Fishing on the Kasilof

In the summertime, Ed O'Conner is a fishing guide on the rivers of the Kenai Peninsula. For the wedding, Joss and Ed arranged for a bunch of their friends (also guides) to take wedding guests out salmon fishing. I think somewhere between 30 and 40 people went, in groups of four.

On our boat, Eli had the first catch of the day; a Pink salmon. We were fishing for Silvers (Coho), and the limit was two per person per day. The pinks had a different limit, but according to our guide the meat is very mushy and mostly just suitable for canning, so we let it go. You can tell this is a female because it does not have the silly looking hump just behind the head that gives them the nickname humpies.



The next fish into the boat was this Silver I caught at about 10am. We had been sitting on the river for about three hours in misty rain and 50 degree temps. Everyone as freezing cold and I was thinking of calling it a day when I caught this beauty. My mood soared and I went on to catch several more (sadly, the rest were undesirable pinks, but still fun to pull in).



At the end of the day Eli and I each had one Silver. The other couple in our boat didn't manage to catch any. Some boats caught the limit; one or two didn't catch any Silvers at all. The scenery and experience were both amazing, and taking home and eating a fish I caught was awesome! But the next time I go fishing, I will make sure the weather is warmer! ;-)

Joss and Ed's Alaskan Wedding

Eli's cousin Josslyn Burke lives in Alaska, about 100 miles outside Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula. When she announced her wedding, it quickly turned into a huge destination wedding for the extended Burke family.

Because of all the events that were planned for the week of the wedding, we decided not to take Avery and Zachary with us. They stayed with Sara's folks for almost 5 full days; a gift for which we will always be grateful.

We were lucky to be able to use saved frequent flyer miles to get free first class tickets for the trip. After three years of being parents it was truly wonderful to have an extended vacation to an exotic destination and flying first class was icing on the cake.

These two photos are of giant glaciers, taken out the airplane window on our flights to and from Anchorage. In the first, you can see the peak of Canada's highest mountain, Mt. Logan. The second one we saw about 15 minutes after departure. If you look closely you can see a cruise ship in the water off the face of the glacier. In the picture looks like they are only 1/2 an inch apart, but the mouth of the glacier is more than a mile wide!

Last Day

Today we wrapped up our stay with a trip to Blue Hill and a boat ride to Spectacle just before dinner. "Boat ride", not "row" -- it was close enough to dinner that we borrowed Ed Kent's outboard motor, along with Ed, Evan, and Will, for the trip (not a traditional excursion, but much easier on the arms).

This was Zachary's first time out at Spectacle, and Avery was probably too young to remember previous trips. Despite a full week of throwing rocks in the water, all of the children had a great time tossing rocks in the ocean, and doing a little exploring around the island.

Swimming at Ames Cove

Normally the water in Maine is too cold for Sara to swim, but this year it was semi-warm in the 70s, and she braved it once or twice. Here we are visiting a nearby beach called Ames Cove, a secluded spot that is rich with sand dollars and other sea life. At low tide it has just enough sand to make a small sand castle.




This is Zachary's grumpy beach face. He wasn't too fond of the water or beach, but Avery (who felt just like Zach last year) loved it. The only downside is that changing babies with sandy butts and wet swimmie diapers is no fun.

Fun at the Lobster Picnic

Every week at HBC, usually on Wednesdays, the camp staff throws a mid-day lobster picnic in lieu of dinner. In addition to the fresh cooked lobsters there are delicious red hot dogs in buttered buns, potato salad, watermelon, chocolate cake, and marshmallows. According to Eli, the menu hasn't changed in 25 years.

Years ago, the picnic was held on nearby islands, and campers were ferried out in Paul Vennow's lobster boat. Nowadays it's held at the Holbrook wildlife sanctuary, about 5 miles away from camp. It's not quite the same, but apparently it is much safer than crowding 35 people onto a lobster boat.

Blueberry Hill

Blueberry Hill is a spot at the top of a short hiking trail just outside of Hiram Blake. It's about 10-15 minutes under the evergreens, and extremely pleasant unless the mosquitos are biting.


On one of our trips up the trail we were followed by a cat. The boys enjoyed her more than the hike, the hilltop, and the blueberries combined. It was simply hilarious to them that she kept following us up the trail. I think she must have been pretty lonely; the boys have not learned to be gentle from our own sweet declawed Nutmeg.