The Last Frontier

I can honestly say that I never planned to ever visit Alaska.  Nay, I really didn't want to visit.  I mean, it's cold there!  Beauty schmooty!  Not interested.

After my Dad passed away a few years ago, my Mom was terribly lonely.  In the process of helping to organize a high school reunion, she reconnected with a fellow graduate named "Bill".  He too had lost his spouse a few years earlier.  Thus began a romance.

But my Mom, even though she is an elderly lady, does things with a splash.  Turns out that "Bill" lives in Alaska!  Yeah, really far away.  

I warned my Mom that we probably wouldn't get to visit her...EVER!  But they made the agreeable plan to summer in Alaska and winter in Iowa.  I told her that we'd see her in the winter and waved goodbye.

She missed her grandchildren so much the first summer, that she began a savings plan to help her children and grandchildren with the cost of airplane tickets.  (Thanks Mom!)

So, without much more explanation here is a massive photo dump.  Hope y'all don't get too bored.  I'm doing this mainly for my family.  Because I am terrible at actually getting pictures printed.  Most of the time they stay in my computer.  It's sad, but true.  But I digress.

Waiting at the gate in Omaha to get on our first flight.
There was much excitement!

I wish that I would have taken a picture after we climbed off the plane in Anchorage because I'm sure that we looked pretty bad.  It was a LONG day.

Texas.  We had to fly to Texas first.  The opposite direction from where we needed to end up.  I shall end there lest I spew frustration at having to go HUNDREDS of miles in the WRONG direction before we could get to where we needed to be.  I'm done.

Anyway, I woke up the morning of our departure and had an infection.  So, I was pretty miserable the whole long day.  We got to Anchorage and I had to take a Taxi to an Urgent Care.  Yep, needed antibiotics.  By now I was utterly exhausted.  Nervous me, hadn't slept more than three hours the night before.  

I asked the doctor if I could wait until morning to go to the drug store.  We weren't going to get our rental car until then.  I asked him if I could walk there.  He was adamant that I should not be walking in this part of town.  

In a move that I have never seen before, the doctor said, wait here.  He went out and inquired what time the drug store closed.  An hour.  He came walking back and asked me if I were awake enough to drive.  I was confused.  But I nodded my head yes.

That good doctor handed me the keys to his personal vehicle, gave me directions and sent me to the drug store.  Wow. 

I couldn't believe it.  This was actually an answer to my prayers!  I had been asking God all day to figure this out.  I was lamenting to myself that we didn't know anyone in Anchorage.  Because then they could lend me their car and I could go get my stuff without having to pay the expensive Taxi fees.  I knew that I am trustworthy, but they don't.  

I cried.  I thanked him profusely and went to the drug store.  On the way back to the clinic, I listened to "Jesus Loves Me" on his radio.  Pretty sure the man knows Jesus.

Anyway, the next day we got our car and started south toward Homer Alaska.

Okay, so I don't know who the kid is.  He wouldn't
move, so I took his picture.  Ignore him and look at the
mountains.

This is the Kenai river.  It's absolutely gorgeous!
The water is a beautiful turquoise.
Truly unique.

The six hour drive from Anchorage to Homer was breathtaking.  A camera cannot capture the beauty.  Seriously.  God's handiwork is amazing.

This is the view from the ridge above Homer Alaska.
Homer is unique because they have what is called
a spit.  See that land jutting out into the bay?
It is 4.5 miles long with boats, restaurants, and shops.
It is the longest road into ocean waters in the world.
Pretty cool!

So, Bill owns a boat.  One day he took us out for a ride.  Can anybody say FUN!  Loved it!

They call these rocks, "The Rookery".
Birds nest in these rocks and multiply by the hundreds.
It's pretty noisy when you get close.

It's kind of hard to see, but there are hundreds of birds
nesting on this rock. Smelly!

A jellyfish in the water.  These guys are COOL!
They don't have stingers, but they're just clear
little things filled with water.  It was fun to watch for them
in the water.

Another jellyfish.  This guy was striped and moved
around a lot.  Cool beans.  I wanted to touch one,
but we never got the chance.

Bill took us to Halibut Cove.  It's an island (mountain) that can only be reached by boat.
Neat, neat, neat place!  There is a restaurant there that has it's own ferry to Homer.
Anyway, they have a tank with sea life in it.  We were free to touch star fish, sea
anemone, and some other unidentifiable creatures.  The water level in the tank follows
the tide.  We were at low tide and thus the tank was low on water.  J.J. didn't
want to touch.  Just look.

The ramp to the dock at halibut cove was steep.
The tide was at an astonishing low, and that's why the ramp was
terribly steep.  I actually didn't catch the ramp when it was at
it's steepest, so this is after the tide was starting to come in.

It rained pretty much everyday we were in Alaska.  I personally enjoyed it.
I LOVE rain!  But anyway, this is again at Halibut Cove.  There is a boardwalk suspended above the
water for a good distance around the island.  The island is basically a mountain, so on one side of
the walkway was about a foot wide gap between the boardwalk and the mountain with a significant
drop below.  I was a nervous Mama!  It was wet and everything was slick.  In Alaska,
unlike the contiguous states, if you are stupid, you pay for it.  There are fewer regulations for keeping
people from their own stupidity.  Thus the gap and flimsy railings.   

So, while the little people stayed with Grandma on the boardwalk,
Kurt and I hiked to the top of the mountain at Halibut Cove.
The view was breathtaking, but it was cloudy, so the pictures don't do it justice.

Just beautiful!

One of the cutest little sailor girls I've ever seen!
She wasn't all that thrilled with the life jacket, but
with her climbing tendencies, we weren't risking it.

I liked the hat! 

So, the boat ride was kinda long on the way back.  And cold.
I think they all had a short nap.

Where else can you go to the park and have a view like this?

This picture means nothing to you unless you live in Nebraska.
To a Nebraskan, it's kinda cool.
Only two cities in the U.S. that bear the name "Seward".
One in Nebraska and one in Alaska.  I can now say that I've been to both!

We went to an aquarium in Seward.
I can now say that I have touched a sea anemone.
It felt weird.
Starfish feel weird too. (Shudder)

I dislike birds.  And dogs.  But everyone else thought this puffin
was neat, so I thought maybe you would too.

There was a pretty little creek right out our back door
at the bed and breakfast just outside of Seward.
We would have loved to explore it a bit more, but it was rainy
and cold.

In Seward, there is a glacier that you are able to climb up the mountain
to see.  It's quite a little climb.  And it was WET!  It drizzled the whole time.
It was fun though.  Mom kept the girls with her back at the base.
Otherwise, there was NO way we would have been able to take them. Not in the rain.

At the end of Mom's lane there was this scary lady.
The girls begged us to "go fast Daddy" every time we had to pass her.
When we were leaving for the last time, the girls wanted to stop and make
their peace with her.
They each gave her a flower.  But Daddy had to be there. Really close.
Because the crazy lady looks a bit unpredictable.

I didn't want to come home.  I wanted to get lost on a mountain somewhere and hole up until Jesus comes.  Because there are no snakes there.  None.  Love that.  No bugs either.  Love that also.  There is the minor problem of bears and moose, but like I said, minor.

I missed an opportunity to eat Rudolph.  Could have had reindeer sausage, but I passed it up.  Maybe next time.

My handsome farmer went back to his fields the Monday after we got home.  He came in to eat dinner out of the heat and humidity. "I'm Alaska sick".  He informed me.

We have been trying to figure out how we could make a living if we moved to Alaska.  Not sure there are many farmers there, so we'd better just stay in the flat lands.

Sorry this is a month after the actual trip, but we've had colds and sinus infections, and well, life.  Plus, I had this post all done and ready to publish and somehow the computer lost it.  So it's late, but that's okay!