Alaska part 2 ~

FIRST STOP~THE POLAR BEARS

After watching the polar bears sleep for awhile we decided to head on to something else, but moments later we heard the crowd begin to stir with excitement. We figured we should head back and see the action. We thoroughly enjoyed watching one of the bears swim around in the pool and later get out and then the two of them had a little fight/play time. These bears are just so amazing and beautiful. So glad we got to see them in action.

A little family photo in front of the Bald Eagle.
We always get excited to see a Bald Eagle flying near by, so this was fun for the kids to see them close up an be able to get an idea of how large they really are.

Zoo photography is not my specialty (not that any photography is) but through the bars is not easy.
I was glad to somehow figure out how to focus on the bird and blur the bars that were between us. I could not repeat this effect but it was fun to get.

The 1st black bear of the trip!

Another of our favorite animals to visit. This "little" guy was having a great time playing with his feet. Oh my, he is cute. Why is it that when they are behind fences and bars I seem to have this crazy notion that they would be fun to go cuddle up with?

Glaciers & Girdwood

Do you see what we saw?

Not just one but 2 hearts melting in the snow!
Maybe Hallmark should use it for a card and say " you melt my heart".


Then we took the kids to one of our favorite walking spots. Just before hitting Portage Glacier there is a little turn off. I think it is called Blue Ice Trail or something to that affect. The water is very blue and it is just surreal. The picture does not even begin to capture how wonderful it is to be there.

So why is glacier ice often blue? I mean truly blue!

So the night of Jeromy's 37th birthday we took him to Double Musky, an old special favorite place. The girls loved it and we had a very nice late dinner. On the way back to our hotel we were showing the kids our old apartment and telling them all about when we lived in Girdwood. I(Stacy) saw something up on the mountain. Jeromy stopped the van and all 5 of us studied the little black spot on the mountain that we were sure was moving. All of a sudden this little guy walked across the road about 25 feet from our van. The black spot on the mountain never moved but we sure had fun watching Mr. Black Bear run under someone's porch then up the steps to the dumpster.

Before we left The Alyeska Hotel the kids had to take one last swim in the salt water pool.

The Hotel we worked at when we lived in Girdwood.

We walked behind the hotel and I told the kids about my days of leading tours back there on those trails. I have no idea why I lead any tours because I knew nothing about the area.

Our first "wild" moose. Ayla spotted a momma and baby off the side of the highway. We doubled back and came out right next to them. They still amaze me at how large they are. They are such odd looking creatures, but I think my all time favorite creature.

Next stop~Wasilla

We have some friends in Wasilla that share our heart for adoption. We love to see how their family continues to grow with special treasures and we had the opportunity to hang out with them for a very short but sweet evening.


With much anticipation we got to meet "Little Man"!
We had to get a pic of this expression.

The kids played Lava Tag and Gavin got to play too. He wheeled around to the bottom of the slides and the kids would jump on and get wheeled to a new location. This way they didn't have to touch the "lava" and they could still get away from the one that was "IT". He had a blast and his services were in high demand.



Gavin and Gavin having a blast "jumping" the big bump.
This was before big Gavin ended up with the chair on top of him. Oops!
Thank God that he didn't get hurt too badly.

It began to rain!

Then POUR!

We had a very abrupt end to our wonderful visit.
We all loaded into the vans soaking wet and said quick good byes.
Hope to see you guys again soon!