When I hung up the phone after leaving a cold-call voicemail for the Anchorage Public Library, I cringed and placed my forehead on my desk. “Ughhh” I groaned like Tina Belcher. This is the most uncomfortable feeling. Having the audacity to attempt to book a summer tour in Alaska, convincing people who have no idea who we are to pay us to perform in a state 4,000 miles away is a quality I wished, only at that moment, that I didn’t have.
A few hours later, I got a callback. A few days later, we were booked to perform at all 5 Anchorage libraries.
We’re going to Alaska!
Photo from our trip in 207
Why Alaska?
Jeremy is from Alaska. He was born in Anchorage and lived there full-time until he was 7, when his family started wintering in Oklahoma, where Jeremy’s dad is from. Even in elementary school, Jeremy spent his summers commercial fishing for salmon with his younger brothers and sister. His brothers are now both commercial fisherman who live there year-round, and his dad still fishes every summer. Their cabin is in Houston, Alaska, near Wasilla. …No, they don’t know Sarah Palin.
Jeremy’s Parents’ Cabin in Houston, AK
We flew up to Alaska for a little summer tour in 2017, and I fell in love. We performed 5 shows for the communities around Wasilla and the Kenai Peninsula, and I flew home promising we would make the drive up someday. In the following two years, we have worked so hard to grow our skills, polish our shows, and get our company to a place where a trip like this is feasible. We don’t want to wait until we retire to experience a great American adventure!
In Soldotna, Alaska, we performed next to the Kenai river. 2017
We have 8 shows booked so far! That uncomfortable feeling of having a dream and putting ourselves out there to make it happen? I still get it every time I send an email or call a library to ask if they are interested in having us perform. Rejection is scary. Failure is scary. If we don’t try, we’ll never know. Isn’t that what life is all about?!
If you have any connections in Alaska, let us know! Have you ever been? Where should we go? Leave a comment and stay tuned for the rest of the story.
- Kelsey
More photos from our 2017 trip:
Us at Matanuska Glacier in 2017.
Hiking over lumpy lumps
Jeremy had such a bun!
Who hula hoops on a glacier, anyway? (it me…)
We met up with my friend Stacey, who drove up that year. Matanuska Glacier
Fun fact: The Public Safety Building in Houston, Alaska is named after Jeremy’s Grandfather.
We are so excited!!!!
