"Who says you can't go home?"

I have lived in Utah for 7.5 years now.  But ask me about my visit to the Midwest and I'll tell you about my trip home.  I've lived on the East Coast, the West Coast and now in the Mountains, but I am definitely a Midwest girl.  Born in Michigan and raised in Indiana, so my heart will always be tied to the Midwest.  I usually try to make a trip home every two years or less.  This Fall when I visited, it had been three years since my last trip out there.  When I travel I love to send postcards.  For the past year whenever I sent one to my Great Uncle Charles he would email and ask me when I was coming to visit him.  So I knew 2013 had to be the year that I went back.  And then the "Save the Date" card arrived for Katie B's wedding.  For years I have considered Katie B to be my second Katie sister, so there was no way I was going to miss the wedding.  Now I had the timing for my trip figured out.  I just had to make it happen.

After lots of back and forth it was decided that Mom and Katie would fly to Louisville a week ahead of the wedding to visit family and friends.  They borrowed Uncle Charles' car and drove up to Indiana and then on to Michigan for the wedding.  I flew into Grand Rapids the day before the wedding and would eventually drive the car back to Louisville.  For the first in my adult years (that I can remember) I was greeted inside the airport.  As I walked toward baggage claim there was Mom and Katie and with them was Macky.  It was such a great way to start the trip. 

The three of us were staying with Macky.  Every time I talked to her over the summer she insisted that we would stay with her.  I would never argue with Macky, plus I love visiting with her.  She's been my other grandmother since I was a toddler and her daughter Nan moved in next door to us in Michigan.  According to the story, I was out playing in my little red buggy and Macky saw me.  She thought I was so cute that she just had to come over to meet me.  Mom and Nan became best friends and our families have been close ever since. Even after we moved to Indiana we still did plenty of trips and visits with our Michigan family.  When we were little kids the two families used to meet up in Chicago before Christmas to see the lights and visit Santa at Marshall Fields.  I would have described Katie B as a daddy's girl, except for when I showed up.  I have adored Nan since I was a little girl.  I have a memory of sitting in our front yard watching for Nan to come home from work.  Then I would take my dinner over in a lunch box and have dinner with her and Steve.  So when our families got together I would always head straight to Nan.  Which didn't make Katie B very happy when we were younger.  I remember the day my mom finally turned me around and said, "Do you see that footprint on Nancye's butt?  That's because I used to kick her out the door to your mom's each evening.  So she is kind of your mother's daughter."  After that I had another sister named Katie.

It was a fun weekend of laughter, friends, food, memories and a perfect wedding.  The ceremony was lovely and Katie B looked stunning.  Hard to believe that is the little girl we watched grow up.  I finally met her husband Cory and believe they will be very happy together.  I look forward to future visits when I can get to know him better.

Me, Mom and Katie before the wedding.

Nan and Katie B

Mom, Me, Macky, Nan, Katie

It would not be a visit to Michigan without a stop at Lake Michigan.  On my last night I ran down to the beach just before sunset.  Since it was a cloudy evening I was not expecting much in the way of color.  For awhile it looked like I was right.  But since I was enjoying the waves and the sand I did not rush off.  Thank goodness I waited.  The sunset that I received was one of the most breathtaking ever.  I feel truly blessed to have witnessed this beauty.

Lake Michigan sunset

The hardest part of these trips is saying goodbye before I move on to the next stop.  I held off as long as I could, but eventually I had to promise Macky I would come back soon and then drove off to Indiana.  This trip was similar to my 2010 visit minus the Chicago portion.  I started in Michigan, worked my way down to South Bend and Elkhart before continuing South.  This time I stopped at Notre Dame to see my friend Kara over lunch.  Before I left I stopped by the Women's Basketball offices and was fortunate to catch Beth Morgan Cunningham before she left for practice.  It was great to see her for a few minutes.  At some point I'll need to see her coach a game to go with the fact that  I have seen her at every level of her basketball career.  And it would not be a Northern Indiana stop without my time in Elkhart with the Facklemans.  It is never long enough, but at least I get a chance to catch up.  It sounds like they enjoyed Southern Utah on their roadtrip to California this summer.  So hopefully I can talk them into visiting me soon.

Macky and Honey

Stopped at Notre Dame to visit friends

Indiana Sunrise on the way to Btown

Next stop, home to Bloomington!  I love trips home to Btown.  No matter how much has changed, it is still so familiar.  There is always so much to do when I get there, which means I miss something or someone.  I think this trip came pretty close to getting it all done.  I spent a lot of time with my dad (not sure he agrees).  The highlight of our time together should have been the IU Soccer game, but sadly they lost in OT.  I'm still glad I got to see the game, I always try to time my visits for the Fall so I can see a match.  I practically grew up at the IU soccer field.  I spent almost as much time there as I did at the fields where my teams played.  Each Fall I get phone calls from dad after home games letting me know the score and how the team played that day.  It is something I look forward to each season.  On my recent trips home I have been staying in our old neighborhood with our neighbors, the Varns.  They used to live across the street from us when we were in high school and in the evenings we would play out in the yard with their two little boys.  I always thought it was funny that they knew all our friends' cars, so they always knew who was around the house even if Mom was not there.  Tom and Anne were not afraid to say something to us, so there was very little chance we would have gotten into trouble with them keeping an eye on us. Anne also shares my love of IU soccer.  So what I do not hear from Dad, I hear from her.  Three years ago on my trip home I got to see their oldest son, Dan, play soccer for North High School as a senior.  This trip home I got to see his brother Andrew play as a senior for North in the game against South.  I am proud as a North alumni to say that North beat them with PK's.  (Excuse me, I must rant for a moment.  I do not understand why high school athletes are playing two overtimes and going into PK's on a school night.  Call it a tie and send those kids home to do their homework.  Also, why do they play a 40 minute half instead of a 45 minute half?  Maybe those extra 10 minutes would prevent the need for overtimes.  Okay, rant over.)    After watching Andrew play, and make his PK, I am convinced he will score a goal from the field this season, even though he plays defense.  He has quite a kick. 

Andrew's Senior year (North v South)

 Of course I could not forget to make time for the family in Louisville.  Especially after all of those guilt trips from Uncle Charles.  Which I actually enjoy getting because I love his emails.  He is getting better at the guilt over time.  Right before I left for Alaska this summer Uncle Charles fell and hit his head.  The doctors apparently were not sure what to do with him.  From what I heard, most 95 year old people would not have survived hitting their head.  When I got to Louisville in September he was still in the rehabilitation center, but getting closer to going home.  My Uncle Richard told me that they said that he could go home on Friday the 13th.  So he asked his dad if he would not prefer to wait until the 14th.  Uncle Charles was quick to respond, "How about the 12th?"  (It would turn out that he would get to go home on the 12th.)  Most of my time in Louisville was spent at the center visiting with Uncle Charles.  While I was there I got to see my Aunt Barbara and her husband Paul and my Uncle Richard.  Turns out that my other uncles left town the weekend I came through.  And I didn't have much luck meeting up with my cousins, but that was partially my fault.  My priority for this trip was Uncle Charles.  I hope I'm just like him when I'm 95.  Until this fall he was driving to the family business and working for a couple hours before driving home.  Nothing stops him.

Uncle Richard, Aunt Barbara, Me

Me and my 95 yr old Great Uncle Charles (I made him laugh by telling him to say, "Going home!")

Growing up in Bloomington, I attended St. Charles Elementary which was a small Catholic school.  I think the most students they had during those years K-6th was approximately 200.  My class was never bigger than 21 students.  Despite the small size I have made many lasting friendships from this school.  These include other students, teachers and families.  At one point during my years in Utah there were 5 of us from St. Charles living in the Park City/Salt Lake area.  Currently, there are 3 of us.  In fact, one of my best friends from my class now lives 2 miles away from me.  Last summer I was fortunate to attend the wedding of my "big brother" Jake whom I had met in 1st grade.  Our families did everything together growing up, birthdays, super bowls, graduations.  You name it and our families probably celebrated together.  It was wonderful to be there to see him get married.  And on this trip I would have a couple hours to catch up with the Schraders.  Their whole family is like having two more parents and three more siblings.  I love whatever time I can get with them.  This summer when I did my trip to Alaska, my trip leader was another of my St. Charles classmates, although David was two years ahead of me.  My mom drove morning carpool and David's mom picked us up.  After all these years I still think of David like a big brother.  When I arrived in Bloomington for this visit I had promised myself that I was going to spend an afternoon catching up with Madonna who had been my 6th grade teacher and Heidi who had been another one of my best friends since 1st grade.  (We won't count how many years that equals.)  I drove into town and headed straight for Madonna's house.  We had a fabulous afternoon spending quality time chatting over lunch, walking around downtown and just generally catching up on things.  Hopefully I have convinced her to give the mountains another try and to come visit me.  A definite highlight of my trip was the opportunity to see Heidi, her husband Matt, and to finally meet her twin boys.  They were already a 1 1/2 by the time I got to town.  I must admit, I am in love with those boys.  They are a riot and happy little guys.  We had a blast playing at the park.  My last morning in town I walked over with the Varns' dog Ruby to meet them and play a bit before I had to leave.  They thought having Ruby there was great fun.  It was hard to say good bye.  I hope that I will get them out west soon.  The boys will be ready for skis before you know it.

 

Heidi, Gates and Hunter at the Park

 All in all it was a fabulous trip to the Midwest.  I am definitely going to work harder to make sure that the next time it does not take me three years to get there.  I love that I have all of these amazing people in my life and some great memories from growing up in Michigan and Indiana.  I love living in the mountains (and I am not sure I could survive humidity anymore) but in my heart I am definitely a Midwest girl.

17 Days of So Much Fun- Hope to Anchorage (The End)

Day 16-
Today is Renee's birthday.  Natalie had bought some decorations and candles while others got her some treats in Seldovia the day before.  Then we all waited.  We decided we needed to start eating breakfast and sing when she came in.  There were pieces of cake from the previous night and one had a candle in it.  Natalie got a lighter and handed it to Evie since she was closer.  We were ready, just needed the birthday girl.  We saw Renee coming in so Evie went ahead and lit the candle.  And then Renee did exactly what David had warned and went for a coffee first.  When she came in we all sang Happy Birthday in our own languages.  Poor girl.

We were taking the water taxi back to Homer and Tony let David know that 2 of them were coming over for our group.  David wanted Renee and Mary to go in the first group with him so they could pick up their fish.  Since I was ready I offered to go as well.  We grabbed our stuff and headed down to the beach.  I did not realize that Ulli was ready or I would have stayed and waited for the second taxi so she could go.  When we reached Homer the other three dropped their stuff at the truck and headed to the fish processor.  I grabbed my bag and quickly used the open space to repack everything.  I had to work fast since group 2 was already heading my way.  Ulli was able to get herself sorted before the 3 returned with their fish.  We even had enough time to hit the shops down the street.  If I had money left at this point in the trip I would have been in trouble.  I loved the Eagle Salmon carving with the story in the Native Crafts shop.  Once the 3 came back we headed toward Homer proper to drop Ulli at the place that would fly her to McNeil the next day.  They were going to take some of her stuff over a day ahead since there was so much gear and people going the following day.  We all took turns saying good bye.  Before we left though we had to get a group shot with big smiles and flashing the peace symbol.  It relates back to Ulli's glacier hike with the Swiss girl who posed for every shot by flashing a peace symbol.

Group Peace Out photo op

After our goodbyes we headed toward Hope.  We stopped at the Fred Meyer on steroids in Soldotna again.  The apparel end of the store had sweatpants that said "Soldotna" down the leg.  I would have loved a pair, because who else would have them back home?  I managed to resist temptation.  Most of us had lunch in the truck while we were there but David went for Taco Bell.  It was time for a change in the diet apparently. 

On our way to Hope we stopped to do the Russian River Falls hike.  Due to the parking situation David had to stay with the truck.  I teased Thorsten that he had gotten rid of David and now had all the girls to himself.  It was not a hard hike but we did figure out the 2.3 miles was referring to one way.  Along the way we were fascinated by the cute, red mushrooms.  They look like something out of a Mario Brothers video game.  We did not see any bears but did see flying salmon trying to get up the Falls.  If I was them I would be cursing my parents for coming from this river.  I would also lay my eggs before I had to swim up the Falls.  It was brutal to watch them pushed back.  Natalie had to pull Thorsten and me away.  On the way back we added a Ptarmigan to our list of wildlife for the hike.

Red mushrooms & Flying Fish at Russian River Falls.

Hope is very small, historic and packed on a Saturday night in August.  We drove through the camping area so our leaders could point out where we could camp.  Then the truck was parked by the Social Hall.  Perfect location since we had access to some picnic tables.  There were some camping spots across from the cafe/bar but more open area at the end toward the water.  Thorsten seemed to think the bigger spaces were too far away but that is where Mary and I headed.  Eventually the others joined us.  Thorsten did not want to be alone.  David and Natalie opted to put their tent on top of the truck.

Cafe and Bar in Hope

View from our campsite

David made dinner for us tonight.  Mary donated a few pounds of her halibut.  It was so delicious.  Even Thorsten and Evie ate some of it and they both swear they do not like fish.  We could already hear the music while we were eating.  We cleaned up quickly and then sat for a few minutes drinking some more before we headed down to the bar for the live music.  I finished off my last beer with dinner and the wine cooler while we chatted.  Natalie gave us each money back from the kitty which helped cover the $5 charge at the bar.  Renee wanted to buy the first round for everyone as a thank you for making her birthday special.  Most of us had a Raspberry Woodchuck.  I am not sure they had that flavor when I was drinking them in college.  We grabbed our drinks and headed out to enjoy the music on the porch.  On the way I was stopped by an older fisherman.  It took me a few minutes to make my escape and join the others.  The band was good, the drinks were cold and we got some fun group photos.  When it was time for a second round I treated for Renee's birthday but switched my order to coke.  My three drinks had hit me.  It rained on us but that did not stop the fun on the deck.  Later in the evening David saw a table open up inside and grabbed it.  Thorsten, Evie and I all joined him and then waited to see how long it would take the others to find us.  I had a great discussion with David about why I should just pack it in and head out traveling.  I am just not sure I have the personality to quit my job and travel, no matter how much I love it.  Mary actually found us first and was all set to buy us a round.  None of us could take another drink by that point.  Hopefully we can all make it safely back to our tents after our fun evening of celebrating the trip and Renee's birthday.

Our fearless leaders at the end of the trip.

Me and the Europeans

Mary, Renee, Thorsten, Evie, Me

Me and Evie showing off what David taught us

Day 17-
Our last day together.  So sad!  And guess what, it was raining.  It sounded worse in the tent than it was outside.  The alarm went off at 8am.  I tried to get Mary to take her stuff to the truck and let me take care of the tent.  She decided she would skip breakfast and take the tent down later.  I was skeptical since the clips are so hard to get unhooked.  I left her sleeping and went to get myself organized.  I am hoping that when we get to Anchorage I can get a shower that is not from rain.  Everyone eventually wandered down for breakfast except Renee and Mary.  I helped Natalie by getting stuff out for her.  When Mary came over I went to clean out our tent and try to get it taken down.  I feel bad that it is going to be so wet for Natalie and David to deal with.

Today was the last chance for Natalie and I to kill each other in the truck murder game.  I was not sure how I was going to get Natalie to take a cup from me in the back locker.  I did start carrying my cup around to get her used to seeing it.  And then I got a lucky break.  Natalie and David were taking down their tent, so I set my cup on the footstool in the back locker and went to help.  Of course I forgot my cup when I walked away.  When I came back Natalie had grabbed it and asked me why it was in there.  I told her she was dead.  And that is how I won truck murder!  I forget where Natalie had to get me, but she had to find a way to get me to take a tampon from her.

Our last morning was the first time we were actually late leaving by about 10 minutes.  But we can just blame the rain and hangovers for that one.

I was really hoping to see Beluga whales on the way back to Anchorage.  Then we reached the point where we could see it was low tide and were out of luck.  I turned my attention to seeing a big moose in the water.  During our drive Natalie showed us the video David made with our photos.  It is really good and I hope to get a copy down the road.  She also gave us the compilations of everyone's best photos.  I am excited to see them all.

We stopped along the way in Girdwood for coffee.  Since Thorsten and I had bought rounds the night before, Mary bought our drinks.  There was a bumper sticker in there that said, "The Grind.  The Place Hangovers Come to Die."  Rather appropriate for our group.  We also stopped at a meat place.  It was somewhere David had seen and wanted to check it out.  I bought some salmon and reindeer jerky for some of the family.  I also tried some samples of it.  Not sure about salmon, but I liked the rest.  After that we headed for the airport to drop off Thorsten for his flight.  Definitely hitting us that the trip is ending.  We got to Anchorage in time to see some of the last runners finishing the marathon.  It reminded me of the couple I met on my last trip to Alaska.  The husband was running a marathon in every state.  I wonder how that is going?  At the hostel Natalie talked them into giving her the keys early.  I took advantage to run in and clean up.  I had a bit of time before my friend Meghan would be there to pick me up.  I sat with the remains of our group while they finished lunch  and then we all went to help clean out the truck.  I thanked David and Natalie for putting up with me.  I know I'm not the easiest to travel with.  They told me I had been an easy passenger to deal with.  I would like that in writing for my family.  I could not end the trip without photos with David and Natalie in front of Atka.  It was hard to say goodbye to everyone, but I am hoping to see them all again.  After all, I have to go to Germany to try the bread.  And I really want to see the tulips in the Netherlands.

My stuff in the seat that was "mine" for 17 days

Natalie, Me, David

Meghan and Zoey picked me up and we went to run a couple of errands.  We all forgot it was Sunday which caused some issues.  We picked up lunch at Wendy's and headed for their house.  Meghan had to work so I got to hang out with Zoey and Terry.  I have to say that Zoey has one of the greatest imaginations.  She told me the best stories about her baby polar bear.  I could not do them justice if I even tried to repeat them.  I just hope she keeps that imagination and creative streak.  And if Meghan or Terry ever record her I want a copy.  Terry ordered pizza for us and we had a late dinner.  Then he tried to get Zoey to bed.  It was not working, Dad 0, Zoey 2.  Eventually he said good night and went to lay down with her in hopes she would stay in bed.  He must have fallen asleep because a little while later Zoey appeared again in the living room.  I told her to get up on the couch with me and curl up.  She eventually fell asleep there.  Meghan had to move her when she came home from work.  I had a bit of time to chat with Meghan before we headed to the airport.  It was so late that I was struggling.  It was hard to say good bye at the airport.  I hope I will see Meghan and her family the next time they have a layover in Salt Lake City.

Me and Zoey

They are not kidding when they joke the Anchorage airport closes in the afternoon and reopens late at night.  It was really busy for after midnight.  I got checked in, through security and wandered to my gate.  About that time I realized that I did not have my phone.  I ran back to security but they did not have it.  I checked by the store where I had been looking at t-shirts, but it was not there either.  Really hope that I left it at Meghan's or in the car.  What a way to end my trip.  So unfair that the phone found a way to stay but I have to go home.

Good bye Alaska, Hello Reality.

17 Days of So Much Fun- Homer and Adventure Camp

Day 13-
This morning was another early one for me between the fishermen and the birds.  Since it was a cook day for our group I went ahead and got up to shower early.  Even then it was too early so I sat in the truck and wrote.  Eventually I got everything out and Ulli helped me get the stove started.  The campsite next to us looked like a scene out of "Birds" this morning.  I guess the guys had a bit too much fun last night and forgot to put their food away.  The birds helped them with that by making a really big mess.  Entertainment with our breakfast.  We finished eating, packed up and were ready to leave 10 minutes early.  Our group rocks.  On our drive back toward town I spotted an eagle sitting on top of 3 poles in the water.  Fortunately, David and Natalie correctly interpreted my, "Wow, check that out!" to mean wildlife sighting.  We stopped for 10 minutes or more to watch and take photos.  The eagle just sat there and posed for us.  David said he was majestic and he knew it.  I said he looked like he thought he was too sexy and he knew it.   (Sorry, my humor is goofy at early hours.)

Eagle sighting as we left Seward

Just outside of Seward we stopped at Exit Glacier for a hike.  The goal was to go to Marmot Meadows.  If people still felt good they could continue to the cliffs overlooking the Harding Ice Field.  It was 1.5 mi up to the Meadows and 1600 vertical feet.  At the bottom of the hike you have to sign in so the Rangers know who is out there and if they came back.  We loved the sign that told us what to do in case of a Black or Brown bear attack.  Under grizzly it tells you to play dead.  But if it starts to eat you, fight back.  Cripes, who wants to wait until it's eating me to fight back?  As we set out, I knew that Ulli and Evie wanted to hike fast.  I was startled though when Mary told Ulli to set the pace and we'd follow.  With Ulli setting the pace I knew I wouldn't see them until we hit the meadows.  As expected, I struggled and fell behind early.  I hiked with Natalie and Thorsten which was a good group for me.  Natalie asked at one point if I wanted to pass her and go faster.  I told her I needed her to pace me and if we could go slower and still be moving that would be fine.  Toward the end David dropped back to check on us.  That was fine until he got behind me.  He called it adding pressure to keep me going.  I never doubted I could get to the meadows.  I just did not see myself keeping up with the pace set by Ulli, Evie and Mary.  I knew that they would keep going and I've learned my short legs and I will not be keeping up with them.  I hate to miss things, but I also know my limits.  If I had all day, I would have continued on.  But with the time we had I decided to just enjoy the hike to the meadows and call it good.  It took the slow end of our group almost an hour to reach Marmot Meadows but it was worth it.  Everyone but me and Thorsten opted to continue and David said he would stay with us.  Thorsten wandered off taking photos.  I hung out on the big rock with David that overlooked the glacier.  A group of Italian couples came up for photos.  They were having fun and were entertaining.  Before we left we saw the super couple who had passed us on the way up, running down from the cliffs.  They might be nuts.  David calculated when the others would hit the cliffs and we headed down about then.  Down was almost as hard as up.  On the way up my calves and glutes were sore.  Going down it was my knees protesting.  There were a lot more people coming up so we had chances to stop and step out of their way.  I had my IU soccer hat and an IU basketball shirt on, which received a few comments.  We even chatted with three girls, one of whom was wearing a Purdue shirt.  She didn't actually go there, but she is from Fort Wayne.

Exit Glacier

We stopped in the visitor center at the bottom and I got a stamp for today.  Outside we saw on the sign that we missed seeing a bear by about 30 minutes.  We headed to the truck to get lunch ready.  I wasn't real hungry after the exercise, but had some chips and a drink.  Natalie and Renee showed up about 20 minutes later.  They made it to the cliffs before turning back.  Ulli, Evie and Mary went to see how much further they could get in the 20 minutes Natalie gave them.  While we waited I walked over to recycle some of our cans.  A nice older gentleman asked me where I was from and we started chatting.  He lives in Colorado Springs now and was OSI in the Air Force.  He told me he trained with the CIA and had different identities for use.  I even learned one time he thought his double agent might have messed up so he slept with his gun under his pillow that night.  It was interesting to hear his stories until his wife returned from her hike.

The rest of the group made it back, the rest of us had lunch and then we prepared to head to Homer.  Before we left, some of us ate our lunch on the sidewalk in the sun.  A ranger warned us about dropping crumbs for the bears.  Natalie also went in the visitor center and earned her Junior ranger badge.  She is very proud and has a video of the Ranger giving her the oath.

I dozed off on the way to Homer.  We stopped at Moose Pass to drop postcards at the post office.  I hope the postmark says Moose Pass.  We also stopped at a Fred Meyer for groceries.  We had 20 minutes to run in.  This place was a super store on steroids.  I used the restroom and then decided it would be easier to ask customer service about maps.  After waiting a few minutes it was my turn.  I explained to the guy that I needed a fold up map of Alaska, not a book of maps.  He walked a couple feet over to the check out line next to the desk and grabbed a map.  Talk about tired, I hadn't even noticed them as I stood in line.  It was what I wanted so I grabbed one along with a Dr. Pepper and headed out to Atka.

The rest of the drive to Homer was really pretty.  We had a nice view of the Aleution Islands and Mount Redoubt.  I needed the map to figure out where we were.  My geography up here needs work.  Our campsite is at the end of the Homer spit right on the beach.  We all opted to put our tents up in between the dunes as protection from the wind.  The views were beautiful.  We had a great sunset and a beautiful view of the moon for awhile.  Natalie made a nice pasta, pork and veggie dinner for us.  Between sunset shots I helped put things away.  Then I took off down the beach for a bit of a walk.  David was back when I returned.  I handed him a skipping stone with a comment about how perfect they were.  He took it and then I told him that now he was dead.  It was worth missing my chance on Fox Island to see his face now.  That leaves me, Natalie and Thorsten in the game.  I have Thorsten.  I have to get him with mosquito spray while eating.  Not sure which one of us should be eating but hopefully I will find a way.  

View from our campsite on the Homer Spit

Tent on the rocky beach.

Sunset and a Memorial for those lost at sea

Since we had a campfire we pulled out the marshmallows.  I made one s'more and roasted a 2nd marshmallow.  Mary tried roasting a marshmallow and  an Oreo together.  We joked that would be called a Mary Special.  Evie roasted one of her many marshmallows with the piece of chocolate stuck in the middle.  She had tried it at home with M&M's.

We have an early morning tomorrow for both groups.  David, Mary and Renee are going fishing.  The rest of us will head across the bay to Adventure Camp.  Time to go see how sleeping on rocks will feel.

Day 14-
This morning a strange flapping sound woke me around 3:30am.  It kept moving so I was not sure who or what was trying to get in our tent.  It didn't seem to bother Mary any.  I finally decided it was the wind messing with our tent, but not before I was fully awake.  I tried to use my ipod to drown out the sound, but it didn't help much.  It sounded like Ulli was having a rough night on the rocks next to us since I could hear her shifting, but she said later that she was fine.  Then the alarm went off for Mary to leave for fishing.  I waited for that group to leave and then I got up.  It backfired on me since the truck was locked and the key was not in the usual hiding spot.  Somehow we all managed to get ready, take down tents, have breakfast and still make it to the water taxi on time.  The other three would head over after fishing on the 1pm taxi, while five of us took the 8am taxi.  Along with our gear we couldn't forget the essentials, the beer and wine.  It was a beautiful morning for a boat ride.  I saw at least one sea otter and lots of birds.  We arrived by 8:30 and were greeted by Kyle (he works for the camp) at the beach.  We used a ladder to get from the bow of the boat to the beach.  Poor Kyle had no idea he would be helping us get a cooler of beer to the camp.  At the camp, Tony (owner) met us and gave us a tour. It is a fabulous place.  The girls had an option of a 4 or 3 person platform tent.  Evie and I grabbed the 4 person near the beach.  We were surprised, but happy when Ulli came in since she has had her own tent.  I was afraid our surprise hurt her feeling when she went off to the other tent.  After putting our stuff down we went to the main building for hot drinks or a soda in my case.  I was so tired that I just sunk into the couch.  We had free time until lunch at noon.  Some of the group decided to go out and walk, I decided to nap in our tent.  It felt so wonderful, but I did manage to drag myself up again for lunch.  It was a delicious spread of chicken salad sandwiches, veggies, fruit, chips and salsa. 

Taking the essentials to Adventure Camp

Elephant rock

Our tent (similar to my Girl Scout camp days)

After lunch Evie and I decided we would walk but first she wanted to read her book that she almost had finished.  I settled in with mine while I waited.  She finished about the time we saw the water taxi pulling up with the rest of our group.  Since we sat talking about books and authors we were still there when they came in.  Mary guessed she had about 25 lbs of fish after they cut them down.  As we were looking for the path to the road we saw David and Renee.  David's guess on weight of fish they will receive was 40 lbs.  Who is downplaying or exaggerating?

On our way out we asked Ulli if she wanted to go.  David pointed us toward the steps up the hill to the road.  He joked about doing them a few times as a work out.  Once was enough!  Wow.  They are built into the hillside and go straight up forever.  You go up through the trees and there are ferns everywhere.  It's really pretty but a tough climb.  When we saw the van at the top we discussed whether we thought there was a pulley system for moving gear up and down that hill.  Or maybe everything comes in from the water side.

The road is a wide, hard packed dirt road.  We chose to go left for the more forested area.  I had two ziplock bags to use if we found berries.  Good planning since we found lots of Salmon berries along the way and some blueberries a bit higher up on the hill.  Salmon berries look similar to blackberries but red.  Mostly they are sour, but addicting after a bit.  We filled our bags with some of both types.  It was a nice mix of eating some and collecting some for later. 

It was a really nice walk.  We talked about traveling and our families.  Ulli and I have similar stories about our families and the type of travel they want to do.  We aren't sure how far we walked.  It didn't seem like very far on the way out since we meandered and picked berries.  It took awhile to get back and involved hills that hadn't seemed like much on the way down.  When we got back Evie and I wanted to head for the beach to walk some more.  While I was in the bathroom she got distracted by the rowboat on the lawn.  The vote was unanimous to sit there and enjoy the sun while we could.  David, Natalie and Thorsten worked their way up to us from the beach.  Natalie and Thorsten had been trying to get a picture of a fish jumping while David trash talked.  While we chatted we lost the sun so I convinced Evie to head to the beach for a walk.  It didn't take long before she was cold and hungry so headed in.  I turned and headed for the spit.  Ulli and Renee were headed my way so I waited for them.  Along the way we saw a bald eagle in a tree above us.  A bit later we saw it move into a tree near by.  Ulli had seen juveniles earlier so we started watching for them.  Down the beach a ways we found three juveniles lined up in a tree.  As we walked past, one moved into the nest.  I have some photos, but since they match the nest it's hard to see them.  We went a bit further before turning around for dinner.

What a delicious dinner.  We had salmon, a broccoli egg casserole, potatoes, salad and bread.  For dessert we had a yummy rhubarb cake.  Some of us had a manners discussion at lunch so they laughed when David requested the pepper and I also gave him the salt.  We had to explain that was one of those things we had been taught as kids, that they get passed together.

Earlier today we ended up playing musical tents.  Evie and I had dumped our stuff in the 4 person tent near the beach.  Ulli had put hers in the 3 person tent.  When the fishing group showed up both Renee and Mary put their stuff in the 3 person tent.  I never did see the tent but it sounded like 3 was really a crowd.  Ulli ended up bringing her stuff back to the 4 person tent to hang out with me and Evie.

After dinner we enjoyed the main room.  Some people were on laptops, others chilled and Thorsten beat Mary repeatedly at chess.  We also got two great quotes from our wall from Thorsten.  My favorite was when he said, "If I zoom (his camera) and you zoom on my display and Renee zooms on your display, then maybe we can see Russia."  It was also entertaining to see David rocking out to the heavy metal someone pulled up on their phone while wearing a granny blanket on his lap.  We had a nice, relaxing evening.  Tomorrow is kayaking.  Praying the weather is gorgeous again.

View from our tent

Evie enjoying some sun in the rowboat

Day 15-
I finally slept past 3:30am.  I didn't make it to the alarm but it was an improvement.  I love sleeping in a platform tent.  It was cloudy when we got up but seemed like it would be okay for kayaking.  Evie and I finally dragged ourselves out of bed about 20 minutes before breakfast.  We had fruit, cereal, toast and hard boiled eggs.  It was all yummy and filling for our active morning.  Before we left I "killed" Thorsten by giving him bug spray  while he was eating.  I had gotten my bottle of spray back from Ulli for a few minutes and put on a drop while telling him that I was getting eaten so he might need some.  I think it was too early for him to be thinking about whether I was up to something.  Now it's just me and Natalie left in the game.  I have to kill her with a cup or glass in the back locker of the truck.  So I have a day to figure out how to do that.  Renee had such a look of glee when she saw me walk in with the bug spray this morning.  We had discussed yesterday what I had to do to get Thorsten.  So now I refuse to tell anyone how I have to get Natalie.

At nine we met Kyle out at the boathouse to get gear.  Evie decided to partner up with Renee this time.  I immediately turned around and asked Natalie to be my partner (she had been Renee's canoe buddy).  That left David and Ulli together again and Mary with Thorsten.  Mary Jane also joined us for our kayak adventure.  All three days that involved paddle trips it has been fun to watch David and Ulli as partners.  He sits in the back to steer and she does the majority of the paddling.  And they still are ahead of most of us.  Doing most of the work does not seem to bother Ulli.  I think it keeps her from going crazy if we are going too slow.  It was drizzling as we left but not too bad.  We followed the shoreline for a bit before they made a decision on where to go next.  Mary Jane was telling us about the Marine Bio class at the NOAA facility we kayaked past that is for high school teachers.  It is offered by UofA Fairbanks.  I definitely have to tell Nora (my favorite h.s. science teacher with a marine bio degree) about that and the organization Renee will work with in Indonesia.

After that they decided that since it was calm on the bay that we would cut across the bay to an island 3 miles away.  Going across didn't seem so bad and went quickly.  When we reached the other side the end of the island was a high rock wall with red rock worked through it.  We worked around that end of the island enjoying eagle sightings, sea otters and coves with cave cut outs.  It was starting to rain again so we opted to take a quick pee break and head back to camp for lunch.  (Side note, we had packed our lunch along with us and it was stored in the kayak with me and Natalie.  Made things seem heavier on the way back.)  We pulled up on a beach and went to find a tree.  Natalie and I were back in our kayak quickly, but had to wait for the others.  I opted for my green windbreaker today, which was very wet, but at least this trip I was mostly warm.  We worked our way around the whole island before we could cut back across toward camp.  It was raining a bit harder but not a downpour.  Getting back seemed to take way longer than going over.  Isn't that always the way?  Natalie and I had a nice chat with Kyle.  I had him point out which dot on the shore was our goal.  Turned out the easiest thing to spot was our tent near shore.  We asked how long our total kayak trip would have been and Kyle decided 9+ miles.  We rounded it up to 10 miles.

Fun kayak trip

When we returned to shore and had taken our gear up I ran for dry clothes in our tent before lunch.  The bottom half of my layers were mostly dry, but the top half was soaked like in Valdez.  Lunch was salmon salad sandwiches, very yummy.  After lunch five of us headed into Seldovia for a bit.  This involved us climbing that hill up to the road again.  Killer work out.  Kyle drove us into town and showed us the highlights before letting us out at the historic boardwalk.  There is only a small portion left after the 1964 earthquake.  From there we walked over to the Native Association Visitor Center that has a small museum.  It had some interesting displays about the history of the area, people, marine life, etc.  It also talked about the 1964 earthquake and how much they lost from that.  I really enjoyed the display of native dolls.  By the time I finished in there I had lost the rest of the group.  I wandered past the little craft market and headed toward Tribal Cache at the other end of the town.  I couldn't resist buying some salmonberry jelly, fireweed jelly and some postcards.  I'm a little nervous about the fireweed since that is a flower.  The young man working there said they were good.  He was chatty and funny.  Guessing he is still in high school.  Kyle told us that K-12 has 40 students.  I can't imagine a school that small.  From there I walked back toward the middle of town snapping some photos on the way.  Everyone else was already at Perry's Cafe.  I ordered a drink to take with me as we headed back to camp.

Seldovia view from the boardwalk

Natalie was nice enough to let me use her laptop to check email when we got back.  I had over 300 to clean out.  There was some good news that I had received a scholarship to cover registration for the NACWAA Convention in San Diego this October.  Everyone from my IAA class last year in Denver was emailing about meeting up for dinner when we got to San Diego.  I'm glad I can go this year.  After checking emails I went over to check Facebook.  That's when I got a shock.  One of my closest friends from college had a status about her mom passing away during the Perseid meteor showers.  She decided that her Mom had ridden a shooting star to heaven where she was met by loved ones with a cocktail party.  Now every August we can wave as the meteor shower passes.  It was a lovely way to put it, but hard to find out that my New York Mom was no longer with us.  I met my friend and her family on move in day freshman year at Towson University.  Over the next four years they became my East Coast family.  There were quite a few weekends or holidays during those years when they took me in.  I have been fortunate to find myself on Long Island the past two summers to visit with my New York family.  I am even more grateful now that I had that time with them.  Future visits won't be the same without my New York Mom.  I finished up online and went back to the tent to call my friend.  I was not much good in being supportive, I ended up a crying mess as soon as she answered the phone.  She held it together better than I did.  She had sent me a Facebook email shortly after I got to Alaska telling me to call when I got home since the news about the tests had not been good.  I didn't see it until today after I saw her status.  I was told you could see her Mom decline by the hour after the test results came back.  She had passed away Monday morning and the funeral was Wednesday since Thursday was a Holy Day.  We chatted and cried for awhile before she had to go.  I was amazed that my friend hadn't wanted to call and leave me the news while I was in Alaska alone.  Here I wanted to be supportive of her and she was taking care of me.  I never thought to consider myself alone since I had made such great friends on this trip.

I managed to get myself back to the main building for dinner without letting on to what had happened.  I was still trying to process everything.  Dinner was delicious again.  We had chicken with artichokes, rhubarb chutney, cooked veggies, bread and Spanish rice.  For dessert we had a spice cake that was divine.  We sat around the table chatting for awhile afterward.  It was nice to be full, warm and relaxed.  When I moved into the main room David came by and I asked for a hug.  He knew something was wrong so I told him the news.  After giving me a big hug he sat down and talked to me for a bit.  I am definitely not alone on this trip, I have old friends and new friends around me.

Tonight we all picked out one favorite photo from the trip and Natalie posted them as a contest on Facebook.  I chose my kayak photo, Thorsten submitted an eagle shot, Evie used her sea lions on the buoy, Renee gave a glacier hike photo, Mary's was of sunlight over a lake and Ulli opted to use her sunset photo from MacLaren.  It was fun with all the debate on which one we should use.  Some of the group members have been playing games at the table while the rest of us lounged around relaxing or writing.  Tony made us popcorn which was perfect.  I really love this stop just for a chance to chill.  I think everyone needs to stop here for a visit with Tony and Mary Jane.

Thorsten trying for another jumping fish shot

Tomorrow is our last full day before the trip ends Sunday.  We lose Ulli when we get back to Homer.  She is off to McNeill to spend 3 or 4 days viewing the bears up close.  We are all a little jealous and sad to see her go.  She won a lottery to have this opportunity.  It sounds amazing.  Tomorrow is also Renee's birthday.  I believe we will do lots of celebrating.

17 Days of So Much Fun- Valdez and Seward

 Day 10-
Today was sea kayaking and a cook day for me and Thorsten.  We talked him into a simple dinner when we went shopping.  Our suggestion was beef stew since it would be warm and filling after a day of sea kayaking.  Thorsten kept saying he didn't know how to make beef stew.  I think we ruined his life when we pointed out that it came in a can and made him buy it.  For breakfast it was chocolate croissants and cereal for the early risers.  Lunch was a sandwich, so I donated trail mix and chips to the cause.  Then David, Ulli, Evie and I headed out for sea kayaking.

It was looking to be another rainy day.  At Pangaea we got ourselves waivered and paid for, then went out to meet Meg and Zach who would be our guides.  It appears I don't know my foot size for boots, but the 3rd try was the charm.  They also tried a couple jackets before they found one not already really wet.  We also had to pull on our kayak "skirts" and lifejackets to make sure it all fit.  Then they take you for a bathroom break.  Meg encouraged us to leave it all on so we wouldn't forget anything.  I think it is really for the entertainment of everyone up early enough to see us walking around like that.  At least the rubber boots were more comfy than the ice climbing boots, just not that warm.

Eventually everyone in both groups was ready so we headed over to the boat that would take us all out.  Tim was our captain and gave us a safety talk as well as an explanation on how to use a marine head for a toilet.  Then we were off.  At least for a few minutes.  Then some debris got caught in the system and took awhile for Tim to get it out.  On the way out we saw a huge waterfall, 3 eagles and some sea otters.  When we reached the cove where we would land we were greeted by a bunch of sea otters in groups.  David thinks he counted about 30.  I opted to say we saw "lots" or "a shit ton".  (So for anyone wondering, a shit ton of otters is approximately 30.  A shit ton of trees would need to be a much higher #.)  They were cute and we enjoyed watching them as we slowly slipped past them.  I loved their faces as they watched us go by.  We all unloaded and got out of the way of the guides as they got the boats and other gear down.  All three of us girls opted to find a tree before we were stuck in a kayak with no bathroom.

Loved all the waterfalls we saw in this region.

The welcome committee.

 Before we could head out, Zach had to show us how to paddle, get in and out, what to do if we flipped out and how to seal ourselves in.  Then it was finally time to pick a kayak and get in.  Evie and I went with a turquoise kayak, with her in charge of steering.  She had some issues with her pedals, so it was a few minutes before we could leave.  Zach was nice enough to sponge the rain off my seat for me.  It was still raining so I was hunkered down in my coat and life jacket.  I had on long underwear, rain pants, smartwool socks, UA base layer top, UA 3/4 zip shirt, rain jacket, winter hat on and hood up.  It was still chilly.  At one point David said I looked like a turtle.  I told him that if I had a shell I'd be in it.  Don't get me wrong, sea kayaking was great.  I was just cold.  Our trip started out near a cool waterfall before taking us by some huge and very blue ice bergs from the Columbia glacier.  (Sadly, I put my camera in the dry bag but didn't situate it for easy access, so no photos while we were on the water.  On the bright side, there was no chance my dry bag would float away if we flipped.)  Due to the fog and clouds we couldn't actually see the glacier.  But we did see some harbor seals checking us out.  Zach kept checking up on us and told me to let him know if I hit extremely cold levels.  While we were in the ice berg field we stopped for lunch.  Our fabulous guides provided us with hot chocolate and tea.  It helped enough that I was able to get myself to eat my sandwich and a Snickers I threw in my bag.  I attempted to find a spot for a bathroom break and discovered a beautiful view of two really blue ice bergs behind where we had stopped.

Warming up at lunchtime.

 After lunch I was still cold but marginally more upbeat about it.  We were entertained watching David and Ulli going in circles while we waited for all the kayaks to be loaded.  Evie thought she left her water bottle on shore so we headed back in, but it wasn't there.  She eventually remembered it was in the hold behind her.  It was taking forever to load the family that was in our group, so somehow David and I got into a debate on how athletes are portrayed based on their gender.  No recollection on how that started.  I think in the end it was decided that we would agree to disagree.

Evie bundled up for kayaking.

I found it possible to smile after warming up some.

 We spent a bit more time in the ice berg field before heading toward our pick up location.  The size of some of the ice bergs was amazing.  Zach told us that we should look at how high an ice berg sat above the water and then stay double that distance away from them in case they rolled over.  Sometimes that was kind of hard to do.  Fortunately, none of them chose to roll while we were in the area.  It would have been interesting to see how far we could have gotten with a smaller group.  I think Ulli was ready to kayak back to Valdez.  On the way to the pick up location the tide was coming in, so our guides were able to show us the "secret passage".  It is only visible to kayak when the tide is high.  It was really pretty even in the rain.  The passage is between the main land and an island.  The high tide allowed us to paddle down between the two pieces of land.  Everything was so green and there were some little waterfalls.  We kept hoping to see bears but none showed up before we had to turn back.  I enjoyed how peaceful it was as we headed back out.  Evie and I hung back a bit to enjoy it longer.  Then it was time to head for a nearby beach so Tim could pick us up.  They sent all of us onto the boat so they could load the kayaks.  It was a nice feeling to take off the wet layers.  Even with the rain coat we were soaked past the elbows.

Loved the color on a gray day.

 On the way back everyone was huddled down for warmth, snacking and sleeping.  I saw another bald eagle and closer to home we saw 3 sea lions on a buoy.  Two of them were huge and one looked more seal size.  I enjoyed the mountain and fog contrasts even though you couldn't see much of the mountains.  It was also fun to watch for more waterfalls.  When we got back to Valdez we returned our gear, thanked Meg and Zach and headed for our camp.  Since both of our guides today have ties to SLC I told them to look me up if they are in the area.

Some lazy sea lions.

 Thorsten was just setting up to make the stew when we got back to camp.  That was fine by us since we all wanted hot showers.  It was so nice to be warm again.  For dinner we had beef stew or chicken noodle soup, salad and bread.  But the Germans took exception to it being called French bread or even bread.  David told me not to bother arguing with them.  I tried to explain that we bastardize all good things when it reaches our shores, but they still wouldn't call it bread.  I've been invited to Germany to learn what real bread is like.  I guess I have a lot to learn about Germans, that was the last group I would have expected to object about something like bread.  After dinner I did dishes with Ulli drying.  I was able to use the outside sink with hot water which was lovely.  Good thing since we'd been left with the breakfast dishes as well.  Apparently going sea kayaking doesn't get you out of dishes.

The rest of the night was spent hanging out and trying to get things dry in the heat of the laundry room.  Ever since our hike in Denali members of the group would break out singing "I Will Follow Him".  At first they thought it was a religious song.  Then I realized what chorus they were singing and starting singing the rest of the song for them.  That's when we realized what it was.  Evie finally looked it up on Youtube so we could get all the words.  I think someone should use it for karaoke in Seward.

Day 11-
We had a very early start today.  Mine was even earlier due to some loud noise at 3:30am.  It sounded like someone took a large rock to a metal stake.  It only rang out once, but it was super loud.  I felt like I sat straight up in bed from a deep sleep, if only mentally.  Then at 4am the idiot next to us started telling a story about losing his cell phone.  At one point he said sorry for being so loud, but kept on going.  The other tour group was also up and packing their stuff at 5am.  It was actually a relief to have the alarm go off at 5:30am.  Mary and I quickly took the very down the very wet tent.  Once again, our group was on time or within a minute of our departure time.  Even more impressive today considering the early start and weather conditions.  Fortunately, what had sounded like a lot of rain from inside our tent, wasn't too bad when you got out.

The lighting of sun through clouds hitting mountains on the way out was gorgeous.  Definitely made it worth the early start.  I got a couple of good photos through the windows.  David stopped at Thompson Pass for those of us awake.  Evie swears she sat up long enough to take a few pictures. Hard to be sure since she looked very passed out by the time we got back on the bus.  Natalie, David, Ulli and I all got out and enjoyed the gorgeous views we had missed due to rain on the way in to Valdez.  It was a better day for seeing the mountains, even if some were still missing the tops in the clouds.  While we were standing there David told me that this is where they did extreme or heli skiing in the winter.  I jokingly asked if I was looking at a Warren Miller movie.  I found out when I returned to work that one of my athletes had been injured at Thompson pass while filming a segment for a Warren Miller movie.  What were the odds my comment would be so true?

Sunrise through the windshield.

Thompson Pass- love how clear our shadows were.

We had some different stops along the way today.  There was a breakfast stop, but I had already eaten a leftover chocolate croissant, so I just grabbed a banana.  While we were in Glenallen we stopped near the IGA again.  (Still forgot to get a photo.)  I took advantage of that stop to hit the Wells Fargo and use a restroom.  While I waited on the others to be ready I stood outside and enjoyed the sun.  Coming down the road toward us was a whole line of cars.  It seemed odd since Glenallen isn't that big of a town.  I realized that it was a military convoy passing by us.  I stood there and waved to all of them.  Some even waved back.  We also stopped for a photo and restroom break at a state park with a glacier view.  A guy in the parking lot greeted Ulli and me when we got out.  She commented on how nice everyone in the USA seems to be and how we take the time to say hi.  I told her that isn't normal everywhere, but I detected he had a southern accent.  Turned out he was a southerner on a mission (religious).  I think Natalie almost sold him Atka, but he didn't have her asking price in cash on hand.  Our truck is way more comfy than most of the vans we see people using for their trips.

I just love that this is the DMV in Glenallen.

We stopped for lunch by the Knik River outside of Anchorage.  It was pretty with some fog rolling across it.  While lunch was being prepared I called mom to catch up on the news.  I also wanted her advice.  We didn't really come up with answers, but I have some ideas.  I also found out there are fires in Utah, so maybe I'll just stay here when the trip ends.

Pretty place to stop for lunch.

By the time we reached Anchorage I needed sleep.  I did rouse myself for the beluga whale searching, but did not see any.  We stopped at a view point for a few minutes.  I enjoy the history lessons we have been finding at the different view spots.  Just before Seward we stopped once more to see a Salmon Weir, which is where they collect the eggs to help stock other areas.  We saw salmon but no bears.

Our campsite in Seward is more open than Valdez since we are up front in a grassy area.  Across the drive is the water.  W also have close proximity to the shower house.  It's a little less wet than Valdez so we popped up the tents and wiped them out.  Glad there wasn't video of me scooting around the tent on my knees, pants pulled up to my thighs and my feet up so I wouldn't get dirt on my pants or add any from my shoes.  It looks a little better in our tent now.  Mary and I always struggle getting the top cross pole in at the end.  So this time I suggested we start with that pole in and then add the side poles.  So much easier!  Glad those future problem solving classes paid off.  It only took us four camp sites to figure it out.

Since we spent all day in the truck we had voted to go out for dinner.  We went to a place voted to have the best Halibut.  It was out of my budget, but Renee gave me a bite of hers.  When we were choosing a table they said we could have one closer to the tv but Natalie said no.  Normally that would be fine with me, but they had preseason football on.  Didn't even know I was missing football until I saw it.  I sat at the end of our table so I could turn that direction and check the score.  I got the turkey sandwich special with the salmon chowder.  The chowder was so good, I highly recommend it.

After dinner some of the group went straight to the Yukon bar while the rest of us went to walk off dinner with David.  As we started walking we realized no one had seen Mary go with the other group.  David texted Natalie to see if she was with them, but she wasn't.  As we started up the hill she joined us, so at least she found us after making a stop in one of the shops.  We headed to Wells Fargo for those that needed an ATM before returning to the bar for karaoke night.  We had a good spot thanks to our early arrivals.  Natalie and Thorsten went up to do a song in German but ended up with the English lyrics.  Natalie sang it in German anyway, but Thorsten just looked lost.  David went up and did a good job with Folsom Prison Blues.  I tried to talk him into "Baby Got Back" without success.  Some people were good, some were great, some were bad and others were painful.  Overall it was fun and loud.  When David said that Ulli wanted to go, I opted to go too.  Not sure why since the campsites on either side of us were still going strong.  I put my headphones on and tried to drown it all out.  Still need some sleep.

* I didn't make note of it in my journal, but I think today is the day Natalie introduced us to the truck murder game.  Everyone had to pick a name, then an object and then a location.  We are supposed to "murder" the person we drew by getting them to take the object from us.  Once you kill them off they have to give you their person/object/location.  If they had you, then you end up committing "suicide" and are out of the game.  I was very tired when we were told about this so I was not super excited.  Maybe someone will kill me off early.  It could be interesting to see how it turns out.

Day 12-
I couldn't sleep very well so I decided not to fight it and got up early to shower.  The showers at this site take tokens.  Each token is worth 2 minutes.  I managed to shower with only 2 tokens, but did let a minute go by with no water running.  I tried to hurry since I knew a line was forming.  When I headed back to the truck I saw Mary standing in the middle of the tents looking half asleep.  As I opened truck door I asked her what she was doing.  She said she couldn't get in the truck.  I guess we had never shown her where the key was hidden.  Then she said we would be having cereal since Renee wasn't up yet.  (Mary and I were not the cooks in our cook groups.  Fortunately we had talented partners.)  I wasn't sure what time it was but felt sure it was still early.  We figured out that she thought breakfast was an hour earlier than it was supposed to be.  When I told her otherwise she went back to our tent.  I decided to use the quiet time to catch up on writing.

David and Natalie dropped us off near the tour office and told us to meet them at 11am.  It gave us about 80 minutes to wander.  I made a loop to check out shops and then circled back for purchases.  Mostly I bought postcards and then a moose ornament for my tree.  There was an ornament that would have been the perfect souvenir for Thorsten and some of the others, an ornament that looked like a 6 pack of Alaskan Amber beer.  I also made sure to stop at the Nat'l Park center for my stamp.  I fell in love with the books, "Alaska's Three Pigs" and "The Salmon Princess: An Alaskan Cinderella Story".  I managed to talk myself out of getting them for my nieces, at least for now.  It only worked until we got back from the cruise when I talked myself into getting them as Christmas presents.  As luck would have it, the Nat'l Park center didn't take AmEx so I took it as a sign that I wasn't supposed to get the books right now.

We lined up early for our cruise and I had a nice chat with the people behind us.  I can hear my sister saying that is so typical of me.  When we boarded our group headed up top and grabbed a table together.  Of course as soon as we started out most of us were outside to see things.  We did the half day so we started out with lunch right off the bat.  We did get to see some Harbor seals on the way.  There was even a really young pup, so cute.  We also saw some eagles on the way in for the landing.  The all you can eat salmon and prime rib buffet at Fox Island was really good.  There was a ranger named Jenny who did a presentation on the area.  Thorsten took a shine to her, so he was disappointed it was so short.  Natalie went to talk to her and introduced the two so Thorsten could get a photo with Ranger Jenny.  I swear while standing in the buffet line I saw an eagle swooping down, but can't prove it either way.  After lunch we took silly photos with the orca cut out and went to try skipping rocks since they have a beach full of the perfect stones for it.  Mine went plop but David had some good ones.  I enjoyed listening to the waves hitting the stones on the beach.  It reminded me of high tide in Nice, France.  Eventually it was time to head back to the ship.  I drew David for our truck murder game and I was supposed to kill him with a stone while on water.  Sadly, I didn't fully understand the rules on how you let them know they were dead.  So I used the skipping stones as a way to let him get used to me asking him if he could skip different stones.  I did hand him one while we were on the dock (on water) but didn't tell him he was dead that time.  Still hoping someone kills me before I have to finish this.

The after lunch portion of our trip was nice.  We saw more harbor seals, some sea lions, more birds than you can imagine and lots of pretty coves.  It had cleared up a fair bit so we had some good views.  David really wanted to see a whale.  Not that I blamed him, I love seeing whales.  Most of our group was hoping for an Orca.  We had come up with some pretty impressive ideas of what we'd like to see the Orca doing and projected it in hopes it would happen.  I got the impression David might consider our day a failure if we didn't see some whale.  Fortunately, another boat told us of a whale sighting, so we got to see a humpback.  No breech or tail flip, but it was cool to see.  I loved the puffins and the scenery along the way.  It was a really lovely trip.  On the way back everyone went inside except me and Ulli.  We chatted quite a bit.  I think I'd like traveling on some of the trips she has done, but I'd never be able to keep up with her.

Harbor Seals- smallest to the right is a baby.

Puffins- The tall and the short of it

When we got back to shore, some of the group wanted a coffee stop.  They chose a shop near the Cover to Cover bookstore, so I ran in there.  She didn't take AmEx either, which probably saved me.  There were quite a few Stabenow books available and I would have wanted to buy the ones missing from my colleciton.  The woman working there explained to me about the first publisher not letting Stabenow reprint, so there is a fight over the rights.  That's why it's hard to get the early books.  (Which will make it that much more fun for Katie to replace my copy of the 1st in the series if she doesn't find the one she borrowed.)

Since it wasn't our cook night I took my postcards to the campsite office porch.  I had addressed them before the cruise, but needed to write them.  It was nice to sit on the porch in a rocking chair with a great view.  I had to remind myself to look up every so often.  Later I returned to our site to write and watch David cook.  Thorsten just can't help himself and started helping when David walked away for a moment.  Earlier Renee had questioned everything and made some fun faces at David.  After the BBQ success, you would think that she would have more faith in David's cooking.  After awhile we noticed that the fishing group had come in and were displaying the catch over at Miller's Landing.  Evie said she was too lazy to go.  A few minutes later David noticed and pointed out there were different fish than yesterday.  Some of us decided to go see after all.  As we walked away I asked if this is how he gets rid of volunteer cooks.  There were rock fish (red snapper), salmon and a huge halibut.  they were measuring the halibut when we were there and it was 68 inches long.  I'm only 60 inches!  Don't think I've ever seen a fish that big before.

My view while writing postcards.

68 inch Halibut.

Dinner was burritos and David was nice enough to make some of the meat as non-spicy for wimps like me.  They were delicious of course.  After helping Mary dry dishes, I sat at the picnic table to write and listen to conversations around the campfire.  And of course watching the marshmallow roasting is always fun.  I had one s'more but got the stake crackers.  It was Evie's first time having more than just the marshmallow.  I told her they are better when the cracker is not soft.  David went and got a fresh box.  When the colors on the mountains got nice I walked over to the table by the water to take photos and enjoy it.  Very pretty clouds coming in across the water and mountains.  It was amazing how fast the fog moved in as the sun set.  I enjoyed the view for awhile and then went back to sit with Ulli and Natalie.  We ended up getting into a great debate over what should be called bread.  We also discussed the random things they throw into salads.  Things like cottage cheese that I wouldn't have considered.  I believe after all that we are still friends.  Just firmly established that I have no food knowledge or appreciation.