawaii, but I am on the fence on making such a life decision without having seen the rest of the beaches down in the Lower 48.
(Fun Fact: That is what Alaskans call the Mainland! Oh- another Fun Fact: The Mainland is what Hawaiians call the 48 Contiguous States. Oooh- Last Fun Fact: The 48 Contiguous States are what educators call “what most people think of as the USA.”)
So… we weren’t sure what to do, but then something came around that aimed our compass on an outspoken path. I think this time, getting to travel with Geoff around this beautiful continent, is a road map that we can follow together.
Laura Murphy – January 6th, 2020