SUNDAY, JUNE 23

SUNDAY, JUNE 23:

     What a gorgeous day this turned out to be!  The usual overcast & cloudy when we got up, but felt considerably warmer than it did yesterday morning.   But by the time we got to church for 11:00 service, clouds were beginning to break up.  

     Went to another small Presbyterian church.  Only about 2 dozen people.  But a full-time minister (or at least part-time paid).  He’s the one we met on the water Tuesday, who was out kayaking amongst the ice celebrating his 60^th birthday.  He referred to this in his sermon, as well as the imaginative shapes of the icebergs.   We felt that we were in the know!  Everyone was very welcoming and friendly and took the initiative to come over and introduce themselves. They invited us to stay afterwards for their little snack & fellowship time.  As we were leaving, a fellow came over and invited us to his & his wife’s home for dinner that evening (along with a few others folks).  We were very touched by this extravagant gesture of friendliness & inclusion, and after some hesitation said yes.

     When we left church, blue sky was nearly everywhere, with only high fluffy white clouds!  To enjoy it and capture the memory, we went down to the harbor and Bill took some pictures.  In my opinion, some were postcard worthy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then came home & had a little snack.  Bill stayed inside and messed around on the computer; I set up a Jonathan chair outside and read, dozed, read, dozed in the wonderfully warm dry sun.

 

     Then we got ready to drive to our dinner invite.  It was up near Sandy Beach, overlooking Frederick Sound.  What a gorgeous view!!  Someone pointed out Devil’s Thumb on the mountain vista across the water, and said that on the other side was Canada.  So, to paraphrase Sarah Palin, “I can see Canada from my home!”

    They see whales pass by, dolphins, seals, and more – right out their back window!!  Dinner was delicious, and the company grand.  Besides the host & hostess (Brian and Marjorie), Bob the pastor was there, as well as another couple whom we’d talked with a little at the fellowship time.  Brian is a little eccentric – was a professor of Fisheries, and very loquacious, but here, everyone accepts everyone else just as they are.   Conversation was about a lot of things, including everyone’s (except ours) many encounters with bears and how everyone there got to Alaska (always, it included their love of the outdoors, hiking, camping, etc.).  We’re so glad we accepted their invitation – it was a lovely, lovely evening all the way around.  All dear people, whom we trust we will be re-united with some day in Heaven.

     As were getting ready to leave, after 10:00, took one more look outside.  The most exquisite dusky pink over all.

                                                        Devil's Thumb sticking up         

Man, if someone told me I could have that view every day if I’d come to live in a town of 3,000, I’d ask, “When do we move?”  Of course, not every day is as perfect as today.  We were told that the last 2 summers here were awful – just rain, cool, grey, dull.  How fortunate that we took this trip when we did!

     On the way home, saw a huge moon in the clear sky.  How perfect!!

 

      When Bill was out walking Pappy, he heard the rhythmic hum of a diesel engine out on the water, and saw glimpsed through the trees what looked like a huge yellow light.  It dawned on him that it was the ferry coming up the Narrows.  He came in, grabbed his camera, and drove the truck up to where he could get a clear look at the ferry.  

 

This is the same one that we arrived on a week ago, except this one was scheduled to leave Wrangell 4  hours later than ours did, due to the tides.  We heard that, because of the equinox, today and tomorrow the difference in the tides will be at the extreme – a delta of some 25 feet.  They said that at high tide tomorrow (around 3:00 p.m.), the Narrows will look like a surging river.   We should be able to see it, as our ferry for Sitka leaves at 2:00.   This will be by far our longest ride yet – 11 hours.  If it stays dry and warm, we’re going to try to grab a lounger on the Solarium deck to have it for sleeping a few hours before we dock at Sitka (scheduled at 1:00 a.m.)