No Longer a Teen.

Yesterday was my twentieth birthday. 

Although it's not a terribly important birthday date, it was still special for me. It signified the end of the teens, which is rather exciting, in my opinion! It was also spent with the best people around- my family, in the most Alaskan way- fishing. 

Not your typical birthday celebration, but I like to do things differently. And there were no big balloons and lots of presents, there was just me and my family, celebrating the truth of birthdays and with the gifts from nature's door. 

Crack of dawn and we were out there on the water, ready to roll.

Seas then got a little rough. Dad's face portrays it all, but being the expert captain he was, we swiftly made it through. 

With Mom white-knuckling the table, we hit this rough wave and the anchor actually came loose from the bow and smacked into the front of the boat! Birthday isn't complete without some unexpected action, yes?

After a twenty-three mile boatride out, we stopped somewhere in the middle of the Cook Inlet and let the lines down. And boy were we hitting them hard! Luck was on our side because we hit the limit in less than 45 minutes!

Naturally, Dad was the first one to catch. 

Birthday girl came next..

And I succeeded again with the whopper of the whole bunch- a thirty pounder! This guy was a little excited when I picked him up..

He started to dance about, with my hands in his gills!

Aside from halibut, we were also pulling up Alaskan king crab. Granted, they were a little smaller than your expected Deadliest Catch bounty, but crab are crab!

Maybe the crab came from Mom's hat..

Dad reeling in "no toy!"

Only to be an itty bitty 'but.

And get this, the halibut brought up a baby halibut, that came out of it's tummy! What we did next was cannibalistic..

Dad put the baby 'but on the line and dropped it down again to see if halibut eat halibut. Sure enough, not three minutes later, Dad was reeling one in..

Just take a look at that!

We also caught a number of cod, which resulted in an influx of Dad jokes. 

Cod Danggit.

Cod bless America.

Oh my cod. 

Codda love Dad jokes. 

After our successes at sea, we reeled it in for the day and headed back to Homer for a bite at Maura's. After the meal, I was given a surprise pie, complete with happy birthday!

And a rose latte for the road..

Dinner celebrations, whilst they're almost always out, were in this evening, for we had plenty of divinity to eat here! As Dad says: "everything we eat here is caught, killed, or grown."

Including Shelby Dykstra's homestead cake pops!

Greens from the garden, salad from the garden, potatoes from the garden (with homemade cranberry ketchup), halibut fresh from today, and kale from the garden!

Best birthdays are the ones spent with family, I'm telling you!

Moody.

It can't already be fall. Nah, I won't believe it! Just two weeks ago, I hopped aboard a plane, leaving the Alaskan summer and when I returned, fall had befallen.

It's been rather moody lately, the weather, as well as me. We've been having some rather intense winds lately, with whizzing noises and resulting whooshing trees. Yellow leaves now cover the green lawn and there is something intangible in the air that signals the end of summer. 

But the end of summer just means the start of fall, and there's lots to look forward to! And I'm not complaining of this change of seasons, for the winds make me feel all cozy, as I sit inside, protected and warm with my candles and journals. And coffee. 

Look on the bright side, or in my case, the windy side of life. 

Mood: moody.

What I wore: vintage flower choker (used), floral DELETTA funky top (used), striped BANANA REPUBLIC skirt (used), and gold J CREW loafers (used). 

Back at It.

Whew! What a whirlwind of a week.

I know I kind of unexpectedly dropped off there at vacation day number seven, but we ended up spending the latter part of vacation in Vermillion, South Dakota, where we got my sister all moved in to her first year of college at USD.

It's been rather emotional for me, I have to say. Coming home to an empty house and not being able to come on over to her room and watch Teen Wolf with me is hard, and I get teary eyed at every point and turn here. But I know she'll do just so well in school, and it'll only be a matter of time before I see her again! I just hope she knows how much she means to me and how much I miss her and love her. I'm her #1 biggest fan!

Anyway, there's lots going on here, and it's only my first day back in the north! School is coming up here pretty soon, and there's still the big question as to where I'll live, which isn't so great seeing as how I've waited to the last minute and registration is coming right along the corner. I guess this is what you get for procrastinating! Lesson learned. 

But I'm here, and back, and probably more emotional than ever! 

Coming home to fresh coffee never felt so good..

I also came home to the most wondrous of gardens! I came in here to drop Fudge off for an afternoon frolic in the sun, but ended up staying later to pick an entire bucket full of rich raspberries. Life is good. 

Who said summer's over? Not me!

What I wore: vintage double strand necklace (used), light blue LTS off the shoulder crop top, multi-color LIZ CLAIBORNE skirt (used), and grey NORDSTROM flats (sale). 

Vacation Spot- South Dakota, Day 6&7.

I read a book sometime ago called Riding the Flume, and not only was it my favorite book for quite a few years, but it sparked an interest in flumes and their uses. 

Naturally, with the huge gold explosion here in the hills some one hundred plus years ago, there were flumes, specifically, the Rockerville Flume. 

To sum it up briefly, the Rockerville Flume was designed and constructed in the 1880's to solve the problem of water loss during the boom of Rockerville and the discovery of gold. When water wasn't available, it made it difficult for minors to subtract the gold from the dirt, and it was very costly to pay for the water. 

The building of the flume apparently had some miscreant managers, and although the lifespan of the flume was short-lived, it was said to have pro ducted about twenty million dollars worth of gold to be mined in Rockerville. 

Today, there's a beautiful trail that follows the flume's path and although age and nature's course has taken down the flume, there are still remnants of wood planks and rock walls (not to mention two very wicked flume tunnels) along the trail. 

Come take a walk with me!

P.S. There was no posting yesterday due to the arrival of Dad here in the hills and a resulting chiller day. Apologies!

The day began on a rather chilly note. From our spectacular ninety degree days, we have taken a drastic turn into the lower fifties, with drizzles and eerie fog. Oh well! We're from Alaska, we can handle any weather!

Alyeska proved to be the most irritable at the weather, but Grandma soon warmed her up..

You can either start the trail at the Rockerville trailhead, or start near Sheridan Lake, and can either take the eleven mile walk, or the six mile loop. Today, we went for the start at Sheridan and the six mile loop. 

Dad is certainly ready to rumble! 

Here lies the dam at Spring Creek, where the water was hauled some 17 3/4 miles away to Rockerville, through hills and over gulches. 

The trail is very neat. Not only do you follow the original flow of water from the flume, but you get the scenic view. And boy does it feel like you're taken back in time to the 1880's!

One of my favorite parts of the trail was the first flume tunnel. Concstructed by hand, these babies went through rock faces to continue the transport of water. And boy are they spooky!

To go in, or to not go in?

Following Anton and his headlamp, Mom and I followed suit through the old flume tunnel. 

Rather wet due to the past rainfall, but plenty worth it.

We made it!

Careful Anton!

I myself was also fascinated by the remaining wood planks and trenches that were dug by hand. I'm holding history!

So much to see..

And not half a mile later, the second flume tunnel!

Literally touching rock thats 1.7 billion years old.. boy how I wish these rocks could talk!

Look at that, just carved there in the hillside..

Here, I'm coming back out of that first flume tunnel. We turned around at the scenic meadow overlook, and I obviously couldn't wait until I got back here again!

Alyeska joined us on this one!

Looks like everyone's having a good time, yes?

Route looking familiar again..

Fabulous way to spend a drizzly day, I must say!