Ballyhoo Summit 2008

Well, we weren't up for the race, but the other day after work we wandered up high to get above the fog. That's neighboring Akutan island in the background. A lot of times the weather's gloomy down at sea level, but you can just climb a mountain and get up into the sunlight and some healthy Vitamin D.

Boodah-Dude, of course, is not one to pass up an opportunity to stop and smell the flowers. And of course, he loved the descent, which he did all by himself. Mostly.

Needless to say, we didn't take this route.

All told, pretty good fun for a Thursday evening.

Happy Lapacacaversary!

Three years and the eternal honeymoon life of bliss continues. HF helped us celebrate by letting the sun shine, so we enjoyed a family anniversary evening picnic at Summer Bay. According to the internet, we're supposed to celebrate this third anniversary with leather. Why did I ever let those chaps go at the white elephant party? Who knew it's the perfect gift for a third anniversary?

Leather being as hard to come by as it is on short notice, we contented ourselves with fancy mocha, nectarines, and chocolate. Mmmm. It's no leather chaps, leather vest, and leather pirate hat ensemble, but it's pretty good.

It's not just our Lapacacaversary. It's also Phil's birthday. Happy Birthday, Phil! We can't wait to see you on Saturday Night Live some day! Ninjas, watch out!

In other activities, here we are scouting out an allegedly "hot" spring. I think it might be a luke warm spring. Very luke. Luke meaning "not very warm". Anyway, some people supposedly swim in it, so that's cool. I'm not sure if we'll be diving in any time soon, but maybe if the right hot day presents itself we'll give it a shot. Mister was impressed by the numerous dainty dead fish and eagle feathers nearby.

And here's Boodah Dude enjoying the first salmonberry ("more num nums?") of the season.

And last but not least, this large vessel was anchored off Summer Bay. Could it be a pirate smuggling ship? We like to think so.

Mama-Issa

Genevieve’s cousin Mama-issa came to visit last week. (That's Buddy-Boodah's pronunciation. Most know her as Melissa.) She enjoyed a mega-Alaska-adventure, cruising up through Southeast all the way to Whittier, then taking the train up to Fairbanks, and checking out Denali along the way, all before hopping on the short 4.5 hour flight from Anchorage to Dutch. Her flight was slightly delayed by a small stopover in King Salmon. Somehow she was on the first series of flights to make it in after the volcanic interruptions. Many folks were stranded for over a week, but somehow she made it in on her regularly scheduled flight - and didn’t even find out about the volcano eruption until she was already on the plane to Dutch Harbor. While she was here, a second volcano erupted. Cleveland. Which Mama thought was in Ohio. Turns out, Cleveland is just about 45 miles west of Okmok. It’s a two for one special on volcanoes around these parts this summer!











We had a great time hanging out with Mama-Issa, hiking and seeing the Dutch Harbor sights. We watched the fearless racers take on the Ballyhoo this year. We opted out because we are pregnant and SQ enor won’t stay in the backpack anymore. Plus, Boppa’s toenail still hasn’t healed from last summer. As spectators, it was luxurious. We hiked about 10% of it and watched everybody else do all the work. First, the serious racers. Then the recreational racers. Then us!











Pax and his buddies Max and Conner found a nice dirt patch and had a good time. Who knew dirt could be so exciting!



And here come the victors!




Later, we even took advantage of the wind for some good old-fashioned kite flying. Something we can always fall back on around these parts! We had to call it quits when 2 eagles tried to attack and/or mate with the kite.



And we even saw our first whale from shore. Well, technically, our first living whale. They're much more interesting alive and swimming, that's for sure!



We hiked out to the ever peaceful Peace of Mind cabin, where salmon were thick and jumping five feet from the shore. If only we had brought a fishing pole!



A float plane has been out here lately, flying as a spotter for the local herring fishery. It’s the first time we’ve seen a float plane out here. Not counting the Goose of course. It looks pretty fun!



Paxson Revel loved sitting on Mama-Issa’s lap and reading books! Thanks for visiting Mama-Issa! Come again soon! We’re ready to help you O.D. on nature any time!





In other exciting news, we’ve been rich in organic produce lately. A big box of a special order came in - Argentinean Pears (mmmm… exquisite), Swiss Chard, and Strawberries. It wound up costing about the same as in the store, but the quality was at least 10 times better than we can get. And just yesterday we got another emergency box of organic produce, courtesy of the Boise, ID DeWayne Arthur Williams Jr. backyard garden! Mmmm, squash, greens, sweat peas, and dried fruit. Thanks, Gramps! We were surprised the greens survived, but they did and we made them into a nice fresh salad.




Currently, Paxson Revel is recovering from a bout with high fever (104.3) that started last night. He’s doing much better this morning, but he’s still a bit groggy. Between that and the cops mistakenly calling in the middle of the night, it's been a fairly sleepless weekend for the family!

Here's the extent of the volcanic ash that showed up at our place:



And we leave you with P.Rev playing at the beach.