Alaska Day 3

Friday, March 16, 2007, Day three in Alaska

Today we rented Ice Skates and went to a frozen pond that they keep cleaned off for ice skating. There are trails that go all over the pond. It was a lot of fun. Mom had never ice skated before but she did great. They had fires in barrels around the pond that you could stop and warm your hands if you needed to. I think that we gave the Hockey players that were out skating a good run for their money even though it had been years since any of us had skated.

Alaska Day 2

Thursday March 15, 2007. Day two in Alaska

Today we went skiing at Alyeska ski resort about 30 minutes from Teresa's house. It was a nice brisk morning at -5 degrees F in that ended up warming up to 0 degrees F by the time that the Mountain closed. The snow was great though. We had to go inside every 6-7 runs to warm up our feet and face but besides that it was a great day. There were no lines and so we could ski right onto the chair for every run.

This is from inside the tram looking down at the main lodge.

Riding up the tram.

This resort had a pretty bad view!!

Alaska Day 1

Wednesday March 14, 2007. Day one in Alaska.

Today we rented some snow shoes from REI and drove 45 minutes south to Portage Glacier. We parked at the Day Lodge (which was closed) and put on our snow shoes to begin our 7.5 mile round trip hike across the frozen lake to the Glacier. It was around 0 degrees F plus some pretty gusty winds but we were prepare and stayed plenty warm once we started hiking. It didn't look very far to cross the lake but the further we walked, the more we realized that the other side didn't seem to be getting any closer. It was worth the hike in the end to see the glacier.

The road leading into the Daylodge (as you can tell there is not much snow here).

Teresa starting out the hike.

Teresa, Mom, and Me ready to go.

Heading across the lake.

This is a picture of the Glacier with me walking towards it. Unfortunately you can not appreciate the color from these pictures. It was a very bright blue that seemed to be glowing.

Teresa in front of the glacier.

Teresa and Me hiking back from the glacier.

Me and Teresa, very tired upon our return to the car.

Getting to Alaska

I flew to Anchorage, AK on Tue. March 13. I arrived at 12:00 am after a 9 hour trip from Phoenix (7 hours of flight time and 2 hours layover in Salt Lake City) When I left Phoenix the temp was 90 F and when I landed the wind chill was -15 F. It was very nice to get away for a while and see someplace new. Here are a few general pictures of the area. This is what Teresa sees everyday. It is a very rugged area to say the least.

Here is a Moose along the road.

This is Teresa's apartment.

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This one is eating Teresa's leftovers from one of the community dumpsters in her complex.

And this one is eating her tree.

There are some random pictures from along side the road looking towards Cooks inlet.

This is a sunset from one of the hills in the area.

ALASKA

I just returned today from a one week vacation to Alaska to visit my sister who lives in Anchorage. My parents were also able to make the trip so we were all able to hang out and have a great time. I have many pictures that I am planning on posting but it will take me some time to get them organized and posted. Keep checking back over the next few days or so for more pictures.

Plans for the Future

This last Thursday I found out that I will be moving to Louisville Kentucky for the next four years. I was accepted into the Anesthesiology program at the University of Louisville. I will be moving towards the middle to end of June. I start in Louisville on June 28, 2007 After I complete these four years I will be free to work where I want to and live where I want to live (hopefully WA or OR). Louisville is a great city and the program that I will be joining there is a very good program. The city itself is around 1 Million people and there is plenty to do to keep me busy with the limited free time that I will have. Here are a few pictures of the area.

This is the main University Hospital.

The Louisville Slugger factory/museum

A couple of pictures of the city sitting on the banks of the Ohio River.

Traveling

Over this last month I have been traveling a lot. Unfortunately I have not been traveling for fun. I have been on the interview trail once again. I am interviewing for Anesthesiology. Since I am also working and am very busy it has been quite difficult to get away for these interviews. I have scheduled on the weekends as much as possible since this last month was my clinic month and I got the weekends off. I started out by going to Jackson Mississippi. This is a brand new hospital that is part of University of Mississippi. It is very nice and High-Tech!! I am not sure if Mississippi is my favorite area to live but it would only be for four years and then I could move to where ever I wanted to live. Here is a picture of the front of the new hospital.



After Mississippi I went to Louisville Kentucky, Home of the Derby!. I really like this program. Louisville is a great city with lots of things to do. The Hospital is also fairly new so everything is nice and up to date. I think that this hospital is my first choice of places to go! I have a couple of friends in Lexington KY which is about 90 minutes away so I would be able to meet up with them from time to time. Here are a few Pict's of U of L.


And a Pict from the Internet of the Kentucky Derby! (I will have to go if I move here even though I don't know anything about horse racing!)



My next interview was at Loma Linda University in Southern California (my old home for medical school.) This interview was very relaxed since I know most of the people here already. I really like this program as well. It is a very strong program and the residents here get good fellowships if they want to specialize. This program is also at the top of my list. I am not sure if I want to move back to California though. I am ready for something new.


After Loma Linda I went to Cleveland Ohio and interviewed at Case Western ( the nicer part of Cleveland Clinics). This is also a very well known Hospital and would be a great place to go. The only real drawback for me is the harsh winters. I am getting to be spoiled living in the southwest and I don't know if I want to put up with the Cleveland snow storms in the winter. Actually it isn't that big of deal either way. I am sure that I would be happy here. There are many hospitals associated with Case Western, but they are all on the same campus. Here is the entrance to the Children's Hospital. The whole campus is amazing!





I have one interview left. Near the end of this month I am going to University of Missouri to interview with their program. Here is an Internet Pict of that Hospital. I will let you know how it goes. These are all of the interviews that I am going on this year due to many uncontrollable factors (like WORK schedule, etc.) so hopefully everything works out!


Here is a Map showing the locations that I have interviewed(you can click on it to make it bigger). The red dot is Loma Linda California. The blue dot is Jackson, Mississippi. The green dot is Louisville, Kentucky. The brown dot is Cleveland, Ohio. The yellow is Columbia, Missouri, and the Grey is University of Arizona in Tucson (the program that I am currently affiliated with at my hospital in Phoenix.)