Better Late Than Never: Inaugural Post

You asked for it: more blogging. So let's start at the beginning...

Toward the end of June, my affectionately named "adoptive family" left for their summer trek to Alaska. The characters in this story are Johnny (adoptive "dad" type),  Barbara (his lovely wife, she doesn't fish anymore), Chantel (their oldest daughter, and my friend since kindergarten - she was my ticket into this family, now she's a mom and stays home too), Nicole (the next kid, and my personal massage therapist, is super-tough and can fix the boat engine and pile corks and whatever else she does), and Lance (the youngest kid, whom I used to babysit, and is now Keston's boyfriend, is the skiff man). Confusing.

This is the boat they've had since I was probably in third grade, maybe fourth.? (I remember this, because their first boat sank when I was in second grade.) Wally G. saved them all. Whew. Every summer my best friend (Chantel) went to Alaska, while I stayed home and picked strawberries. Sad.

But then I grew up and was adopted into the family (for lack of participating parents of my own). Happy!

When Mady was three, and I was a much younger version of myself (26?), we were stow-aways, and went to Alaska with them for a week. We rode up on this boat, saw bits of Petersburg and Sitka, then flew home. There was amazing wildlife and scenery. Little Mady kept busy for the three day boat ride up by repeating "We're all gonna die!" Over and over. (We didn't). We saw lots of porpoises and whales and bald eagles and swimming deers in the Inside Passage. Breathtaking.

And now, each year we go to the boat send-off.  Ike says a blessing, and away they go...

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

Comments

[Chantel]

Shawn, this post is so fun!!! Love it. Before there was Reality tv...Great pictures.