We had a wonderful opportunity while visiting D.C. to sneak away for a few days to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My brother’s significant other’s family lives there in a beach front community in Corolla and invited us along for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is always best with friends and family, so we drove the 5-6 hours through Virginia to the Outer Banks barrier islands.

First off, it was a wonderful home with wonderful hosts. I can’t say enough about the hospitality of our new friends. And her parents’ house was simply beautiful – the beds were super comfortable, each room had access to the sea breeze outside, I didn’t have to share a bathroom with a 7 year old boy – it was a very relaxing time. And when we travel, we very seldom relax. There was much book reading and hammock napping and slow dinners on our agenda.

But of course, we wouldn’t be us if we didn’t explore. Here are some of the great family-friendly, little-guy-approved things:

• Wright Brothers Memorial at Kitty Hawk: Where would we be without airplanes? The flight line, Wright Brothers Monument and camp buildings are available to explore. Being a National Park, there was an EXCELLENT ranger talk on the history and a fun junior ranger program to join. Another badge!
• Currituck Beach Lighthouse: There is a 220-step winding staircase that leads to the top of the lighthouse, where there is an incredible view of the sound and Atlantic Ocean. Inside the lighthouse are two exhibits on shipwrecks and coastal lighthouse history.
• Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education: The sweet visitor center had a solid movie about the history of the area, specifically about how hunting changed it. There is a nice exhibit on the different birds and animals and a note-worthy collection of decoys.

And of course, the beautiful beaches of Corolla. Beachcombing, horseshoe crab singing, bird watching and we even saw the famous Corolla wild horses. And the beaches were practically empty because it was November yet the weather was good. Off season is still our favorite time to travel. 

Today’s adventure was Hatcher Pass in the Talkeetna Mountains. It’s a nice day trip from Anchorage or the Matanuska Valley, where we are located. During July and August, the (almost) 4000 ft pass is open all the way and provides for some amazing views – you feel like you are in a scene from the Lord of the Rings. Many of the peaks surrounding the pass are as high as 6000 ft.

Hatcher Pass was a major gold mining district and you can still see abandoned mines hanging in the mountains under glaciers. We were there for a completely different treasure: our annual low bush blueberry harvest.

We take a fairly steep trail, loading all of us (family and friends) into a four wheeler and RZR ATV. This allows us access to our super special place where we only see one other couple picking across the valley. In two hours, we have 15+ pounds. There are four of us picking and one little guy mostly eating. We use Linden Berry Pickers, which you can see in the picture of little. They make quick work of picking but we then have to pull out crowberries and leaves later. Well, some of us do… Maggie and I are a little more OCD in our blueberry picking.

I can’t pretend our last day was perfect. I had hoped to be home in time to take little on a hike to Thunderbird Falls. Instead, we had an incident with the four-wheeler which left myself, my parents and our pal Maggie to hike down (!!!) while my brother took the RZR with my kiddo. I was wearing birkenstocks and woefully unprepared for a hike through the brush and a stream crossing. Ouch.

Once we finally arrived home, it was time to begin the jelly. I like to use Pomona Pectin (http://www.pomonapectin.com) for low sugar jams and jellies. For this batch, we didn’t use any processed traditional sugar but instead sweetened the jelly with apple juice. It took a little longer to begin to jell but success! We have a little time to rest now for our trip home early tomorrow morning. Alaska, it’s never goodbye but always see you again!

 

 

We are in Alaska! This is an easy trip and one we take annually if not twice a year. It’s super inexpensive as we enjoy free room and board here as well as free entertainment, outdoor recreation and concierge salmon fishing. What a deal, right? Did I mention this is where Nana and Papa live? To Little, it’s heaven on earth.

For this trip, I am working remotely and thus we aren’t doing much exploring beyond the local area in Butte, Alaska. Butte is located in the Matanuska Valley. The Matanuska Valley was settled by pioneers in 1935 as a part of “The New Deal” and over 200 families were relocated here from Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, specifically chosen for their proved ability to farm in tough, cold climates. It’s no wonder that my own parents from the Northwoods found themselves here.

A few highlights:

Hiking! Little summited his first peak! His uncle Kurtis and friend Maggie took him up the trail in what ended up a torrential downpour. But he made it to the top! The trail is a relatively tough little hike, just over three miles but with lots of elevation gain. The trick to it is hiking up the right side that is maintained and has stairs for the step sections. http://aktrailhead.com/bodenburg/bodenburg.shtml

Fishing! Little loves to fish. This summer he has caught cutthroat trout, perch, small mouth bass and bluegill. Of course he was excited to fish in Alaska with his papa! It’s good to know the salmon runs. We had hoped to catch a few silver (coho) salmon but the run just had not quite come into the creek we usually fish at. If we could stay a few extra days odds would have been much better. It was still a great opportunity to hang out with the family in one of the  most beautiful locations in the world.

Gardening! The valley is known for being Alaska’s farming region. My own parents have a wonderful garden and greenhouse on their property. They grow squash, peas, beans, potatoes, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, cucumbers, onions, pumpkins, raspberries, currants, herbs and so much more. It’s a lot of work – my mom is processing as I type. She’s shredding and freezing veggies and canning fruit jams. It’s a great time of year to be here as little can spend hours outside helping her. We have just a couple days left and a few more great spots to hit so I will update more tomorrow.

 

 

 

You are probably wondering where in the world the north woods is. For decades, the residents of the area have called it the “north woods” but technically it’s a designated ecoregion, defined by the types of trees, geology, geography and ecosystem found there. It’s the area surrounding the great lakes, comprised of

Upper Michigan, Northern Wisconsin and Northern Minnesota. It’s a temperate mixed forest and the easiest way to explain where my people come from as they stretch from Houghton to Green Bay, from Marquette to Duluth and all the way to Mackinaw (check out Kilwin’s Ice Cream and Fudge if you are ever there and say hi to Cousins Jay and Wendy!) Okay, so we have a few randos that moved from Eagle River to Chicago or Iron River to Detroit, but we won’t count them.

 

My folks left right after high school and never really looked back. We lived in North Dakota, Germany and finally settled in Alaska. My large extended family is still (mostly) there and we headed east in June to join everyone to celebrate my grandmother’s 90th birthday with the family.

My grandmother lives on Gilbert Lake, which provides the kiddos with a wonderful opportunity to fish on a closed lake, meaning there isn’t any public access. Little caught small mouth bass, blue gill, perch – all catch and release. 9 fish in one day and 11 the next! Nearby there is Gibson Lake, which has a playground and picnic facilities.

 

 

To begin the adventure, my cousin, niece and our little family flew to Minneapolis to meet up with my sister and brother. We rented cars and drove 5 hours to our home for the next week, Paint River Landing. It’s a lovely renovated-but-still-rustic

set of cabins complete with lodge/bar/restaurant that has all the important stuff: wifi, beer on tap, delish fried cheese curds, a fish fry on Fridays and live music on the weekends.

Before my grandmother’s party, we managed to join a few cousins on my mom’s side of the family for a little reunion (~50 people) on Sunset Lake, where I spent many childhood summers. The park was unchanged from the early 80’s – remarkable in that the equipment did not look safe in any way, shape or form. While horrified to watch my kid follow his cousins up a (seemingly) 3-story metal slide, I was reminded that I somehow survived without plastic slides or wood chips. I mean, the slide ended on a concrete pad. CONCRETE, people. But it was wonderful to see so many of my cousins’ kids playing together!

As a whole, the trip was successful. My sister and I weren’t able to stop in Spread Eagle and take hilarious photos for Instagram (an tradition every time we are back) but we were able to eat at Riverside Pizza in Iron River too many times. Wausau? jokes were made as we drove through, the Menominee (to the tune of the muppet’s menomena) song was sung with glee and there was antiquing in Florence where my sister scored a stripper lamp. No, really.

We ended the trip in Minneapolis, arriving with enough time to hit The Mall of America – only the Lego Store and Nickelodeon World. Nickelodeon World proved to be the perfect way to kill time before the long flight home. There were just enough mellow, younger rides that we maxed out our time and he slept most of the flight home.