Teachers Two-Cents:  Greetings from The Land of the Midnight Sun!  We finally had an opportunity to use up all those air miles we earned flying back and forth to California while living in Hawaii for 4 years. So here we are visiting some of our Kona friends who are now residing in Alaska. Not only is the hospitality Alaska sized but 5 days into our two-week trip, we can say our expectations of America’s last frontier have been wildly surpassed.  We are also blessed to have my father-in-law along with us after suffering the recent loss of his precious wife, my husband’s own dear mother, the boys’ loving “Oma” and this blog’s most enthusiastic fan.  We’re all wishing she were on this adventure with us, but know she is experiencing vastly more wondrous things in the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

So, even though our hearts are heavenward, this week’s factoids will be a little more down-to-earth.  And since it’s impossible to describe Alaska in factoid-sized-bites here’s a generous helping of photos from our adventures so far.

The first day in Alaska we hiked up Flat Top Mountain and picked blue berries. On the way down we saw 3 big bull moose in meadow. Then further on we saw a female moose which is called a cow. The next day we went to Kenai Fjords National Park and hiked to Exit glacier. On the drive back we saw a pod of Beluga Whales really close to shore and we saw lots of wild swans (Sam, 9).

Our family went on a glacier cruise and we saw tons of wildlife including bears, mountain goats, seals, endangered sea lions, otters, porpoises, and eagles.  Our boat went right up to the glaciers so we could hear them creaking and see them calve.  Calving is when chunks of ice break off the glacier and splash into the water (Nate, 11).