alaska
It has indeed been a fun trip, as usual. We arrived last Friday (my Dad, my brother James, and I) and spent the night in Kenai, Alaska. On Saturday, we got picked up and went to the lodge in Ninilchik. The other guests did not arrive until Sunday so, we took Steve (lodgeowner, captain, and Dad's friend,) his wife Vivian, and his daughter Madison (17 yrs old, I've practically grown up wit her...) to dinner. That night I went to a bonfire on the beach with Madison around 11pm until 4am (haha) with all these locals. It was okay but I was a bit "in over my head," so to speak. I hung out with the only other sober person there, an extremely cute 17 yr old named Jason (whom I, by the way, got caught trying to go see by my very angry older brother...) On Sunday, the other guests did arrive including our family friends the Williamses (they are Australian, yay!) Their kids used to go to PCDS, but Mr. Williams made MEGA millions in the reinsurance business and now they live full-time at their winery (Wattle Creek) in Sonoma County, California. They have four kids: Ben, 22; Elise, 21; Sally, 15; and Milly, 14. Elise's boyfriend, Charlie, is also here. It's nice because I'm just old enough to hang out with my brother, Ben, Elise, and Charlie, but I am also just young enough to have an awesome time with Sally and Milly...ya know? Anyways, on Monday, the weather was pretty terrible, so, we went clam-digging which I had never done before. Basically, you walk around and look for these little dimple things in the sand. Once you find one, you dig really really quickly and then jump onto the ground, shove your hand into the sand, and grab the clam as it quickly tries to burrow itself deeper into the ground. It was very messy, but pretty fun nontheless...not to mention the "not too shabby" clam chowder we made a couple hours later--they have a 5-star chef on staff. On Tuesday, we went Halibut fishing. Charlie, James, Elise, and my Dad were on my boat... we caught many "chickens" (little halibut ranging from about 30 to 50 pounds in weight...) Alas, James caught a 175 pound one just ten minutes before our scheduled departure from the ocean! It was awesome! He won the halibut derby actually in this part of Alaska (meaning he caught the biggest one in the month of June and maybe in the whole summer, yet to be determined.) On Wednesay, James and my Dad were going to go Halibut fishing again...so, I decided to take a day off. See, halibut fishing is really one of those things you can only do so many times...at least, for me. You drive on really choppy waters in a boat for about 2 hours, you sit and wait and maybe catch something noteworthy... it is fun to do once, but that's about my limit. The weather ended up being pretty terrible so I slept and got a massage (they also have an off-staff massage therapist) and they went down to the Ninilchik River and caught zilch. Oh, well. On Thursday, we went with the Williamses on a flyout... We drove to Kenai, got onto a float plane and flew for twenty minutes to some remote river in Alaska. From there, we shuttled three-at-a-time on a helicopter to the selected fishing hole. We were fishing for King Salmon... it was fun. Helicopters (thought it was not my first time being on one) are extremely awesome, fyi. Sally, Milly, and I had some "interesting" adventures, let's just say, that ended up with me covered in water and mud and having to change into Milly's pink extra-small victoria's secret sweatpants and an extra-large bright orange rain jacket... i looked stunning, to say the least. Haha, yah right. Today, my brother and Dad again planned to go halibut fishing so, I again planned another day off. James and my Dad ended up getting extremely sea-sick (which they never do...) and caught nothing so, they came back in pretty early... We are all just sorta of hanging out at the lodge today. I hung out with the chef in the kitchen for a bit...a poor decision because I now find myself extremely full due the the many things I apparentally "just had to try." Haha. Tomorrow, we spend the whole day flying home and I leave for Coronado on Sunday. It's cool sort of because in the summer here, the sun doesn't really ever set so it is light 24 hours a day.. the weather is pretty nice, about 58 degrees maximum. Basically, it's awesome.