Seward

I hope that everyone had a great holiday weekend!  Steve and I spent ours (well, at least Sunday and Monday, those were the only days Steve had off) in Seward together to celebrate our third wedding anniversary.  I can't believe it has already been three years since we said "I do"!  Time flies when you are having fun I guess.

Our trip was exactly what we needed.  It was our first time spending two consecutive days together since Memorial Day weekend!  We drove down Sunday afternoon in the pouring rain and checked into the Seward Windsong Lodge, which was charming, cozy and just what we needed for the night.



We went to dinner at Resurrection Roadhouse, the restaurant connected to the Lodge, and then borrowed a movie from the front desk to watch in our room.  We were both asleep by 9:30, it was so cozy and relaxing!

We got up early the next morning and went to the restaurant for breakfast.  It was delicious!  After checking out of the Lodge, we drove into Seward and spent a few hours at The Alaska SeaLife Center.



It was great to be there again, and Steve really enjoyed it.  The SeaLife Center is home to countless great memories for me.  I spent many weekends there when I was a girl scout working on my Gold Award, which we received by developing a Rehabilitation Station Education Program for kids at the center.  We got to spend the night there quite a few times, and it was such an amazing experience for me.  We also were the recipients of the Coastal American Partnership Award in 2001, and received a plaque and a handwritten and signed letter from the President commending us for our work.

Anyway, getting back to our weekend getaway, we then left to Center and headed over to the Harbor to catch our tour boat, and went on a four and a half hour tour of Resurrection Bay with Kenai Fjords Tours.  It was very, very wet, but amazing!   We saw five different humpback whales, including one that breeched, or jumped completely out of the water.  Unfortunately I was only quick enough to get pictures of two of the animals, but I will have the memory of what we saw forever.  I have seen quite a few whales in my life, but it never fails to amaze me.  They are such beautiful, awe inspiring, creatures that demand attention and respect.    Overall it was a fantastic trip, although it was tricky trying to get my raincoat zipped up.  I think from this point on it will never happen again as Riggs gets even bigger.  It was definitely a two person job! lol.  

Here are some pictures from our trip.     

Some nice big prawn...seeing them live just reinforces to me why I don't eat shrimp...

 Beautiful

Leaving Seward

did I mention it was rainy?

 The Harness Family

Fox Island

Humpback Whale, extremely close to our boat

 there were Lord of the Rings style waterfalls everywhere

On the way back, it got even rainier and mistier,

until everything looked like it was in black and white.  

It took our breath away it was so beautiful.

Michigan Trip

Okay, I know I promised that I would be updating more, but I actually have a real excuse for my latest absence from posting!  At the end of June I went on a last minute trip to visit my Grandpa in Michigan to keep him company while he was dealing with some health issues.  It was so nice to be back in Michigan at my grandparents house again.  I love that place, so many great memories.  This time it was just me, mom, my Grandpa Wes, and my Uncle Leo.  The entire time I was there I think there was one day that was below 80 degrees for like, one hour.  It was SO hot, especially for a pregnant Alaskan lady!  lol.

Mom and I flew all night on a direct flight to Chicago, without getting much sleep, so we were pretty exhausted when we picked up our rental car in Chicago at 9:00am.  Luckily, we had planned on being to tired to drive all the way to our final destination, so we only had to get to Benton Harbor, MI, just past the Indiana border.  Driving on a crazy busy toll road on the fourth of July weekend didn't exactly help us feel relaxed; it was crazy!  But we eventually made it to the twin cities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, and used the last of our energy to visit Lake Michigan and soak up some sun on the beach there.

 Mom with the beach and the lighthouse behind her...(and a thunderstorm rolling in)

Gotta love unexpected beach time! 

Beautiful beach with lots of boat traffic nearby...and Whitney, the whitest person at the beach lol

We slept for about 14 hours then headed off feeling VERY refreshed to Mt. Pleasant.  The drive flew by and before we knew it, we were there!  We had a great week there with Grandpa and Uncle Leo, and got to have a impromptu, miniature family reunion of sorts at a local golf course.

All in all it was a great trip and so good to spend time with family, even if it was for slightly scary reasons!  Happy to say Grandpa is now on the mend and feeling much better!