The Hyer Family: Summer in Alaska: Family and Friends Welcome!

SV High Endeavours (Thumb Cove, Resurrection Bay, Alaska)

This summer we have been blessed with three sets of guests/family: Jen's parents Dick and Kathy Burger, our "Oregon parents" Bob and Christine, and our Oregon pirate friends Chris and Kim. The following are some highlights and pictures from their visits:

BOB & CHRISTINE's VISIT:

Bob, Christine, Chris, and Jen at "Chinooks" in Seward.

Christine & Bob on SV High Endeavours, enjoying gin-n-tonics.

We spent a weekend with Bob and Christine in Seward, Alaska; where the SV High Endeavours lives amidst icy glacier waters and mountains. We had a great visit, drank many gin-n-tonics, and simply enjoyed catching up. In our guestbook, they wrote: "We will be back for more beauty, more joy, more laughter, more love." They were here in May and we are determined to show them Alaska in all 12 months - so we know they'll be back at least 11 more times!

MOM & DAD BURGER's VISIT:

Dad Burger at the helm, with Ma Burger as First Mate.

Some beautiful scenery from touring about the Kenai Fjords.

Dad and Mom Burger in Kenai, Alaska.

Next, my folks flew in from Wisconsin. It was a bit colder than they were expecting (it HAS been a cool summer), but they were great sports. We took the sailboat for an overnight trip out of Seward to beautiful Thumb Cove, where we sat at anchor overnight. We drove to the Kenai River, where we camped at "Kenai Vineyards" (Chris' folks place on the river) and watched too many eagles to count soar through camp. And we simply spent wonderful time catching up, enjoying mom's home cookin', and making grand plans for the landscaping that needs to be done on our yard! We saw a black bear, moose (mom ran into a baby moose one day), eagles, puffins, sea lions, and other Alaska critters. It was a FABULOUS visit and I think they'll be back next summer (with lots of long underwear!).

CHRIS & KIM's VISIT:

Kim and Chris in Resurrection Bay, Alaska.

Thumb Cove

Chris Taylor, Jen & Chris tanning on an Alaskan beach.

Chris Taylor sun-tanning on an Alaskan Beach in front of an avalanche.

One mile stroll to hug a glacier (Exit Glacier, Seward, Alaska)

Chris and Kim Taylor in front of Exit Glacier, Seward, Alaska

Alaska Zoo: amazing unique moment of watching a Polar Bear swimming.

Next, our boating friends from Oregon, Chris and Kim, came for an extended weekend trip - Alaska is not THAT far away for a weekend trip. If you are not getting the theme of where we take our guests - we went to our boat in Seward! We spent a weekend of laughter out in Thumb Cove, where we enjoyed sun-tanning (YES, it was SUNNY!) next to an avalanche, throwing snowballs, napping on the beach, surviving an anchoring mishap (the keel needed cleaning anyway), hiking out to a glacier, and playing dice games in the cockpit. While they were here, excursions around Anchorage were also had - the Anchorage Air Museum, the Anchorage Zoo (almost all Alaska-found injured animals that are there for rehab), and simply bummin' about town and relaxin'. I also think we convinced them to sail their boat NORTH to Alaska, prior to heading on their planned journey SOUTH to Mexico in 2013. For those who don't know, we are planning to do some sailboat journeying in 2013 with the Taylors.

A few highlights from SUMMER in ALASKA...