Our AK trip

As I mentioned in an earlier "disclaimer" post, we have just gotten back from a 10-day trip to AK for a family reunion. Since there are numerous pics flying around FB, I've tried to narrow it down a bit and pick a few that might be of interest. So, here we go.

First, I must say, that AK is very far from where we live here on the east coast. It takes 3 planes to get there and at least 12 hrs. On the way there, we had some unfortunate layovers so that portion was actually 16 hrs, joy. I have found that traveling will wear you out even though you're just sitting most of the time. Juneau is a small town by our standards, but decent by AK standards, with about 35,000 residents. Once we arrived we had to walk a couple of blocks to retrieve our rental car (and by we I mean me, I had to walk while the fam waited at the airport) as the rental company was already closed and they had a designated spot where they left their cars after hours. Even with that though, it was a nice evening and it felt good to stretch the legs a bit. We then proceeded to my wife's uncles house only to discover that the housekeeper had forgotten to leave a door open, and/or the uncle had forgotten to tell us where the key was. So, we looked and tried calling for about an hour and finally retrieved the key. By now, ill-tempered could best describe the 4 of us. Once inside, we noticed immediately that the cat dander was getting to all of us, so we quickly called the hotel where we had previously cancelled our reservation. Much to our relief they had a room, and somehow had not actually cancelled our reservation (which could have been an issue had we not decided to go there after all)...still confusing. We finally made it to bed 23 hours after leaving our house and thus began our AK adventure.

I won't be so detailed from now on, it was just one of those moments, so I thought I would share. We tooled around Juneau for a few days as other family arrived and managed to visit historic downtown, several hundred gift shops (it seemed like anyway), a salmon hatchery, and the Mendenhall glacier.
  

Proof, there's the glacier, and my son Anthony and his cousin James.

Early on Sunday morning (July 14th) we headed to the ferry terminal for our 3-hr trek to Hoonah, AK where my wife and her siblings grew up. It was a magnificently clear day, and the scenery was unbelievable.

My bro-in-law Greg and I, also born 1973 like the ship...

Some of the scenery from the ferry.

I'm trying to be somewhat general and not add too many pics, but AK is an amazing place, so it's a bit difficult. All 28 of us finally converged in the small village of Hoonah, AK, pop like 600 people. My wife had grown up on a homestead of sorts about 3 miles from town, but that 3 miles was quite a hike. You either went by boat or the long way around on gravel roads, and the last 100+ yards on foot. Luckily we had amazing weather. Needless to say, the kids had a great time. Our daughter Valerie was a big help with the smaller kids and my son Anthony was outdoors from dawn till dusk with cousins, fishing, hiking, shooting, etc. My wife's family is a very musical group, so we had some good times of sitting around jamming, too. All in all, it was good trip, some times relaxing, other times, not so much. Of course, when you're trying to mobilize a group of 28 men, women, and children (the majority children), it can be a bit nerve-wracking. The bulk of the remainder of the post will be pics, but I must first mention the fish and seafood since I major on food posts. The kids caught some Dolly Varden trout and salmon which were actually cooked for breakfast one morning. We also had other fresh salmon (3 times total plus leftovers), fresh halibut, and fresh crab. It was amazing.
I don't want to bore anyone with too much verbiage, so here come some pics.

dolly varden and salmon, pre breakfast

Some amazing scenery out at the homestead

The view of Ear Mtn from my in-laws living room

bro in law and sis in law with a mighty haul

Sunset Ear Mtn

My daughter Val helping cousin Caden

More stunning scenery form near homestead looking out to the bay

Oh, yeah. I made cheesecake while there...

Star of the show Chloe (see earlier post about our newest little member)

My son Anthony, feeding little cousin Chloe

Before heading back to Juneau, we hit the town of Hoonah and it's one tourist attraction, Icy Straights. There were some cool shops, but the highlight was the zipline. It's the longest zipline in N America at 5,330 ft and 1300 ft off the ground at it's highest. About half the family rode, including the 4 of us. The thought of it was a bit scary at first, but it was a blast. 

Val

Anthony

Then we headed back to Juneau via an amazing 30 minute flight.

Our view from Hoonah to Juneau

Then the lodge. Again, more food, music, and family time. 

Grandpa Jim, keeping up with the whole gang at 92

View from the lodge

More impromptu music

Anthony playing on the breaker

Cousin Dominic, avid fisherman, fished almost every waking moment

View from lodge, boys fishing in the bay

halibut and salmon grilling

Reunion medicine

Even overcast, the scenery was amazing

The lodge from the breaker

The whole gang

So, no recipes this time, just a few pics and a brief overview of our journey. And now, back to the grind, everyone's missing family, and kids missing running free in AK. It was all worth the money, inconvenience of travel, pain of mobilizing a large group, stress of logistics, etc, etc. Memories were made and a good time was had by all.