It was a late night/early morning but I didn’t dare sleep in. Ruth had to go to work at 0900 and so there would only be the morning to spend with her. Coffee, pancakes, eggs and home made jelly were on the menu. Matthew added Alaskan Blueberries left over from Sakota’s wedding to the pancake batter and explained to us just exactly what Fireweed jelly is and how it is made. It tastes a lot like honey and is made from juicing the flowers of the fireweed plant. Two little guys joined us because their momma had a dentist appointment. We headed into town to checkout the Island and Oceans center and the “spit”.
Anyone else want a deal intestine rain jacket?
This showed the hight difference between low and high tides.
After the Islands and Oceans center which besides a movie about biologists working on the Tiglax boat the kids practically ran through. They still have so much pent up energy from spending so much time in the car. Matthew has been spending s lot of his Alaska time working on boats and so he wanted to show us the harbor. We stopped at one of his favorite boats that has been pulled up to dry dock using huge air bags for cleaning, just in time to see his old boss climb up the ladder and disappear inside not before they hollered out a hello to Matt. We were about to go up past the cones and see the boat up close.
The cone just behind us is to push the ice out of the way and just above it connecting it to the boat is a blade to cut through the ice. When we were lookin at some of the other big boats a few of the cones had some major dents in them from hitting icebergs.
After we walked around the harbor checking out all the beautifully colorful and different boats we headed to what we hear is the best seafood restaurant in Alaska called Captain Pattie’s Fish House. Caleb, Chad, and I got the Char Grilled Seafood Sampler the scallops were to die for, the truth is it all was. Hannah and Eve had halibut and fries, Matthew had giant prawns…we can attest to this being the best seafood we have ever had. We went to the school, picked up a truck and tables, stopping in to see Ruth at work. We dropped a few vehicles off at the house and picked up the boat. We had a few hours to spare so why not. It was so fun to do something (and watch Matthew do something) that he loves. We loved it too! So fun! So adventurous!
It is hard to see but Hannah managed to take a picture of a bald eagle! We have seen quite a few of them But either they have been too far away or we weren’t quick enough to get a photo.
When we got out of the harbor it was pretty choppy with pretty good sized swells for the 20′ boat. The photo below I was trying to take a picture of an otter playing in the waves. We only saw a couple on the drive but in our way out to the spit we saw a whole bunch of otters.
Eve fell asleep on the way out and we had to hold her on her chair so she wouldn’t get thrown off. Caleb got coached on how to drive a boat on the way out. He did a great job.
We got pretty wet heading back to the harbor, and arived back at the house just before 7:00pm. We had heard that the pastor was coming over at 7:00pm, we had no idea that we were going to get to meet Elijah, Sakota’s husband, his parents and several of his siblings, and several other friends as well as the pastor and his wife. The house was filled with people and kids everywhere for sure reminding me of my childhood and the community that is developed in small towns and small churches. Similar to so many holidays and Sunday afternoons with our house full of Matthew and Ruth’s family as well as ours, and often others. Always there was plenty of kids and plenty of laughter. The kids were my favorite for sure and after the party was over I found a selfie on my phone from one of the boys that hung out with us this morning and was back in the evening for the party.
After everyone left for home Matt asked if he could take the kids out in the jeep since they had been asking him if they could ride in it. We had two hours until we needed to be at the ferry and it was definately still light out so we said sure. They were so excited.
It wasn’t very long until he ducked his head back in the door and asked Chad if he would like to go for a ride. Ruth asked if he had gotten himself stuck and he with a big grin relplied, “I found a new hole 😂”. Chad headed out with him and I headed to get a shower before getting on the ferry. I was happy to see that they had a blast. Caleb is convinced that he needs a jeep for his first car.
Owens Endeavors 