Hawaii

Leaving behind a white, frozen landscape, we all were looking forward to the penetrating warmth of the Hawaiian sun. The islands did not disappoint. After a short stopover in Honolulu, we were on to Maui to meet up with our close friends, Scott and Diane, their daughters, Kaleigh and Mady, and Di's parents, Don and Marg (soon to celebrate 50 years of marriage). The consistent weather...low to mid 80's, calm mornings and breezy afternoons...made planning our week's activities fairly easy. The other factor that made this week even more relaxing was bringing along a good family friend, Lindsay, to watch the kids when the adults wanted to go play.

Most mornings were spent on the beach. Asa emulated our true feelings as he rolled in the sand and literally coated himself with little pieces of Hawaii. If only we all expressed our feelings so well! The boogie boarding was good, but the water was calling us in a little deeper. We started looking for snorkeling opportunities at the little reefs that bordered the beaches.

At three something in the morning on Tuesday the adults, taking full advantage of having Lindsay around to take care of the kids, headed for Haleakala. It is a 10,000+ foot volcano (dormant) that greets the morning sun in grand style. There was a spectacular display of light and color as the sun broke above the layer of clouds below the peak.

Thursday and Friday we rented snorkel gear and headed to Ahihi cove and the beach at the Maui Prince Hotel. Here is where a new world opened up for all of us. It was a bit crowded, but once in the water your attention quickly turned to the many varieties of fish darting in and out of the multicolored coral. And then we all enjoyed the bigger surprises in the water...green sea turtles, eels and a reef shark.

Friday night was date night in Lahaina. Don and Marg went to a great magic show, and Scott, Di, Amy and I went to a great fish house called Kimo's. Saturday, we decided to see what the hiking was like on the island. We explored the Iao Valley and then moved on to another valley with swinging bridges and creek crossings. We ended Saturday with an Easter egg hunt at sunset on the beach.

As much as we wanted to go to an Easter service on the beach, Sunday was the only day available for the snorkel excursion boat that we wanted to take to Molokini, a little cresent shaped atoll off the coast of Maui. It was Molokini that offered the clearest, albeit coldest, water. You could see 30 feet below with no problem. The boat moved closer to the beach for a better look at the green sea turtles. Our best look at the turtles was back at the Maui Prince Hotel where Amy took a few underwater pictures of the turtle action. The kids have not stopped talking about all of the sea life and the snorkeling experience. While the warmth, waves, sunshine, and relaxation was great, the snorkeling really made the whole week.

Fur Rondy

The city of Anchorage goes all out in February with winter celebrations. This past weekend we attended a few of the dozens of activities and events planned for the Fur Rondy Festival. The long name is the Fur Rendezvous which started back in the pioneer days when the trappers would come to town and auction off their pelts. We managed to take in the parade, dog sled race, carnival, fur auction, model train display, snow carving, and the running of the reindeer (think of the running of the bulls). This coming weekend the big dog sled race, the Iditarod, will have its ceremonial start in Anchorage on Saturday and the official start in Willow on Sunday.

Fun Weekends

Taking advantage of the wealth of great outdoor activities and events here in Anchorage has been a highlight of the winter. Last weekend the Lions Club in Eagle River sponsored an Ice Fishing Derby at Mirror Lake about 20 minutes north of Anchorage. It was a crisp, clear day with temperatures struggling to get above zero. This well planned event provided poles, bait, drilled holes, hot dogs, hamburgers, and hot chocolate...all free of charge. We did not know quite what to expect, but within a few minutes Jackson hooked an eight inch trout and big smile to go with it. Asa had one up to the top of the hole, but when it felt the cold air it wiggled free of the hook and made it back down into the "warm" water. Without much more action we stayed until our feet felt like blocks of ice. Jackson was very proud of his fish. We enjoyed fresh trout with eggs for breakfast the next morning.

Just yesterday we entered the Cardboard Sled Derby at Kincaid Park sponsored by the city's Parks and Recreation department. There were three different divisions and two classes of prizes. We actually won the Family Class for creativity. Obviously Jackson had a lot to do with the design of the sled. He was very specific about how it should be painted (referring to his growing dinosaur book collection). Good winter fun was had by all!

See more photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/jeramymarkus

The Holidays

One word sums up our holidays this year...memorable. There are many things that made this year special including Grandmom Markus and the Quintangeli family traveling 5,000 miles to be with us, Asa's 5th birthday, and our first Christmas in Alaska. There was one event that made sure memories from this year will stick. Before I get into the details of our fateful snow-cat ride here are a few of the other highlights.

Our week started with celebrating Asa's 5th birthday at Chuck E Cheese's. Asa was thrilled to have his Grandmom, Aunt Barb, Uncle Vince, cousins Michael and Anthony, and SECOND cousins there to celebrate with him. Amy's second cousin Sara Carpenter, her husband Cody and their four children live here in Anchorage, and we have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them. The party theme was Alaska. When you put Amy and Barb together on an Alaskan theme cake...LOOK OUT! It was fantastic.

In between Amy's decadent holiday meals we went to the Christmas Eve service at Cornerstone Church, sledding in the new six inches of Christmas snow, played games (wrestling cousins), shopped, and introduced the Quintangeli's to a new winter sport - cross-country skiing. The clouds were low and heavy during the week so we could not enjoy the views of Alaska's majestic mountains. This is what pushed us to head north. The weather was supposed to be the best on Wednesday so after talking with the folks at Glacier Park we headed to the Matanuska Glacier.

Here is where Christmas 2007 gets burned into the memory. With the cold temperatures and snow we decided to take the snow-cat ride to the base of the glacier and then enjoy a bit of time taking pictures of the aquamarine cracks around the glacier's terminus. All nine of us piled into the 1965 diesel cat and headed across the frozen landscape with Bill as our tour guide. As we neared the glacier, Bill decided to drive up a rise off of the flat, frozen lake at the base of the glacier. As we tilted up the back end cracked through the ice. Looking out of the window of the now silent cab we all could see broken ice floating in WATER! As Bill tried to get out of the hole we ended up track deep in a hole of broken ice and water. After a few more tries we all offloaded except for Grandmom. Bill felt it was safer to keep her in the cat. After a few more tries and Amy's mild panic attack about Grandmom's precarious position, I offered to take Bill back to the park office to get his snow machine and chainsaw. Vince and Barb stayed with Grandmom (who was the calmest of the whole crew) in the half-sunk cat and the rest of us hiked out to the cars.

I rode with Bill back to the snow-cat. Grandmom enjoyed her first snow-machine ride back to the car as Barb, Vince and I hiked out. Bill returned to the cat forgetting they put Grandmom's purse in the back of the snow-machine. Vince and I hiked back to the cat to get the purse while the others went back to the park office for hot chocolate. As Vince and I got back to the snow-cat Bill had the thing out of the hole and ready to go. I rode the sled back while Vince hitched a ride with Bill. We all arrived at the park office and enjoyed the warm building and hot chocolate and coffee. Bill and his wife were gracious and apologetic about the whole thing. This great day was not done yet. Asa dumped a whole cup of hot chocolate over himself and the park office. The final kicker was losing the keys to our car just prior to our departure from the park! Good thing it got dark so early so that the asteroid couldn't see the targets we had painted on us.

The rest of the week was spent sledding, cross-country skiing, shopping and eating of course. What made this Christmas special was spending it with our family. Thank you Grandmom, Vince, Barb, Michael and Anthony for making the trip and life-long memories!

Snowy Sunday

Today was one of those magical days. First of all it was a Sunday and neither Amy nor I had to work. Church was great...the boys love their Sunday school classes and Amy and I can sit through a whole service without interruption. Our pastor hit another one out of the park speaking on 1 John 4:1-6 about discernment. Check out his sermon at http://www.churchcornerstone.com

Secondly, it snowed all day and we added about 5 more inches to our growing layer of the fun white stuff. The boys have really taken to cross country skiing. Luckily, we are one block away from the Campbell Creek trail and we can walk to a winter wonderland. We skiied for a total of 2 miles to a small hill that motivated the boys to keep going. They definitely love the hills. Both Amy and I last cross country skied in our highschool years, so we are both getting used to it again. The best part is that it motivates us as a family to get outside to see the beauty of the trees laden with snow, the ice formations along the creek, and the quiet hush that the snow creates. We love winter! We'll let you know how our attitudes are after four more months of it.

Winter wonderland

The temperatures have finally stabilized below freezing, and we have had our first significant snowfall (about 5 inches). The boys were really ramped up and couldn't be calmed until we were on a sled on a hill somewhere. So, we headed off to a city park called Russian Jack Springs that has sledding hills and lots of cross country ski trails. After about two hours they were tired and satisfied.

The snow actually fell while we were on a weekend trip to Fairbanks to check out Chena Hot Springs and North Pole, AK. The hot springs were almost too relaxing. We spend about three hours soaking in different hot tubs and swimming in the heated pool. It took about an hour to drive there from Fairbanks. The drive back found everyone (but me) passed out from experience. The sun set just before 4:00. We could hardly choose from the dinner menu once back in town!

North Pole, Alaska is a small, rural town with a hard to find, mostly gift-shop-based, attraction called the Santa Claus House. It is quite a gift shop, though. Santa and Mrs. Claus were there to hear the requests and endure photo flashes to the point of retinal damage. We did find an actual candy-striped pole in town at which we documented our northern progress.

Winter is proving to hold lots of exciting adventure. The boys start cross country ski and snow board lessons this week.

Our neighborhood

So far, we have posted our family adventures in south-central Alaska. So where do we spend most of our time? Our house is in the geographic center of Anchorage. We live in a working class neighborhood that is surrounded by a fairly commercial area of the city. Although we are in the middle of all of this development we still enjoy glimpses of wild Alaska. When we look down our street we enjoy views of the beautiful Chugach Mountains. Once the leaves all fall from the trees, which will probably only take another week or so, we will be able to see the mountains out of our east facing windows.The Campbell Creek Trail is a green-belt that runs through the city and is about a block from our house. It is a refreshing alternative to the automobile-centered design of our surroundings. We will go for a bike ride or scooter ride several times a week. This past Thursday Jackson, Asa and I (Jerry) were heading home after a bike ride about a block from our house when a juvenile moose and its mother came up from the creekside trail, ran out onto the road, and started heading right for us! In a startled voice I told the boys to keep to the right and let them pass. Jackson, who was about 30 feet behind Asa and I, watched in amazement as they ran by him and then yelled "I just saw a MOOOOSE!"

We have a small fenced-in back yard that allows the boys to horse around and get rid of some of their boundless energy. Yesterday they discovered the fun that a pile of leaves contains. They also have made friends with two neighbor kids that are close to their ages. The neighbors have a trampoline in their back yard which never gets old. Jackson and Asa love to hear the kids calling from their driveway "Jackson...Asa..." to see if they can come out to play.

Eklutna Lake - Sept 16

A short drive from Anchorage, Eklutna Lake is a nice place for a family day trip. The fall colors were in full swing, but there were a few clouds around that hid some of the taller peaks. The bike/hiking trail that follows the shoreline rolls gently enough that we were able to ride our current family average of 4 miles (round trip). I don't know if we will ever go the entire 13 miles to the end of the lake. But if we did there is a waterfall and a glacier to be seen. This glacier and its lake are the source for the Anchorage Public Water supply. They actually truck the water from the water plant to be bottled and sold as "Glacier Water".

The boys' favorite part about the trip...THE PUDDLES!

Geocaching with Travis - Sept 14

One of the latest activities that we have been having fun with is geocaching or "treasure hunting" as the boys like to call it. For those of you unfamiliar with this new term it involves using a GPS to find caches (posted on www.geocaching.com) that have been hidden by some other fanatical geocacher (don't you just love these newly fabricated words). Once you find the little waterproof case you open it, sign the log inside, and leave a little trinket/take a little trinket. The kids love it!

Our good friend Travis Fraser was traveling through Anchorage on his way to a fishing weekend with his buddies. Knowing he enjoys this new "sport" I took him and the boys to the Glen Alps area with my GPS and a couple of cache coordinates. Jackson and Asa loved holding the GPS and following the red arrow while watching the distance to the cache get shorter and shorter. When we finally reached the bridge we hunted for the little cache box for about ten minutes. Finally, success! As you can see it was a beautiful fall day in the Chugach Mountains.

Winner Creek Hike

At the suggestion of a local we took the boys on a hike called Winner Creek at the Alyeska Ski Resort near Girdwood. It was a winner! The round trip was a little over four miles (our current distance limit on most adventures with the boys). The hike was a rolling, well groomed trail through the temperate rain forest that led to a beautiful gorge with a hand tram fixed across it. Jackson did great crossing the gorge with dad although he shows signs of a mild fear of heights. Asa was all for it, saying "cool" and "awesome" the whole way across with mom. We made lots of stops for looking at the mushrooms which were in their glory. Asa even found a purple, yes purple, one.