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.

Down at Pebble Beach

Pebble Beach is a curious spot. Like most beaches in Maine there is no sand. Unlike most beaches the rocks are all quite small (hence the name) and there are very few barnacles above the low tide line. It is flanked on both sides by granite outcrops that are irresistible for climbing.



This year, Eli made a point of swimming in the ocean every day, no matter the weather. Sunny and "warm", or rainy and 50 degrees, he still swam or jumped off the dock. He and his sister Nora started this tradition a few years ago.

Of course we have an established set of other activities we try to accomplish each summer. Things like walking, hiking, rowing to Spectacle Island, picking blueberries on Blueberry Hill, shopping in Blue Hill and Elsworth, plus standard vacation stuff like relaxing, reading, and enjoying good food and drink.

Up With the Sun

On our first morning in camp, the boys woke up with the sun. Eli took them for a walkabout, exploring while Sara slept in. They climbed on the rocks and picked blueberries from bushes that grow near some of the other cabins. The boys were amazed to see berries just growing out in the open, and so excited to pick and eat them.