What
You'll Find Here
The Trip
The First Aid Kit
Honesty at the B&B
Trip Photos
Sherry and Joe spent a week in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, south of Anchorage, in August of 1993. They met in Anchorage, got there supplies together and headed to Homer.
After spending a night on the spit in Kachemak Bay, they chartered a boat that took them to Kachemak Bay State Park in the Halibut Cove area. After assembling Sherry's 2-man kayak, they spent the week paddling from site to site and hiking and climbing mountains in the area. The charter boat returned a week later and found them in one piece.
The landscape was spectacular! Joe shot well over 100 photos. Only a sample are here.
While there are plenty of stories from the trip, two of the more humorous occurred before and after the hiking, climbing and paddling adventure. These are described below. If you see Sherry or Joe you might want to ask them about:
Tracking a bull moose all day and not
realizing it until they caught up with it;
A wine and cheese party at the Grewingk
Glacier;
A kayak so heavily loaded that had they
encountered one good wave they would still be at the bottom of
Katchemak Bay;
Getting lost on Ismailot Island (small island, this
was tough to do);
Timing the tides wrong while trying
to leave a lagoon;
Lots of wildlife;
The newlyweds that wanted their cabin;
Lots of other stories.
Arrangements for the trip were made after Sherry’s return from Somalia that spring. During preparations, the issue of a first aid kit came up. As mentioned above, they would be dropped off by a charter boat and out of touch with civilization for a week so Joe thought this important. He asked, "This may sound like a silly question for a doctor, but do you have a first aid kit?"
Chuckle, chuckle, "You’re right. It is a silly question. No."
"OK. I’ve got one and it has ..."
"Any anesthetics?"
"Advil."
"Any local anesthetics?"
"Huh?"
"Any sutures?"
"Well... No."
"OK. I know what I’ll bring."
"Why?"
"Well, this way if one of us gets torn open we can sew each other up until help arrives."
"That may work if I get hurt, Doc. But I’m afraid you’re gonna die."
Luckily, no one got hurt. Although aches and pains did develop. Joe could not paddle well due to a shoulder problem and Sherry had trouble climbing because of knee trouble. But, with the Doc always prepared, she had some rather effective drugs on hand. Good thing, too. One afternoon they got lost on Ismailot Island and could not find there way back to the kayak for a couple of hours.
Of course, Sherry made the trip more enjoyable with her outdoor cooking skills. In fact, it seems all they did in the wilderness was eat, sleep and enjoy Happy Hours by glaciers.
Sherry spent time keeping Joe in check. He wanted to chase the wildlife they encountered. She did not want to have to repair him. In one case, she stopped him from chasing a bull moose he wanted to photograph. But it was Sherry’s idea to compete with the local bear population for wild berries to add to her breakfast scones.
On their last full day in Alaska together, the weather turned foul and there was not much enthusiasm left for another night in a tent. They searched for a motel in Seward. Alas, there was no room at the inn. They found a B&B off the beaten path with one room left. The Le BarnAppetit.
Upon arrival, one of the proprietors (a very Christian couple) took them on a tour of the facility. The rooms were in a converted barn. The health food store was in an attached trailer. There was a large home-made playground "for the children" complete with a cross. There was a tree house "for the children" so large and well equipped that they often rented it. "Here's the room where the Exxon recruiting manager slept with a .45 under her pillow every night after the oil spill."
The room available had two single beds and a cross on the wall. Perfect.
Prior to the trip, Sherry & Joe had agreed that if anyone asked, they were brother and sister. Not too big a stretch for a pair of red-heads. But this agreement was to cause some concern. As they were signing the register, the owner asked a series of the usual questions. "Where are you from?" "Where have you been?" etc. And they explain their week in the wilderness together.
She ends with, "So, are you two brother and sister?"
A quick glance at each other. Grins exchanged. And a simultaneous, "Ah, yes."
"That's nice."
As registration continued, Sherry conscience could not deal with the situation. She blurts, "You're such nice people. I can't lie to you. This is my best friends husband!"
The woman's jaw hit her chest. She's not coping well with this revelation. Joe's beginning to think that they'd be sleeping in a tent after all. This was the last room in all of southern Alaska.
As if this was not enough, Sherry then announces, "It's OK. We do this sort of thing all the time!"
Trip Photos (click on any picture to
see full-size version)
 |
| Grewingk Glacier. The site of the
first wine and cheese party.
|
 |
| Sherry and Joe on the summit of Poot
Peak with a sample of the views they had.
|
 |
| Same view with less distraction.
|
 |
| The splendor was too much for Sherry
to handle.
|
 |
| A moose. Not the one they tracked. They
never did get a photo of that one.
|
 |
| Joe and Sherry waiting to be picked up (rescued?) at the end of the trip. Notice that they are eating the last of their supplies. A jar of peanut butter. |
Copyright
(Yeah, right).
Last revised:
July 01, 2003.