From Alaska to Mexico with Peachtree City in between

2010-02-04

By Martha Barksdale

Alisa and Jared Lybbert, with daughters Maiya and Ella, are having a good time in Peachtree City this winter.

Alisa and Jared Lybbert started out in Kansas and Washington, respectively, met in Alaska, got married and now are moving their growing family to Mexico, with stops in between including a winter-long soujourn in Peachtree City. For most folks, just moving across town is an ordeal, so imagine a trek of more than 5,000 miles.

But the Lybberts enjoy the adventure and with daughters Ella, 4, and Maiya, 2, find happiness no matter what their location.

Jared and Alisa, married for seven years, met in Skagway, Alaska, a town where cruise lines dock in the summer. Alisa performed in a musical for the tourists, while Jared drove a bus for Grey Line Tours. They fell in love with the town and with each other.

The Lybberts returned to Alaska each year to work. Alisa says they loved the town, which has a population of about 700 during the winter months, but balloons to more than 10,000 visitors a day during tourist season.

Finally, after Ella was born, Alisa and Jared decided it was time to fulfill a long-time dream and open their own small business. Alisa’s mom had long been enamored of Polish pottery, colorful stoneware hand-stamped in more than 200 different patterns, so that’s what they sold at first. Gradually, the business, North Star Treasures, grew to include other items, including wood watches. They also began selling over the internet.

They Lybberts say they love Skagway, but not enough to brave an Alaska winter. Each fall, they packed up and headed south to visit family and friends in the lower 48.

Last year, they decided to rent a house in a town in Mexico they had heard about, Ajijic, near Guadelajara. “There are a lot of American and Canadian retirees there,” said Alisa. “National Geographic rated it the second-best climate in the world,” Jared pointed out. “The average temperature is in the 70s, and there’s no humidity.”

Alisa and Jared were also impressed with the friendliness of the people, both Mexican and the retirees.

Low prices were also a pleasant surprise. “We eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables,” Alisa said, “and I went to the market and bought two weeks’ worth for about $7.”

The Lybberts decided it was time for a move. The cruise ship business that once brought so many people to Skagway was beginning to decline. They returned to Skagway in the spring, worked over the summer, then closed their store. They now earn all their money through their online store at www.northstar-treasures.com.

Heading south, the family visited friends and relatives in Utah and Kansas. Alisa and Jared even took a side trip to Hawaii.

They chose to spend the winter with Alisa’s sister and her husband, Lara and Greg Dahl, in Peachtree City.

They say they really are enjoying Peachtree City, especially feeding the ducks at the lake and participating in children’s activities at the library. The Lybberts plan to stay here until April.

Baby number three will make his or her appearance this summer, and then the family will head south of the border where new adventures are sure to await them.