To Alaska for Lou & Jaz's Wedding

Keith and I just returned from 10 fun filled days in Alaska. We head up on Thursday March 20th and arrived late at night. We decided to sleep in the back of the car that night and I was amazed at how beautiful the landscape was surrounding us the next morning. I feel in love with Alaska immediately. Over the course of the weekend we meet up with Al & Sean, Lane, Heidi Tinnesand, and Pete Maurer. We spent the first weekend in the small town of Girdwood home to Aleyska ski resort. Unfortunately, my MCL in my right knee has a partial tear so I wasn't able to make an turns but I was able to do some cross country skinning around which was really cool. On one of my outings I spotted dog mushers!!! It was such a cool thing to watch and the dogs LOVED it. I was in awe.


First morning in Alaska.



Chugach Mtn Range in Girdwood.



Travel companions just after we all meet up in Girdwood, AK.



Me, Al, and Heidi cross country skiing at Turnagain Pass.

On Monday morning we all got up early and packed our Ford Expedition as full as humanely possible so that all 7 of us and all of our gear could make our way down to Homer together. The 4 hours to Homer were a hilarious conglomoration of laughing, drinking, singing, and fun games. We arrived at Bill and Dorothy Fry's in good spirits and stoked to all be together. Keith and I were particularly excited as we were able to stay in one of the suites the Fry's own. They own Bear Creek Winery and Bed & Breakfast AND it is incredible. They have a wonderful view of the Kachemek Bay with snow capped mountains as the backdrop. We could see this sight every morning from our room and deck. Our first night in town was Jazzi's Bachelorette Party. After a "Pleasure Party" all the ladies head down to the spit to continue the festivities at the Salty Dog. Being that it was still winter we were pretty much the only people in there! Of course, that in no way altered our ability to have a wonderful night.


Jazzi's BACHELORETTE PARTY. We lost count of shots taken somewhere around 8.



A day spent skinning around in Homer. I didn't get to do make any turns on this trip due to a partial tear in my MCL.

The actual wedding was on Wednesday. A group of 37 close friends and family either skinned, skiied, or snowshoed in to a beautiful overlook of the Bay. It was very cool.


Pre-wedding festivities with a bottle of Jameson.



Everyone making their way to the wedding site.


Lou & Jaz on their wedding day.



After the wedding with Jazzi's mom.



View from the wedding sight.

The day after the wedding we all head out across the bay to do some cross country skiing and snowshoeing. Our destination was the Grewingk Glacier. I had never seen a glacier that close and it was astounding. It makes me sad to know that in just a few years this glacier will look remarkabley different.



On the boat!



Unloading skiis from the boat we took across Kachemak Bay.


Skinning around on the frozen lake.



Keith and I in front of the Grewingk Glacier.



Playing capture the flag on the frozen lake in front of the Grewingk Glacier.



Louie, his sister Marie, and Marie's finance (Christopher) in front of the Glacier.

On Friday night was the official wedding reception. We managed to go through 2 kegs of beer, 2 kegs of wine, and 3 bottles of Tequila not to mention personal drinks purchased. It was an insane party with lots of dancing and laughing. The remainder of the weekend was spent recovering, hanging out, and playing cards. Overall, it was an incredible vacation and it so wonderful to share the week with some of my favorite people in the world!