Mary Claire's Visit and Birthday Celebrations!

Happy Birthday to Ryker and Mary Claire

To celebrate Ryker’s BD we all got together at Ken and Sue’s for a deep frying production line. Ryker had requested for his BD Beer Battered Halibut. Well an online recipe and a borrowed deep fryer from our neighbors and we were ready. Bring on the halibut!

We were able to celebrate Mary Clarie’s BD while she was in Alaska with a meal out at VIP (Korean Food) and a big cookie. The cookie was a great hit with the kids but I must say that I preferred the Jeouju Dolsot bibimbap the rice covered with vegetables and an egg and served in a stone bowl. The bowl is so hot that it makes the rice on the bottom crispy—in fact after we finished dinner the bowl was still hot. (Note for Janice--find a good place for bibimbap in Korea)

I taught Autumn and Marah how to play Happy Birthday on the piano—the birthday song celebration has not stopped since then!

Whittier Excursion

The weather cleared, the road opened, and Paul’s test was complete as we headed to Whittier.

Whittier is such an interesting town—it is accessible only by water or tunnel. We traveled through the longest rail/road tunnel in North America. Whittier was established in WWII as the northernmost ice free port. Most of the town of around 300 lives in a high-rise left by the military and there is a large abandoned building that stretches across one end of town—it was a victim of the 1964 quake.

Most of the town is pretty rundown looking but the beauty surrounding the place on a clear day is breathtaking. It was our fortune to arrive there on a day that the sun was shining on the turquoise water and vibrant moss covers the rocky beach. What a way to see Alaska.

The Salmon Berries were ripe and we picked some near the waters edge for a true Alaskan snack.