They're Gone

Our ‘summer’ company began with Rachel and Cain’s visit in mid-June and ended yesterday with the midnight departure of Rick's mom. In between we spent a very nice week with my nephew, Chris, and his friends. We love having company, seeing the sights and are thoroughly exhausted to prove it!

In addition to all the fun things we did with Rachel and Cain and the airshow (which I already blogged about) we've been fishing (well, I watched) and hiking. Gerad enjoyed a halibut fishing trip with Chris. They caught their fill of fish, and had a great time. They also fished on the Russian River, a favorite fishing spot for people and bears alike, and had a bit of excitement from a young ‘grizzly’ while they were there.

We spent some time at Portage Glacier and took a tram ride up the mountain at Alyeska (a popular ski resort), and but the highlight of our time with Rick's mom was a quick trip to the port/fishing town of Seward. Although the animal spotting is probably getting old for you all, I have to tell you that while there we saw some otters, a seal and… two huge sharks that had been caught on one of the fishing boats! I’ve lived in Florida and California but come to Alaska and find sharks??? Not what I was expecting that’s for sure!

We also ‘swung by’ the Russian on our way back from Seward on Wednesday just to see what the fishing was like and while we were there Gerad, Rian and I got a good look at a grizzly bear cub on the other side of the river sleeping in a tree… it looked very ‘cuddly’ but the thought of it’s mama’s eyes watching me was pretty intense. Sadly for Rick’s mom, we didn’t see much other wildlife and NO sunshine while she was here, but we still managed to have a good time.

We have a few weeks off here, or maybe I should say the “Vacancy” sign is lit for the next few weeks, so if you’ve got an itch to come, you’ve got a place to stay until the next lot of holiday makers comes in September!