Alaska Bound

Riley spent about 8 days visiting my brother, his wife and their new baby in Seward, Alaska last month. He flew there with my parents and did well on the long journey. He had a blast riding the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward. Along the way he saw incredible wildlife - including a moose! He was also able to take a whale watching cruise in Resurrection Bay where he saw humpback whales, orcas (thank goodness because that's what he was hoping to see), puffins, sea otters, harbor seals, and sea lions. Uncle Matt took him fishing for salmon, but according to Riley, they were "under a caution flag" out in the bay and waiting on the "green flag" to make their run up the river so they didn't end up catching anything. He did get a chance to try some of Matt's red salmon for the first time and enjoyed it. Riley loved playing with Matt and Mere's dog Hannibal, holding baby Alice and learning how to talk to a baby (good practice!) as well as helping Uncle Matt in his cafe every day. Uncle Matt even paid Riley for doing chores. He also discovered that Matt's cafe served "fish" flavored ice cream which was a big hit every night. Fortunately it tasted very much like vanilla. Riley also found two playgrounds near their house where he spent part of every day burning off all of his extra energy. I think we only talked to him about 3 times during the entire trip. He wasn't homesick at all - which was nice for everyone. He didn't understand why he had to come home because he was having so much fun. They took the red eye home and every one survived. It took Riley a good week or so to readjust to EST. He's been asking when he can go back to see Uncle Matt, Aunt Mere, Baby Alice and Hannibal. He asked if I could go with him next time. I told him we'll all go next summer and take Kendall along. He seemed pleased with that response. If all goes well, he'll get to see Matt, Mere and Alice again in October when they head east for a month.