I landed from a flight from Hawaii at 3am. It's extremely dark & cold out, negative thirty seven degrees, in fact. I hop on a bus awaiting to take me to Fort Wainwright to stay for my first base visit in Fairbanks, Alaska. We stepped off the bus & jokingly tossed a cup of water in the air & yes, it froze midair immediately. I've always heard that Alaska was incredibly beautiful & incredibly cold, and I quickly realized that it did not disappoint in neither of those two aspects. 

I spent three days literally in the North Pole, visiting our troops & their families at Fort Wainwright & Fort Greenly. Our military here expressed that they were especially grateful because they do not get too many visitors this far north. My tour group & I were so excited to get to know them, learn about what they enjoy here and HOWWWW they endure this weather!

I had the opportunity to teach three youth clinics to young cheerleaders on base, each of them reminding me how grateful I am to have this platform to teach my passion, dance, and have an impact on people literally on the other side of the country. Their parents watched and expressed how grateful they were we were teach. They saw their child grow in confidence & joy just in the brief two hours we spent with them.

Super Bowl Sunday was spent at a hangout space for the servicemen and women on base. I simply ate, chatted, watched the intense game with them and got to celebrate as the 100th season of the NFL came to a close. One of the best parts of the trip was when I was gifted a military coin. I will cherish and save this coin in my home forever so that I can always reflect on my time on this tour. 

Thank you to all of the servicemen, women, and families for all that you do to protect our home. I also want to that ProTour Productions, Armed Forces Entertainment, and of course, my First Ladies of Football team for allowing me this incredible opportunity.

XO, 

Candess