It was fabulous to have a real vacation where I didn’t have to take care of anyone or worry about my boys. Sister was a great traveling partner and we were with a group of mature, educated and interesting people.
We went to museums and visitor centers, learned about local activities such as curling, and had photography lessons on how to set our camera for the aurora. It was regularly -20 degrees and I think the warmest was 10 degrees. How many layers of clothes did I put on to view the aurora: tights, sock liners, 2 pair of wool socks, long underwear, pants, ski pants, turtleneck, fleece top, down coat, wind breaker, balaclava, scarf, beanie, hoods from the down coat and windbreaker, gloves, mittens. It took 10 minutes to get dressed.
This trip was very needed and well received.