10/08/10

Missy D.
Mrs. Alberini
English Honors
10/8/10

The sight of mountains through the thick clouds. The rain hitting the windows. Soft noises from the engine blocked by people talking. The beep of the seatbelt signs blinking. The slow decline of height, then the wheels hit the runway. Missy sits in excitement as she draws closer to her favorite place.
As she walks outside with her excited family her eyes fill with joy. All the mountains and the sight of the clear blue water all around. Sounds of birds and other mysterious animals moving though the forest. She has the wonderful feeling of being alone, and away from the busy city. The cool fresh air hitting her skin. Nothing could ever beat the feeling of leaving everything behind.
When Missy enters the hotel room she knew that it was definitely not Ohio anymore. There was a view of a beautiful lake right outside her window. There were old Indian decorations all over the walls. Colorful quilts on the beds. There were tiny carvings of animals on the desks and dressers. Freshly squeezed orange juice and homemade cookies were in the kitchen. Everything was more than perfect.
The minute Missy boarded the boat she could smell the fresh sea air. The Captain announced that there would be many different types of wildlife on the trip. Also, that Missy and everyone else would see many glaciers and their caving. Missy and her family leap with joy. Through the cold icy waters they traveled to South Sawyer Glacier. The very skilled Captain maneuvered through all the icebergs, so everyone could get a better view of the marvelous glacier. Missy could see the big blue chunks of ice falling into the mirror glass water. One by one she heard a crack then, it would tumble into the deep blue water. Seals jumped to catch slimy fish, and played with their friends. While the whales slowly rose up and blew out gallons of ice cold water. As they traveled back to land, they would occasionally see an otter pop their heads up, and jump to get food, but most of the way, all that she could hear was the loud noise of the engine as the boat quickly traveled to land.
It was finally time for Missy’s favorite thing to do hike. She was ready for a long treacherous hike up a mountain called Mt. Juneau. It was 3,800 feet above sea level, and would take four and a half-hours round trip. As she started up the trail it was pretty smooth. There were no rocks the trail was wide, and everything was going well. She and her family hoped it would be this easy the whole way up. Boy were they wrong. They were hiking up the trail and saw spectacular flowers and tall green trees, but there were no people. They began to wonder way they were the only ones there. As they continued to hike they discovered why. The trail started to get narrower, rockier and steeper and steeper. She thought maybe they should turn around, but Missy’s determined parents trudged on. They kept on hiking and saw a river, and they kept saying how pretty it was. But they soon discovered that it wasn’t as pretty as they thought. They had to cross the river, so they could get back on the trail. This river was full of large rocks and was ten feet wide, with rapid moving water. So Missy’s Dad went first. He slowly and carefully walked across the river, and one by one they followed. Since Missy and her sister were so young they didn’t have the force to walk through the rushing water, so their Dad came back and carried both of them across. Then about an hour later when they were still soaking wet they finally made it up the long hard steep, rocky trail. They were amazed at how beautiful something could be. The long hike was worth it. Missy felt like she was at the top of the world, and nothing bad could happen. They decided to eat there lunch and then head back down, but first they took a million pictures, because they knew they would probably never see it again.
After their last adventure they knew they had to head back home. It was two amazing weeks in Missy’s favorite place. Now she had to part with it, and she didn’t want to. She would always remember what a great time she had, even if it was a little tough. She hoped to come back again and make more unforgettable memories. Alaska will always be her favorite place.