So exciting this morning as I pulled out of the driveway and noticed my lilac bush has blooms!!!! Why so exciting? That bush is at least 15 years old . . . maybe older . . . and it has NEVER bloomed. Durned moose keep it pretty well pruned every winter and stunt the blooms.

Until this year . . . yes, just a bit excited. I was surprised to see white – had hoped for the purple – but love, love, LOVE that the bush bloomed.

Okay – it’s been over a week now . . . and what with going back to work and all that I am just now getting around to talking about what I did LAST Sunday.

Younger daughter took part in the first (hopefully to be an annual event) Tri-the-Kenai triathlon. She went in seeded 6th, so was able to be one of the first people in the pool for the 500 yard swim.

Left to right – Jenn (yellow cap) showing her game face at the start – just hanging around; she made a deep start – the blue arrow is pointing at her; and showing a good stroke despite an injured left shoulder.

She had a respectable showing in her age group with a time of 9:21.3 in the swim.

Next came biking . . .

bike transition: heading out for the bike portion: coming back in after a 10 mile loop through heavy tourist traffic, road construction, narrow roadway with twists and turns and, oh yeah . . . HILLS!

33:40.1 was her official time for the bike portion.

After that she was headed for the Tsalteshi Trail portion of the course for a 5 kilometer run. That was twice around the track – with a huge hill at the begiining and a more sloping, still huge hill halfway through. It’s been awhile since I’ve been on the trail, so I’m not sure what else she faced back in the woods.

After the transition she’s off across the field and up the first hill . . . then after the second lap she is headed home. Third picture shows her still with a great stride. Way to go, Jenn! Time for the run portion was 34:02.7.

It took a lot out of her, though. TAT had gone out to the car when she was on her second lap and brought back two oranges for her. He knew mama’s sugar levels would be low . . . and he was right. We tried to let her alone so she could recover at her own speed . . . she chowed right into the orange:

Total lapsed time for the race was 1:17:04.1 which gave her 13th place overall and SECOND place in her age group (35-39). It was a great way to spend the day. Thanks for inviting me to be part of it, Jenn.

Back to work this week . . . lots of catch up to do. That’s the main problem with taking time off. But, fell right back into routine and got caught up. Now it is time for end of the fiscal year reports . . . yay!
/sarcasm

Couple of big doings last weekend – Saturday hubbymoose and I took the two youngest granddaughters to Seward for the day. Sunday, ladybug took part in the Tri-the-Kenai triathlon.

Today, I share pictures of Seward . . .

Spotted this nice 57 Chevy in front of us as we drove through Cooper Landing – followed it into the rest area where we stopped so the girls could run and stretch their legs. Talked to the owner and discovered he is the older brother of someone ladybug dated in high school. Small, small, S.M.A.L.L. world.
🙂 Nice ride . . . I leard to drive in a 57 Chevy . . . the back seat is smaller than I remember. Hahahaha

The girls claimed a big rock . . . and checked out each others’ eyeballs. And made us laugh.

On the way to Seward we stopped several places and pointed out sights to them . . . showed them just how big Kenai Lake is – from stem to stern, so to speak.

Saw a cute sign . . . but no moose/mooselet.

Once in Seward we drove to the waterside park and had our picnic lunch while watching sail boats and bicycle cops . . . and rolling down the big hill. Well, the girls rolled down the hill.

After lunch and the rolls down the hill . . . it was time to go to the TOY. I’ll tell you, Seward is at the top of the list for fun toys for the kids to play on and get all their energy out . . .


The wooden otters and orca were found along the marina walkways.

We left Seward after, of course, stopping to buy stuffies for the girls – I think two doggies came home with us – or maybe a dog and a bear.

Heading out of town . . . I got the brilliant idea to take a detour to show the girls Exit Glacier. Now, mind you, when I got up Saturday morning I rode the stationary bike 6 miles . . . and my muscles were cramped from riding in the car all day . . . but . . . I jiust had to stop. Yup, glutton for punishment.

We only hiked back .5 mile, and could see the glacier from there. It would have been another .7 miles to the face of the glacier, making the round trip nearly 2.5 miles. This way it was only 1 and that just about did me in. We stopped at a bench near the river and let the girls go down to the river to sift through the silty sand. Grandpa watched over them while I rested above them on the bench with a bottle of water.

Yeah, they claimed another rock. 🙂

We stopped at the pullout on the way back out to the highway to head home and discovered where we were. (hahaha)

The ride home was quieter . . as the girls settled down and played with their animals . . . and snacked. It was a lovely day to end my vacation. Thanks, girls. Love ya!

Today was go-to-the-dump day . . . and as hubby and I left our road we were tickled to meet the newest neighbor on the block.

Welcome to our world.

Wednesday was hubbymoose’s first full day on the register by himself. Yay! He says it was busy, but okay. I received a couple of calls from him – one during a break and the last during his “lunch” time.

While he was busy working – and despite intermittent rain – I decided to take another trip up into Cooper Landing – ended up in Seward. Actually the main reason I went on into Seward was to fuel up before heading back home.

I’ve only downloaded a few of the pictures – so this entry will be photo-lite. I sent a couple of these to ktuu for their weathercast, too.

Kenai Lake in Cooper Landing is a favorite stop. Along one pullout there are several statements by Red Smith stating the area was availble due to his efforts/generosityand the efforts/generosity of other residents – with admonitions to please clean up after yourself and not to leave diapers, etc.

Not sure how long those signs have been there, but it is a favorite stop of mine to take pictures:

Low hanging clouds and rain drops – undeterred, I continued on.

Near Seward – past Moose Pass – is Snow River Hostelwhich is a great example of a cord wood house. Pretty cool, huh?

Usually when I go places with hubbymoose I don’t do a lot of stop and go – he likes to get where we’re going. (that’s why Saturday was so nice – he was very tolerant of my stops for pictures – thanks, hubbymoose!) When I am by myself I take my time and am usually only governed by basic needs (fuel, rest stops, food).

I’ve seen this one rest area near Seward each time I’ve driven over – but have never stopped. Yesterday was a perfect day to do so. Because of the rain, not many people were stopping or gawking so it was easy to do it myself.

There’s an overlook here – with a pretty lily pond. While taking pictures I heard a weird call – thought it might be some sort of duck, but couldn’t see any. On the way home I thought maybe a moose call. Check out this link and click on the calf calls. That’s pretty close to what I head.

It’s a really pretty place – comes up kind of quick when you’re heading out of Seward – and there’s not too much parking area. So, be watchful and ready to pull in.

As I turned back toward home – I pulled over just past the turn because hubbymoose called – don’t drive and talk, friends 🙂

It was a great thing, though . . . a look over my right shoulder showed a lone tern sitting amid rain drops in a pool by the side of the road. Told hubby good-bye (better than just hanging up on him, huh?) and got out to take a few shots. Patient birdy:

Okay – that’s it for today’s daytrip – I will leave you with a picture of my daughter’s favorite sign: