Wow... wow.... wow

These are the only words to describe the magic that happened during the SE Alaska State Fair in Haines. I was feeling a little bummed out and having a bit of a pity party when my friends gathered me up and pushed my spirits skyward.

Friday - Stephanie and I hike up to the top of Gastineau Peak. View image

This peak looks over the Gastineau Channel that runs up into Juneau and that all the cruise ships come in on. A climb of about 2800 feet give or take. It is a hike with no "foreplay"... generally speaking the trails I go on have a warm up portion at the beginning and then take you into some elevation.... not this one. As soon as I stepped on the trail we were going up. For the first 45 minutes it was just Stephanie and I and then we came up on the tram. The tram brings people from the sidewalk up to the mountain peak. Here we are sweaty and panting enjoying our solitude and then *bang* there are people in nice khaki pants, perfume, heels, dress shirts and belts.... surreal and complete serenity breaking. We huffed past them and cleared the madness to find ourselves climbing the trail to Gastineau Peak.

OH what beauty is found there! We hiked up and up and up. The sun was shining and I got to wear shorts! I now have a farmer tan.... VERY sexy. We made it up to the summit and took lots of pictures. We even saw a Hoary Marmot. yeah! At the top there was snow and a beautiful view of a huge waterfall. The waterfall was a solid 1500 feet drop. Stunning! We could hear it from the mountain top.

Once down a nap was called for.... then a shower.... then some music! Myself and some friends went to the Alaskan to hear the tunes of the Danny Godinez Band. My world was rocked! These four guys are so freaking fantastic. I enjoyed some beers, some conversation, and then danced... danced... danced! When the band took a break I bought both of their cd's and talked with the singer - Danny. He is super awesome. The keyboardist and I instantly hit it off when we decided to rub butts. ha ha He was walking off stage and was trying to squeeze by... nope.. not gonna happen. So we started rubbing our butts together and a beautiful relationship was born. Every time we saw each other... we rubbed butts. ha ha ha

At one point I sat down to rest from all of my dancing. My seat was at the back of the bar but still in plain eyesight of Danny. Right in the middle of singing and playing Danny looked at me and said "hey there Rebecca" and I got up and right back to dancing. I love the Danny Godinez Band!!! We all partied the night away and I had to prep for a ferry to catch heading into Haines the next day.

Saturday - head.... hurting :(..... legs ..... not hurting :) The hike treated me right but the Alaskan Summer Ale did not.

I got on the 10am ferry to Haines and guess who was waiting at the doors to the ferry terminal? Yup.. you guessed it... Danny (lead singer - band namesake), Todd (drummer / singer), Joe (keyboardist / butt rubber), and Milo (bassist). We all boarded up together and I got to sit with the band all the way to Haines. When I initially caught up with them I told them I had LOTS of people stoked to see them play and dance to their tune. "Groupie" was slapped hard and firm on my name. *the nerve!* Ok... I liked it. ha ha As the ferry docked and we were to unload Todd came around the corner with two lovely young ladies. He said "hey guys I found more groupies"... then he looked at me and said "But Rebecca IS our Senior groupie coordinator" ha ha ha I already have a title too! Man do I move quick in this world of rock-n-roll! ha ha

Once docked and unloaded I told them I would catch them later. Friends picked me up and we lounged for the afternoon... complete with crab cakes, beer, some yummy cheese and crackers and a little port to send us off to slumber. NICE!!!

When I awoke we got cleaned up and headed to a dinner party. Debbie (Haineser) and a couple of others were gathering for a Salmon, corn on the cob, salad, and beer feast. Once at the house I received the most beautiful responses to my presence. A lot of "AAAAHHHH Rebecca!" followed by smiles and open huggy arms. YEAH I love Haines! We ate a lot of goodness - Thank you all for the grub - FANTISIMO! and then some played guitar. Austin on guitar and Joel on mandolin.... both sang as did Debbie. I love the music made by friends. It is the most beautiful kind. Then we headed to the fair!

YOWZA!!! This fair is so much fun. Some beers later and the real magic began. View image Danny Godinez and the boys were playing and the atmosphere could not have been more perfect. They played outside under the stars with not much lighting, except for 3 purple lights on the band itself. Everyone who was dancing was dancing in the street of the Dalton City stage set for the movie White Fang. At one point the band was starting a song and the music was soft and I could hear dancing feet in the gravel. As I listened to the music, a latin rhythm, I looked up at the stars and thought "this would sound perfect with some hand claps" and at that very moment everyone started clapping their hands to the beat! It was fantastic.

The night moved to their rhythm and everyone was having a blast. I was starting to tire and then my friend, Beautiful Jonathan (the one that was teaching me fire spinning last summer), told me that him and friends were spinning fire soon. It was 15 minutes and the band started playing this beautiful flowing music. Then 6'6" Jonathan and two other ladies came out into the crowd with flaming balls of fire dangling. They cleared the space they would need and started spinning. The music and their fire intertwined. I could see and feel the fire dancing to the music and the music playing with the fire. It was unbelievable! They all three danced, moved, and spun for at least 15 minutes. It was so damn sexy.

After the fire spinning and all of the dancing and yelling that occurred immediately after my friends and I went home.

Sunday - Awakened to a lovely day. Emily and I went to the fair. She was manning a booth for her employer, Takshanuk Watershed Council, and I kept her company. The time was wonderfully well spent.

I got to enjoy an Elvis impersonator! View image He came out in the black leather outfit and then during his intermission there were hula girls hula dancing. When he came back he was outfitted in the "older" Elvis regalia of a white pant suit complete with large belt and buckle, TONS of sequined eagles and a couple of leh's. He would walk into the crowd and croon to one particular lady, kiss her cheek and give her a leh. She would giggle to her friend and smile. I loved it... he totally played up these silver haired ladies fantasies. I could not wipe the smile off my face for the world. At the end of his set the hula girls came out with American flags and he sang "America the Beautiful" and it was wonderful. Everyone stood, sang, men took their hats off in respect, and an encore was performed. Hometown Americana in Haines Alaska - complete with Elvis and his hula girls. I got my picture taken with him and the ladies! YEAH

After the fair shut down Emily and I headed back to the house for some rest and relaxation. Paul, a friend of Ian's (Emily's fiancee), decided to make dinner. Paul is from New Orleans and a crab boil was in order. We boiled crab, corn on the cob, and new potatoes in cajun seasoning and cooked up some battered halibut (with lots of butter) and drank plenty of wine. After dinner dessert was in order. Wendy, another Haines friend, made a blueberry cobbler. The blueberries came straight from the bucket which was filled right from the bush. The cobbler was made and although we were all rolling on rounded tummies we forced (I use the term lightly) ourselves to eat dessert. After drinking wine and eating fresh blueberries our mouths and tongues were hilarious to look at. View imageOf course, I took a ton of blueberry smile pictures!

I went to bed moaning in delight and woke up at 1:30am to get on the ferry to Juneau. Arrived in Juneau at 6:40am and was at work by 8:45am with a grand smile on my face. I floated thru my Monday on a Haines High. My weekend could not have been more perfect if I tried.

This is exactly what the doctor ordered and exactly why "Juneau has my body but Haines has my heart".

Life ripens at just the right pace, and the sweet wonder of it all is that everything is happening exactly as it is meant to. - Flavia