ALASKA....FOR REAL!!

Monday morning came and we flew to Seattle then to Juneau and then to Gustavus without a hitch!  A much easier time than Saturday.

Here's a shot of Gustavus as we were flying in.  There had been lots of rain.

This is the Country Inn Lodge where we stayed for the week.  It is a really cute place with surrounding cabins and a big rec room and a movie theater room.  I really loved all of the hanging plants.  they were full and beautiful!

 Rick and Sunnie telling fish stories around the fire pit:)

Tuesday was Independence Day so while the boys went off fishing for the day we got to go into town and see the parade.  It was definitely a hometown parade!  It was a very rainy day so everyone was in their rain gear and rubber boots.  If you live in Gustavus, AK rain boots are a must!

The funniest float was a bunch of girl dressed as Vegas showgirls.  Their sign said "Viva Gustavus"!  As the girls walked by they handed out candy cigarettes and press on tattoos.  Really crazy!!

                        I loved this photo op!

Also, these usable retro gas pumps.

My new Gustavus friend.

On Wednesday the Titmus family had two boats going out to Elfin Cove.  I tagged along.  It was a two hour boat ride.  On the way to Elfin Cove we stopped by Sea Lion Rock.  The sea lions were not lounging on the rock as expected put swimming in the waters looking for lunch.  there were LOTS of them. 

Elfin Cove is a beautiful community just on the outskirts of the open ocean.  It's far enough in that the waters are still calm.

              My big purchase of the trip was an Elfin Cove beanie!

A black bear in the distance.

When Rick got back from fishing that evening we took the bikes into town.  I had been WAITING to ride the bikes with someone.  I almost went on my own but chickened out when I got to the edge of the forest.  I was frightened of the bears.  Thankfully I got more courage with Rick riding with me.  We had a nice time seeing the sights of Gustavus!

At the 4th of July festivities on Tuesday they had a slow bike race.  We decided to try it.  The rules are to go as slow as you can without falling over or touching the ground.  It's not so easy:)

 
On Thursday I joined the Titmuses again and got on a big boat going out into Glacier Bay National Park.  We were with about 100 other people.  We left out of Bartlett Cove and were gone the whole day.  We got to see four grizzly bears, mountain goats, eagles, sea lions, puffins, and whales.  We saw a number of glaciers but this one was the biggest.  It is called Marjorie Glacier and was massive!  There were lots of icebergs in the water and it was pretty cool sight to see.

Me with part of the Titmus family.

While we were seeing the Park the guys had a good day fishing!

We had pretty good meals served up each night at the Country Inn Lodge.  Some of the items we were served up were......tri tip, smoked chicken, shrimp, crab, ribs......all kinds of yummy food!

Friday was our last day at the lodge.  The guys got a good half day of fishing in and brought in A LOT of fish that day.  Shalane and I took a bike ride over to the plane wreck.  Back in 1959 a National Guard plane went down with eleven people on board.  Seven were saved with the help of the good citizens of Gustavus.  The plane wreckage is still there.  Shalane got it right when she said, "It feels kind of eery."  The forest was very quiet (besides us talking) and it was sad to think of what occurred that night.

The guys on their last day out.  It was a successful day!

While I did not get a picture of our group (except at the dinner table) this is the whole Titmus group.  I'm really glad they let me tag along with them throughout the week!

ALASKA....not quite!

Last Saturday we were scheduled to catch a flight to Seattle than on to Juneau then on to Gustavus where we would spend a week.  Rick fishing with the guys and me hanging out with the Titmus family.  

We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare and got on the flight without any trouble.  After the plane pulled away from the gate we sat on the tarmac for an hour.  At that point the  captain came on and said that they were having trouble with the pressurization system.  We then pulled up to the gate and disembarked.  After a while and some confusion it was made known to us that a part was being sent in to fix the plane.  It was going to be a couple of hours and we were unsure of when we could get out of there.  In the meantime rick was on the phone with Alaska Airlines trying to get us on another flight.  We needed to be in Seattle in time to get on our connecting flight.  Our layover in Seattle was three hours.  If we did not get on that flight we would not be able to get into Juneau until Monday.  At that point we settled back hoping that the plane would be fixed in time.

After a couple of hours they said the plane was ready.  Really??  We thought we were still waiting for the part to arrive.  We all got back on the flight only to have the same exact thing happen.  Pulled away from the gate and sat for 45 minutes.  Still a problem:(  We knew at that point that we were not going to get to Gustavus (our final destination until Monday afternoon.)  It was a real bummer.

Rick and I decided that we would NOT go back home but spend the night in town and have some fun!  An old broken down plane wasn't gonna put us out!  We ended up going to PF Changs for dinner and then spending the night at Anniversary Inn.  It was great!

Rick on the phone trying to get us to Seattle.  (Two phones to his ear.....talking to two different agents!)  LOL

Chicken Lo Mein, Sweet and Sour Pork and Walnut Shrimp.  Need I say more?

We stayed in the English Manor on the first floor.

         Love the breakfast that comes in the morning!

Sunday morning we just enjoyed our room and breakfast and watch a special patriotic Music and the Spoken Word.

Complete with stirring music and video.  Yes,  I cried!

I love America!

            Dressed in Sunday best ready for church.

We attended an inner city ward with a lot of diversity.  After church we stopped to visit Rick's sister Robin and her husband Ken.  Then we went to visit Shirley Barber who is in our ward and who has recently suffered a stroke.  After visiting we got home to an empty house (the kids were visiting in-laws) and made an impromptu dinner.

We were excited for the morning to come and to get off to Alaska!

Father's Day, The Phelps Reunion and Other June Happenings

This years Phelps Reunion was hosted by Brent an Lar.  Since Robin has been so sick and unable to plan a put on a reunion thee two stepped up and planned it all.  We had a really nice time.  It seems that this year's reunion was pretty small with only about seventy people but it was nice to visit with all who DID come:)

Brent, Rick, Dennis, Brad, and Hal

Jenni, Dalton, and Kallie

Karen and me and her fun cookbook. She typed up all of her favorite recipes and gave one to each of us sisters:)

Oops, this picture belongs on the last post but as it is here I will write about it.  We enjoyed the kids at our place for Father's Day dinner.  Rick requested halibut and shrimp so that's what he got!  Not my favorite but everyone else seemed to like it.  We had present giving after dinner and Mr. Rick got lots of ties:)  From me because thats what he wanted:)  I also was able to put all of our mission pictures in albums.  This was no small task but I got it done and he LOVES them!  Skylar and Sarah got him some movie tickets with a concession gift card and the others wrote nice notes to him.  

We sure love the father of our home!!!

Last Sunday we had a birthday dinner for John who turned 30 on the 15th.  Rick bbq'd up some ribs on the Traeger and they were sooooo good!  I made up some cheese potatoes and a salad and rolls.  This dinner was so much better than the halibut and shrimp from he week before!

This past week we picked the cherries from our trees.  We got quite a few this year because Rick and the boys put netting over the trees to keep the birds out.  Generally the birds eat EVERY SINGLE CHERRY off of our trees before we can get to them.  The netting kept them out for the most past and we got quite a few.  We were about a week late in picking them so some had already gone bad but we did get quite a few.

My first cherry pie ever!!

My cute littles!

Date night at the temple!

Loving summertime!!