In-Law Invasion: Part II

Blogging here in Alaska has been a bit of a challenge at times. There is always so much to see, do, and experience that I almost don't want stop and sit at the computer. Fortunately, today is a lazy, rainy day that gives me the perfect excuse to document everything that's been going on. Most notably, we just hosted our second set of visitors, Mom and Pop Funk. If I tried to recite everything they did during their 3 weeks here in Alaska two things would happen:
1) I'd get a notice from Blogger saying I'm using too much of their web space.
2) Mom Funk would get heart palpitations and likely pass out after reliving their Alaskan expedition.

For the sake of my mother-in-law's health I'm going to stick to the highlights.

The Funks arrived in Anchorage and immediately went to Denali National Park. They had a great experience there, hiking, viewing wildlife, learning about dog sledding, and generally enjoying the beauty of Alaska's signature National Park. Unfortunately the weather did not allow for an unobstructed view of Mt. McKinley, but as their trip proved, there's more to Denali than just seeing the mountain.

When they were finished playing up north, Amanda and I met them in Anchorage so we could bring them to Homer.

The Funks reunited in Anchorage

The drive south was rainy (as most days were during their time in Alaska), but even in poor conditions it is always spectacular to drive alongside the Cook Inlet, Kenai River, and upper Aleutian mountain range.

Mom and Pop survive the trip to Homer

Since we can't control the weather, the only thing we guaranteed was that the Funks would be well fed. There are plenty of great restaurants here in Homer, plus Amanda and I put together a pretty solid menu. Pop, being a vegetarian, lived on a steady diet of toast for breakfast and salmon for dinner. The only time it was a problem was when he was forced to have toast for dinner at an Anchorage diner. That was a sad situation.

Between feedings we did our best to balance entertaining our guests and being productive at work. Luckily our work schedule allowed at least one of us to be be a tour guide, taxi driver, or hiking buddy. It was our mission to give Mom and Pop true insight into all Homer has to offer so they can better understand why we love this place so much.

The rain did clear out enough on the weekends to allow for two excellent adventures. First, we booked a float plane trip to Lake Clark National Park. This is the least visited National Park in the entire Park System, but is where Dick Proenneke's wilderness cabin is located. If you are unfamiliar with Dick Proenneke, I highly recommend checking out the book One Man's Wilderness or the video documentary Alone in the Wilderness (Part I & II). Hopefully his story inspires you in the same way we were. Here is a link if you'd like some more information: http://www.dickproenneke.com/.

I cannot express how incredible of an experience this trip was. It is right up there with climbing Mt. St. Helen's. It was that awesome. There is something to be said for entering an area without roads, shops, or civilization of any kind. It allows you to feel one with nature. It also gave us a better appreciation for what Dick Proenneke was able to accomplish than the movies or books ever could. There were so many great pictures and moments from that trip that I decided to summarize them in a video. If pictures are worth a thousand words, be thankful I did a video instead of writing about it all!

Our other fair weather trip was across Kachemak Bay for a hike to Glacier Lake. Even before we got to Homer, people have been telling us the Glacier Lake trail needs to be on our "to do" list. After taking a water taxi across the bay, we set out on an easy to moderate 5+ mile hike. After making your way from the beach, through the forest, and across the bush, you find yourself at the base of Grewingk Glacier, a massive sheet of ice which extends off of the Harding Icefield in the Kenai Mountains. As the glacier has receded it created a lake that it now calves into. When you arrive here, you can immediately feel the cool air blowing off the snow and ice, see the icebergs floating in the frigid water, and can climb on the rock faces previously chiseled out by the movement of the glacier.

Grewingk Glacier in all its glory

We finished up our Homer outings with a halibut fishing trip and family golf outing. The fishing wasn't great, especially considering we are in the "Halibut fishing capital of the world" but Pop and I did each come away with a delicious halibut.

Yes, we ate them for dinner

Despite a poor showing on the fishing trip, I think that was still more successful than the golf outing. While it was a ton of fun to be playing golf with glaciers in the background, we all played very, very poorly. Pop, who is an avid golfer won, but was none too pleased with his score. I would like to think that the scenic backdrop distracted us, but if you ask Mom Funk, she'll tell you that we were too busy laughing at her swings and misses to concentrate on our own shots.

Multiple distractions lead to bad scores

Our last night in Homer was a time to party as Mom Funk's birthday was approaching. She and Pop would be flying out on her actual birthday so we decided to have a little celebration of our own a couple days early. Two Sisters Bakery provided the cake, we provided the entertainment. Clearly the cake was the highlight!

Happy Birthday Mom!

After two weeks of Alaskan action, we had one last stop to make. The Alaskan State Fair was calling our names. Each year this fair is held in Palmer, AK, a city northeast of Anchorage. After driving to Anchorage (with a layover at Girdwood's luxurious Hotel Alyeska), we boarded the Alaskan Railroad headed for Palmer. We spent the day browsing the vendors, eating scrumptious fair fare, and following a bluegrass band from venue to venue. The main attraction though is the over-sized produce display. Despite a short growing season, the near constant sunlight of the summer months yields gigantic, mutant looking vegetables. For example, there was a pumpkin that weighed over 1200 pounds and a 92 pound cabbage. That's a heck of a lot of pumpkin pie and sauerkraut!

Big, BIG veggies!

With everyone successfully exhausted, we said our goodbyes and sent Mom and Pop on their way back to PA. It was once again great to have them stay with us and experience firsthand this crazy life we lead. We appreciate their love and support so much and sincerely enjoy having them be a part of this journey.

Speaking of our journey, we have officially decided we will not be spending the winter in Alaska. We definitely debated seeing what an Alaskan winter would be like, but in order to stick to our two year plan of travelling we decided we'll move on at the end of October. We don't know where we're headed, but are looking for something in the southern half of the U.S. That could mean Arizona, or it could mean Virginia. Only time will tell. As we know more we will keep you informed, but for now we are just going to enjoy the rest of our time in the last frontier. Starting with today's lazy, rainy day.