breathtaking!

Wow! Alaska was absolutely breathtaking!! Jessica is ready to move there-after Germany of course- but I'd have to experience their winters before I made that decision :). Or, just imagine that they are cold and snowy (not hard to do when the summer was a bit chilly while we were there) and stick to summer visits!!

1. The first picture is Cindy and Greg (my sister and her husband) at the free Winona Judd concert we attended at Elmendorf Air Force Base. Greg and Cindy were stationed there 20 years ago when Matthew was born! I guess they never got Alaska out of their blood. By the way, the concert was fabulous! Winona was great as were the intro Air Force bands.

2. Picture two is the crew (minus Greg who was doing homework towards his Masters in Education) at the Alaska Zoo. Matt, Jessica, Aunt Cindy, Ben, and Bethany - who needs monkeys?

3. Ben, Jess, and Bethany on deck during our fabulous Kenai Fjords National Park Tour/Cruise. Matt was inside recovering from seasickness. We saw several Humpback Whales, a Fin Whale, porpoises, sea lions, puffins, sea otters, eagles, and cormorants.

4. Jessica and I posing in front of Aialik Glacier (part of the Harding Icefield) in the Kenai Fjords National Park. With the boat engines shut off, we could hear creaking and cracking and see pieces sliding into the water. The ice was an amazing blue (there is a scientific explanation for that - weight of ice above pressing out air so only the blue part of the light spectrum shows) but I just enjoyed the view!!

Next summer, we are planning to go digging for clams and fishing for Halibut!!