Salmon and Bears and Moose... Oh My!

Jenna: After our visit to Homer, Brooke and her friend Sally came over for a scenic pedal boat ride on East Mackey Lake followed by a fire in our pit. We were right in the middle of a heated game of Catchphrase when two young bull moose wandered closer and closer to us, forcing us to move the game inside. Rob said it was the first party he'd ever been to that was crashed by a moose. Wednesday I was treated to a very nice massage. I came home and helped Rob with some weeding around our cabin. It looks great now. That night we went to Brooke's for another bonfire and more Catchphrase with our friends Eric and David. That game is a blast!

Thursday I visited the dentist (my dad) and helped Rob with more yard work. Sounds like a recurring theme... That night we joined my family and a few friends for dinner at Kenai Landing. The landing is where commercial fishermen come to offload their catch before it goes to the canneries for processing. They turned a couple of the old cannery buildings into restaurants and shops. Hobo Jim, an Alaskan musician (and friend of the family), was playing so we enjoyed some live music with dinner. Afterwards we headed to my friend Adam's house for a party. A lot of my high school friends were in town this weekend. It was great to see everyone in the same place at the same time. Friday we met

my parents for lunch, ran some errands, and I cooked a halibut dinner. Then it was over to Eric and David's house for another party.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early to fly to Anchorage with my dad and Hobo Jim for the annual Governor's Picnic. (My dad is a recreational pilot - it's not as unusual in Alaska it is other places.) I think Rob really enjoyed the flight. The views are amazing. We stayed at the picnic just long enough to see Hobo Jim play a song and see Sarah Palin's speech. It was her last day as governor of AK so it was cool to feel like we were witnessing a

little piece of history. My dad and Jim flew back to Soldotna, leaving Rob and I to do a little sightseeing and have dinner with the Verhelsts. We stayed the night in Anchorage, then met my mom for our ride back to Soldotna. Not far outside of Anchorage I spotted a brown bear on the side of the road. Unfortunately, by the time we stopped for a picture it had ducked into the woods. I'm sure we'll see another one - hopefully also from the safety of a vehicle. We stopped at the Portage Glacier Visitor Center on the way home and got a brief education on how glaciers form and shape the landscape in their slow creep down the mountains.

Back in Soldotna, we went to a BBQ at my friend Haylee's house where I got to see her brand new baby girl. She's so tiny! Monday we got to go on our first Alaskan fishing trip. My friend Dustin took us red salmon fishing on the upper Kenai River. I got one and Rob got one as the warm day turned to heavy rain. Rob also had a king salmon bite his hook - it took off down the river with incredible speed before Rob's line ran out. It snapped like a twig. His pole was no match for a 40-50lb. king!