[Alaska]

Sophie (11) and I went to hike in Alaska. The Kenai Peninsula is an astoundingly beautiful place. From Seward, we went on a mid-sized tour boat to the Kenai Fjords. Sophie was seasick the entire six hours. I was mad at myself – I should have remembered this about her. And to add insult to injury, it poured rain and was foggy.

Later on that trip, we took a little skiff across the bay from Homer to Kachemak Bay to hike a deep glacial valley to Grewingk Glacier. Tiny little boat, no worry of seasickness. A squall came up half-way across and for a few minutes I was very nervous as I watched the skipper’s face. After being dropped off on a beach, we headed out for six hours of hiking in a torrential downpour. We were to be picked up by the boat at the other end of the trail.

It wasn’t too cold, but there was just enough misery to have a great talk about resilience, courage, and gumption. It ended with us sitting on some rocks with the sun emerging, in a glorious candy and nut pig-out.