Grandma Visits

Well Grandma was here(now she is gone). And what a great time it was. I am going to back track a little- I know you want to see some pictures. Plus, you get to see what we put her through this go 'round. I had such a great time and miss her so much. I know she is reading this and just want to say- I can't wait 'til the day she is here to stay.

Grandma arrived on Wednesday the 1st day of October with her best friend Debbie. Cali and I headed up to Anchorage to meet her at the airport. We got stuck in Bird Creek waiting on some road paint to dry. It's kind of like waiting for water to boil. NERVE-WRACKING! Fortunately Amber came to my rescue and got them to the hotel.

We stayed at the Puffin because Grandma said that is where she always stays. No matter that there is a new 4 star hotel in Anchorage that is absolutely gorgeous. :)

While Scott followed a few hours behind us with Cori and Cassi we headed over to pick up Grandma's daughter-in-law and grandson, who now live in Anchorage. Our (discombobulated) family tree is too hard to explain so just go with it. And speaking of family trees, we grabbed Wren while we were there because, well he and Barry are the only brothers the girls will ever have!

Even though Grandma initially insisted we had to eat at Gwinnies (right near the Puffin) I managed to convince her to try the 'Sourdough Mining Company' instead. It is near Alaska Wildberry Products. It's touristy but hey, this was Debbie's first time here; that officially qualifies her a 'tourist', right?

There is a nice little trail to meander behind Wildberry Products. The trail head has this "rock man". It stands for or means something but I blew by that educational post to take some gag photos instead. Austin(the grandson) did enjoy climbing on that guy though.


Cali liked taking the goofy pictures too.

In fact most everyone took at least one.








On the backside of the trail lives a extremely friendly Reindeer and Caribou. The both loved having their heads rubbed. I imagine it is hard to get to that spot with the tangle of antlers they are carrying around.

It was hard not to get stabbed.

Wildberry was whimsical; there was lots of fun things to look at and GREAT candy. I mean look how out of shape thos bears are!


Finally, after about 3 plus pounds of candy purchased we decided it was time to get some real food. We headed across the parking lot to the restaurant. By this time is was dark and getting late.

Most everyone in the group was either ready to pass out or getting really loopy.




Amber left school and hurried over just in time to eat. The girls, like always were happy to see her. They miss her a lot and sometimes Anchorage seems very far away.

The Sourdough Mining Company was a nice restaurant, with great food. There was a fabulous painting on the log wall, way up above our heads. I wish I could have gotten a better picture.

We all collapsed in bed that night. I think Grandma and Debbie had been on the go for nearly 24 hours. Cali was just plain tired.

Scott, Cori, Cassi, Cali and I left early the next morning to get Cori back for an art class. Grandma and Debbie drove home taking a side trip through the tunnel in the mountain to the lovely town of Whittier. But first, they went to GWINNIES for breakfast. I hear it was as fabulous as it always is. Then they took a quick trip through the Harley shop. Grandma even picked me up a cool shirt. I will post a photo the next time I wear it. It's in the laundry now. :)

Grandma and Debbie strolled into town that evening with the sunset. The girls were very excited to see them again. We gave them the quick tour of the motorhome and tried to settle down for the night. Since they were leaving Monday night we knew we were going to be very busy cramming all that we could into the next few days.
And that is exactly what we did.