Ok, I know this is LONG overdue (since our road trip took place a month ago) but we've been so busy showing Brenda a good time in Alaska that I didn't have time to post these photos and stories. Anyway.....our adventure started something like this:
In a land far, far away from the Lower 48, lived a couple who....oh forget it! I can't rhyme tonight. I sat here for 20 minutes and couldn't finish my fun creative story. Dang-it! Ok, I'll just tell it like it really was.....
Well, this couple lived in the great north where the summers were really like spring-times and the winters were more like a frozen sort of hell - well, depending on your mood really. Anyway, this couple had many, many visitors and one summer Bob's mother (my mother-in-law) came to visit. Now this was an exciting visit because all the neighbors and friends were looking forward to meeting her (not to mention, how we were looking forward to spending time with her!) and she was so excited to experience all the greatness and "challenges" of life in the Last Frontier. For the purposes of our story, we'll call mother (AKA Mom-in-law) Brenda. Now Brenda came all prepared with lots and lots of WARM clothes for the summer. She had many bags, but Lindy didn't mind as Lindy is the heaviest traveler of all....just ask Bob and all her friends how many bags she takes on a trip! Brenda traveled here by every mode of transportation you can think of. She came on a plane, she even took a train and then she met us from a ship! But wait, you ask, did she ever take a car? Did she ever!
This is where we'll begin. Immediately after Brenda arrived, we stuffed her back into our truck and headed out into wild Alaska. Man was she in for a ride. We took off over the Kenai Peninsula and stopped for some scenic photo ops at Cooper Landing and then headed up past Anchorage for our big destination of Denali National Park in hopes of seeing the giant Mt. McKinley. It was one heck of a first leg of a road trip. We looked for lions, tigers and bears along the way....what's that? Oops, sorry, that's the land of Oz.....Uh, Ok, back to....the land where Mother Nature who will chew you up and spit you back out in a whimpery frozen mess if you don't respect her, alright....ALASKA, it's called. Anyway, where was I? Well, if it wasn't lions and tigers we were looking for, we certainly did check everywhere for bears and moose and sheep, but alas, the only wildlife Brenda spotted was our meandering moose. Still, that was exciting.
Well, we made it our first evening just short of Denali. We found a cute set of cabins and decided to stop for the night. The weather was moving in and for the first time in all of Bob's 3 years up here and my 11 months up here, we saw lightening and heard thunder! Now most of you will think this is ridiculous, but for some strange reason, on our peninsula, we don't get any thunder or lightening storms, so it was quite nice to enjoy the rain and the sounds of the storm. Although, this is where we quickly discovered that the mother-in-law melts if left out in the rain too long! Near our cabin was a nice little creek with a fire ring and some logs. We quickly built a fire to enjoy the outdoors and all the scenery of the mountains and creekside. This is when I first heard the statement, "I'm not really an 'outdoorsy' kind of person." Excuse me? Brenda, was that you, that just said that? As I turned around to see a not so shy woman kick a log near the campfire. Oh boy, I thought. This is going to be interesting. How can you come to Alaska and not experience the outdoors? However, I have to hand Brenda an "outdoor kind-of trophy." Just imagine a rugged piece of wood with a pocket knife and a lighter attached to it as she quickly learned these were some Alaska essentials necessary to carry in her pocket while here. One day, she even surprised me by whipping them out of her pocket and proving to me that she was prepared....way to go Brenda!
Oh yes, my story.....I get sidetracked so easily! Well, as we stood around while Bob built us a good campfire, I began to unwrap all the essentials for the completely traditional and really necessary S'MORES. When I suddenly heard another comment that made me stop dead in my tracks and gasp in disbelief! "I've never had a real S'more." WHAT? Bob even looked up incredulously. "Are you serious, mom?" "Nope." She responded. "I've just had those things that people bake in squares with the golden grahams and marshmallows." Ok, well, was she in for an experience.....
We quickly found some roasting sticks and instructed her on what to do. Of course, she made her first rookie mistake and accidentally got the marshmallow too close to the fire and scorched it - well, ok, she burned the heck out of it like it was charcoal! But what a trooper, she hung in there and extinguished that fire like a seasoned fire-fighter and slapped on two graham crackers with the chocolate of course and THEN.....she experienced a little bit of heaven!
Well, uh, ok, maybe it wasn't that good, but man do I love s'mores....can you tell? In fact, Bob and I love them so much we eat the left over camping s'more supplies by heating the marshmallow over the gas stove in our kitchen when we get bored! Well, that was until the recent s'more fork injury....Note to self....NEVER EVER stick a metal fork with a roasted marshmallow in your mouth after that fork has been held over an open flame on your stove! Result: A husband with a very sore and swollen BURNT lip!!
Ladies, your men may be smart in the wilderness, but in the kitchen, they are not!!! ha ha!
Well, I think Brenda enjoyed the campfire and her first s'more - well, in fact she indulged in a second s'more, so it had to be good, right? We hung around and played a game and then suddenly as if the floods were coming, Brenda felt a raindrop or two and was off faster than the lightening back to the cabin to call it a night! Well, I have to admit, I wasn't one for staying out in the storm either, so we followed her lead and retired for the night.
Bob and Brenda in front of our cozy little creekside cabin!
In a land far, far away from the Lower 48, lived a couple who....oh forget it! I can't rhyme tonight. I sat here for 20 minutes and couldn't finish my fun creative story. Dang-it! Ok, I'll just tell it like it really was.....
Well, this couple lived in the great north where the summers were really like spring-times and the winters were more like a frozen sort of hell - well, depending on your mood really. Anyway, this couple had many, many visitors and one summer Bob's mother (my mother-in-law) came to visit. Now this was an exciting visit because all the neighbors and friends were looking forward to meeting her (not to mention, how we were looking forward to spending time with her!) and she was so excited to experience all the greatness and "challenges" of life in the Last Frontier. For the purposes of our story, we'll call mother (AKA Mom-in-law) Brenda. Now Brenda came all prepared with lots and lots of WARM clothes for the summer. She had many bags, but Lindy didn't mind as Lindy is the heaviest traveler of all....just ask Bob and all her friends how many bags she takes on a trip! Brenda traveled here by every mode of transportation you can think of. She came on a plane, she even took a train and then she met us from a ship! But wait, you ask, did she ever take a car? Did she ever!
This is where we'll begin. Immediately after Brenda arrived, we stuffed her back into our truck and headed out into wild Alaska. Man was she in for a ride. We took off over the Kenai Peninsula and stopped for some scenic photo ops at Cooper Landing and then headed up past Anchorage for our big destination of Denali National Park in hopes of seeing the giant Mt. McKinley. It was one heck of a first leg of a road trip. We looked for lions, tigers and bears along the way....what's that? Oops, sorry, that's the land of Oz.....Uh, Ok, back to....the land where Mother Nature who will chew you up and spit you back out in a whimpery frozen mess if you don't respect her, alright....ALASKA, it's called. Anyway, where was I? Well, if it wasn't lions and tigers we were looking for, we certainly did check everywhere for bears and moose and sheep, but alas, the only wildlife Brenda spotted was our meandering moose. Still, that was exciting.
Well, we made it our first evening just short of Denali. We found a cute set of cabins and decided to stop for the night. The weather was moving in and for the first time in all of Bob's 3 years up here and my 11 months up here, we saw lightening and heard thunder! Now most of you will think this is ridiculous, but for some strange reason, on our peninsula, we don't get any thunder or lightening storms, so it was quite nice to enjoy the rain and the sounds of the storm. Although, this is where we quickly discovered that the mother-in-law melts if left out in the rain too long! Near our cabin was a nice little creek with a fire ring and some logs. We quickly built a fire to enjoy the outdoors and all the scenery of the mountains and creekside. This is when I first heard the statement, "I'm not really an 'outdoorsy' kind of person." Excuse me? Brenda, was that you, that just said that? As I turned around to see a not so shy woman kick a log near the campfire. Oh boy, I thought. This is going to be interesting. How can you come to Alaska and not experience the outdoors? However, I have to hand Brenda an "outdoor kind-of trophy." Just imagine a rugged piece of wood with a pocket knife and a lighter attached to it as she quickly learned these were some Alaska essentials necessary to carry in her pocket while here. One day, she even surprised me by whipping them out of her pocket and proving to me that she was prepared....way to go Brenda!
Oh yes, my story.....I get sidetracked so easily! Well, as we stood around while Bob built us a good campfire, I began to unwrap all the essentials for the completely traditional and really necessary S'MORES. When I suddenly heard another comment that made me stop dead in my tracks and gasp in disbelief! "I've never had a real S'more." WHAT? Bob even looked up incredulously. "Are you serious, mom?" "Nope." She responded. "I've just had those things that people bake in squares with the golden grahams and marshmallows." Ok, well, was she in for an experience.....
We quickly found some roasting sticks and instructed her on what to do. Of course, she made her first rookie mistake and accidentally got the marshmallow too close to the fire and scorched it - well, ok, she burned the heck out of it like it was charcoal! But what a trooper, she hung in there and extinguished that fire like a seasoned fire-fighter and slapped on two graham crackers with the chocolate of course and THEN.....she experienced a little bit of heaven!
Well, uh, ok, maybe it wasn't that good, but man do I love s'mores....can you tell? In fact, Bob and I love them so much we eat the left over camping s'more supplies by heating the marshmallow over the gas stove in our kitchen when we get bored! Well, that was until the recent s'more fork injury....Note to self....NEVER EVER stick a metal fork with a roasted marshmallow in your mouth after that fork has been held over an open flame on your stove! Result: A husband with a very sore and swollen BURNT lip!!
Ladies, your men may be smart in the wilderness, but in the kitchen, they are not!!! ha ha!
Well, I think Brenda enjoyed the campfire and her first s'more - well, in fact she indulged in a second s'more, so it had to be good, right? We hung around and played a game and then suddenly as if the floods were coming, Brenda felt a raindrop or two and was off faster than the lightening back to the cabin to call it a night! Well, I have to admit, I wasn't one for staying out in the storm either, so we followed her lead and retired for the night.
Bob and Brenda in front of our cozy little creekside cabin!
Our evening by the campfire. Oh, did I mention the time? I think this photo was taken somewhere around 10:30 or 11 pm at night. Notice anything odd? Brenda did.
DAYLIGHT!!!! It doesn't get dark here in the summer. That was quite the experience for Brenda and really threw her for a loop during her whole visit here. Although, she certainly was able to accomplish a lot during all those hours of daylight.
Marshmellow or charcoal? You be the verdict.
SWEET Success! Just perfect for her first S'more!
1 comment:
So funny! I love our storytelling style....you make me laugh, HARD!
Post a Comment