20th Anniversary trip & McKinley's 2 yr. Birthday

Kary kayaking in Lake Louise

20 miles for 20 years of marriage.

Ray and Kary ready to ride. Let the journey begin.

Last week, Grandma and Grandpa were kind enough to take care of Stephen and McKinley so Ray and I could go on a 5 day anniversary trip. Our 20th is actually on August 7th, but Mom and Dad will be in Utah at that time, so we had to plan accordingly.

We decided to make it an active, on-the-go trip. So, we loaded up our bikes and kayak and drove to the Lake Louise area. We wanted to ride 20 miles for 20 years. Notice the sign in the picture. Yes, 20 miles exactly. Well, after biking the beautiful 20 miles, we thought about staying in a cabin at one of the lodges for $70 a night. After I saw the cabin, I realized why their price was so low (for AK.) So, we opted to go with plan A and camp in our tent that night. After biking back a while, we looked for camping spots and found many mosquitoes waiting to suck our blood. So, we kept pedaling on. After a few miles, I had a brilliant idea. "Let's ride back to our Pop up trailer." What was I thinking? That meant 20 miles back to where we started. I was thinking about comfort and warmth and a hot meal as well. So, we continued pedaling. 40 miles in one day is as far as I've ever gone by my own muscle power. I was pumped (literally!) It was quite an accomplishment for me. I love challenging myself.

We slept great that night and got up for a yummy breakfast. We paddled our kayak on Lake Lousie on Tuesday and Ray did a little fishing and had success.

We drove to Copper River that night and stayed at Klutina River Park. Ray made us a cozy fire and then we got a good night's rest before going to Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge on Wednesday. We enjoyed a relaxing day there and went out to eat at the Roadhouse Lodge which served the best food Ray has ever tasted. We both ordered halibut Olympia. It was perfect! Ray even went back to the kitchen after we finished our meal and shook the cook's hand and spotted him a generous tip. I just smiled!

The next day we were off to Valdez for a boat cruise on the calm waters of Prince William Sound. It was wonderful to see the wildlife, mountains and icebergs. We were fortunate to see two humpback whales playing in the water.

We drove home Friday and stopped along the way for some fishing. Ray enjoyed fishing in the lakes and streams. It was just the two of us. Simple serenity.

More memories made and more love for our children created. We missed them, but knew they were in good hands. I'm grateful for the time that Ray and I get to spend together. He's done teaching summer school, so he has 4 weeks off to enjoy family time. We are blessed.

Thanks for an adventuresome 20 years Ray!

Pictures of McKinley's Birthday to come soon..............thanks for checking in!