BIRTH OF OUR NATION

Sunday, July 4

We rose, had breakfast and showers and dressed for church.

It was a beautiful day and a great day to be alive.

It was Sunday and the Fourth of July, the anniversary of the birth of our nation, “One nation, under God” It was the founders of our country, those who penned the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, who in their words and deeds laid the foundation for the Union to be known through out the civilized world as a nation who served God and acknowledged his deity. It is only our latter day politicians who want to distance themselves and our nation from God. May God help them and our nation.

This morning in church we celebrated and remembered those who have fought and those who have died that we might be free. Most of them would not recognize the lack of freedom we have today and a great many of them would once again pick up arms to regain the freedom we have lost and perhaps at some time in the future that will occur again, an armed struggle to gain freedoms usurped by a power hungry government.

This morning we sang the Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, My Country Tis of Thee, Battle Hymn of the Republic and The Banner of the Cross. Vets were recognized by pastor Tim and were asked to stand and give the branch of service in which they served. Then he delivered the message “Don't Forget to Stand Up”.

Folks we had met at Liard Hot Springs who are from Pennsylvania came by to visit and stayed for lunch. It was a Fourth of July celebration at Don and Julie's. Onie took pasta salad and deviled eggs she and Eloise had made yesterday.

The crowd gathers.

Onie and Eloise enjoying their meal.

Corn's ready on the grill.

And it was goooood!

The tables were spread with pulled pork, corn on the cob that had been grilled with the shuck on, Dennis, Donnie, Sidney and the writer shucked the corn before it went to the table, two different potato salads, two dishes of baked beans, condiments, baked onions and lots of deserts were all there for the eating,.

The rain fell off and on causing people to gather under the sheltering canopies. The Pennsylvania folks left at four saying they had to be heading home.

With help, the writer moved his and Onie's canopy from Donnie's to our campsite. A campfire was laid for the ladies but they opted to go inside instead. Aunt Eloise is starting to have a cough and doesn't want to aggravate it. In the coach the ladies watched Grease.

The writer ambled off to the grate to meet some fish. They were a no show.

Back under the canopy he lit the campfire and listened to music. Heavy rain falling on the canopy trapped the smoke keeping away bugs but also causing the writer to smell like the burning wood.

Onie announced, at eight, that our supper was ready.

After supper the writer retired to the bedroom where he started Rio Lobo. The ladies were still watching movies in the front room of the Marlin.

At nine Onie joined the writer. They watched a little more of Rio Lobo before turning out the lights at nine thirty.

Outside the rain beat a gentle tattoo on the roof of the motor home.

FIRST OF SECOND

Monday, July 5

The girls were up at seven and had breakfast and coffee before dressing and heading off to Curves at eight thirty.

The writer rose at eight, waited for his turn in the kitchen and then made Chia tea, took the trash out and then went to the lodge to shower at nine.

Just before he left for his shower Becky called. She wants to meet the girls and go with them on their day trip to Homer and points between there and Soldotna. The writer told her he would call Curves and let Onie know she was coming. The call was made to the lady that runs Curves and she said she would relay the message. Before the writer got out the door Kurt called to ask where Curves is located. He was almost there but had never been there so was looking for it. Then he saw it.

Back in the coach the writer fixed tea water and poured himself a bowl of frosted mini wheats. Then he topped the bowl of cereal with a sliced banana. He sat down to eat with the paper from several days as well as this morning's.

While the coach wasn't rocking and rolling like a ship at sea it was doing a pretty good imitation as high winds buffeted it. Outside the awning broke loose from the de-flappers and the writer went out, got the ladders out and reattached them, screwing them down tight. The canopy was also being buffeted so the writer lowered it and tightened the corner ropes.

Inside the coach the writer tried to access the web with no success.

He swapped laptops and completed stories for three days before going to the grate. He should have kept writing.

The Rio Lobo DVD was still cued up so the writer returned and started it where he had left off. It turned out just like it had the last time he watched it. When he returned Rio Lobo to its place in the book of movies it was very close to El Dorado so the writer decided to watch a drunken Robert Mitchum get sober enough to catch the bad guys. Just like before, he did it again. Sometime during the movies the writer got hungry, paused the movie, heated some beef stroganoff and then resumed the movie. Try that in the theater!

Just before the movie was over the ladies returned home at eight thirty.

They had a big time in Homer, shopping and eating supper at Ninilchik.

After a short recounting of the trip, from Onie, the writer got his fishing gear and headed off to the river. An hour later he had felt one fish, hooked and lost one fish and landed one eight pound male. It was the first fish of the second run for him.

After the fish had been fileted and put in the fridge the fisherman sat under the canopy to enjoy the avocado Onie had prepared for him. Around ten he went in the house to join the ladies who were already in bed.

He brushed his teeth, took his nighttime pills and joined Onie.

Outside it was fifty two with a light rain.

SUMMER

Tuesday, July 6

The day started as sunny and warm being sixty seven at nine. Summer is here even if it is a bit late.

Ten thousand plus fish swam past the weir counter yesterday so the fishing should be good today and the catching might even be better. A call was placed to Kurt to alert him to the numbers and to tell him to come on down.

Notes for yesterday were made while the navigator fixed breakfast which was eaten at ten. While eating we watched Barbara catch three fish.

When breakfast was at a close the writer sat down to finish the story for Monday and make notes for today.

The ladies began organizing to pack for Aunt Eloise's return flight tomorrow. The writer helped where he could but that meant staying out of the way for the most part.

When Kurt didn't show up to fish the writer strolled up the hill. Strolling up the hill is akin to just lifting a hundred pounds. It is no problem when one is young and in shape but when birthdays are catching up with you the stroll becomes a labor. At any rate the writer got up the hill to the house where he piddled, helping Kurt.

Later the twosome descended the hill, in a truck, and tried their luck at the grate. They are both good fishermen but know it is better to be lucky than good, especially when it comes to fishing. Today they were good and lucky and caught a couple of fish.

As the day wound down the writer went back to the coach to see how things were coming with the packing. It was finished and Onie was preparing supper.

The fish that had been swimming in the river this morning was going to be gracing our plates tonight. Onie had prepared it on a bed of cabbage, one of her new recipes, and the writer took it out and put it on the gas grill. Twenty minutes later the pan containing the fish was delivered to our table by none other than the writer. Onie served us and soon all was quiet in the coach except for the sound of munching and congrats to Onie on her new sensation.

After supper the ladies cleaned the kitchen, again, and then prepared for bed.

Onie and Eloise made out the couch one last time, for this trip. Eloise tucked herself in and Onie and Pawpaw retired to the back of the coach where they were soon fast asleep.

SO LONG, ELOISE

Wednesday, July 7

Eloise and Onie were up at eight. They continued packing, the last few things and then had breakfast.

The writer was up at ten and with his rising the rain came.

Onie placed steel cut oats and hot tea before him. When he had finished eating he started packing the car. Then the trash was taken out before he talked to Kurt and David Matthew. David had called to tell us about an earthquake that stuck near Palm Springs. A call was placed to Larry regarding a Saturday halibut trip for me and Onie. The writer finished packing the car.

The trio--Onie, Eloise and the writer, now driver--left for Seward at half past noon.

It was raining.

Although a sharp lookout was kept we saw no animals before we stopped at Moose Pass for lunch at two.

We were rolling again at three and it was still raining, hard.

By three thirty we were in Seward at the train station. Onie and Eloise went in and picked up their tickets.

A discussion was then held about what to do next. Everyone thought time was too short to visit the Sea Life Center so we opted to drive out to Exit Glacier.

Along the way we stopped for pictures.

Back in Seward at four thirty we decided to drive the short distance to the waterfall for another picture.

From there we continued on out to Lowes Point before reversing our course and heading back to town.

Once there we made a stop at the creamery where we each had some ice cream.

Five thirty found us at the railroad station where the ladies were ready to board the train for their journey into Anchorage. It was still raining as it had been all day.

Tom, Sylvia, and Eloise. The girls are ready to board. Not the greatest weather for a

scenic train ride.

A few photos from the trip.

Camera in hand, Eloise relaxes on the train. She took about 800 pictures while in Alaska.

The view out out window for most of the trip.

We moved from out seats to capture a few scenes.

Deep Placer River canyon. The river which empties into Cook Inlet.

Eloise enjoyed the beauty of Turnigan Arm (Cook Inlet).

The driver would take the Subaru and meet them at the Anchorage station around ten and then we would head on to the airport where Eloise would catch her airplane to go home. Departure time for her flight was 12:37 a.m. Thursday morning.

With the ladies safely on board the driver headed toward Anchorage but stopped just a short distance from the rail station to call our neighbor, Jim. He reported lots of rain in Coldspring. The peaches and wild plums, in our yard, are coming on strong and if the birds and squirrels don't get them there should be a bumper crop. Our yard is looking good. Joseph has mowed it just recently but with all the rain it will need mowing again, soon. Our pets, the exotic fish in our aquarium, are all well and thriving. We seem to be out of some fish food which Jim will pick up the next time he is in a Wal-Mart. He and his wife, Polly, are fine but missing us as we miss them.

The train left the station promptly at six, the scheduled departure time. When the train went by the Subaru Pawpaw could see Onie and Eloise sitting in their seats, chatting. He hoped they would have a good trip. As it pulled out of the station the driver said goodbye to Jim and started the drive to Anchorage.

Did I mention it was raining?

The rain persisted all the way to mile post 45 on the Seward Highway where the sun broke through the clouds for a while. The time the sun shone was short lived as the rain began again at Turnagin Pass and lasted all the way into Anchorage.

In Anchorage the driver went to the Wal-Mart on the Old Seward Highway. The last time he was there a big remodeling and expansion was taking place. Now it was completed. The Subaru had been almost three thousand miles since the tires were balanced and rotated so it was the driver's intent to have that done. Alas, when the remodeling took place at Wal-Mart they did away with the auto service center. The driver didn't stop but headed for Fred Meyer, on Muldoon, to buy gas and shop for work socks and some new sun glasses. While he was there he saw that Ranier cherries were on sale for $2.48 per pound. He got a pound and a diet coke. That would be his supper. Treasures paid for he headed for the railroad station. It was nine fifteen.

Fifteen minutes later he was parked near the station, eating his cherries, drinking his coke and reading Undaunted Courage. At ten o'clock he heard a train whistle announcing the arrival of the train from Seward. The book was closed and put down.

The driver headed for the station. A few minutes later the ladies appeared. They quickly got into the car to avoid the mist that was falling.

On the way to the airport we drove around downtown Anchorage a little so Eloise could get a feel for the change that had taken place since she and Uncle Will were last here in 1993. She was impressed and said the city barely resembled itself of years ago.

We wandered around in downtown and then headed to the airport at eleven.

Now it was raining.

We parked in the garage and went to the Continental ticket counter to check a bag for Aunt Eloise. Only two ladies were working at the Continental counter and one of the ladies was occupied trying to check in a group of Polish tourists. There was at least a dozen of them and apparently only one spoke any English. The lady was struggling to say the least. The other lady was helping an elderly couple who really needed it. We waited and waited. Eventually another lady came to our rescue. Eloise's bag was checked and Onie given a pass to help Aunt Eloise with her carry on and get to the gate.

Waiting for her flight, Eloise was ready to go. We had a great adventure but I think

she was a little tired at this point and ready to head home. We were sad to see her

go. She had been a great guest.

The driver found a comfortable chair, stretched out as much as possible, pulled his dark glasses over his eyes and his hat low over his face. He closed his eyes and tried to rest. Occasionally he opened his eyes and watched to stream of humanity passing before him. It was a strange mix indeed.

When Eloise was in the line to board Onie headed back to find Pawpaw. She saw him stretched out, almost asleep.

Together they headed for the parking garage and the car. We were out of the garage and on the road at fifteen minutes to one.

Rain and fog hung over us like a wet blanket as we headed for Sterling and the coach. We stopped at Girdwood for a coke and snacks to keep us awake. The rain and fog accompanied us for most of the trip and almost shrouded from view the lone moose we saw on the way back.

Fortunately traffic was light and we only saw a couple of drivers acting in a nutty manner on the way home.

The rain had finally stopped.

Glad to be home after a long day we hurriedly got ready for bed. At three fifteen we were in bed. At three sixteen we were fast asleep.

TIRED

Thursday, July 8

Onie was up at ten and the writer at eleven.

We had our coffee and tea along with cornbread and syrup for breakfast. It was like candy.

When we have company we try to accommodate their needs including rearranging closets and drawers to make room for their things. When they leave we have to reverse the process and today we did that. The closets were reorganized, cabinets repacked and the contents of drawers reshuffled.

When that was completed the writer did some agency work, sorted and opened mail, threw some away, lay some aside for later attention and answered some.

Onie had gone to Curves. When the rearranging was completed and the agency work and mail completed three computer games were played before sitting down to make notes and write.

When Onie returned we sat down to visit and then worked some crosswords. We were both very tired from our long day yesterday. We watched some TV before supper.

Some half hearted attempts were made at fishing but we really just wanted to rest.

Early in the evening we went to bed.

STRUGGLES

Friday, July 9

Onie was up at seven. The heater in the living room was running.

Last night had been clear. The rain and clouds from earlier in the day had given way to clear skies before midnight and with the clear skies came a cold morning, thirty four at six. At five there had been a heavy white coat of frost covering the ground and vehicles. By seven, with a bright sun shining, it was up to forty nine.

The writer rose at seven thirty. Onie was preparing for a big day, first Curves and then she and four other ladies would be off for a big day of making the local yard sales. It would be another adventuresome Friday.

The writer had a cup of Chai tea while the jasmine tea water heated. With the hot tea, a bowl of cold cereal and the paper he settled in for a while, working the crossword before quitting the table for Onie's laptop.

The weir count was checked, for yesterday, and it showed something over eight thousand fish had come in. Those are very catchable numbers.

Then a couple games of Free Cell were played before some notes were made and a couple of drawers rearranged.

With a shower behind him he walked up the hill to see if he could lend a hand at Kurt's house.

Construction always creates detritus and the writer is good at handling that. He cleaned up a bit while Kurt worked then they decided it was time to descend on the grate with their tools of the trade.

At the river, buckets of gear in one hand and rods in the other they set about a different kind of task. With buckets safely in place they began casting, flipping really, for the next red coming up the river. Whether they each caught the next reds coming through or whether several passed before meeting the hook is unknown but eventually they each had strung a fish.

Whiling away the time at the river is a great way to pass the afternoon and the guys did that. Flipping, solving local and world problems, taking a rest now and then flipping some more. Now and then a red came in contact with the line sending a signal, to the flipper, as it wiggled past. On some occasions the hook met the fish as it was heading upstream. Then a brief struggle ensued to see if the fish would continue its trip upstream, to spawn and die, or if it would be netted, bonked, bled, strung and die at the grate. One way its carcass would feed new fry in the spring and the other way its carcass would feed old spry in the spring. Either way it was a winning situation. The guys won their share of the struggles.

Tom's catch!

The ladies returned between six and seven

The guys went to help them unload their new found treasures then it was back to filet fish before heading to their homes for supper and an evening inside.

Onie and the writer settled in for the night around ten.

SKIP

Saturday, July 10

Although it had rained part of the night it had stopped before we woke at nine. The low had been a warm forty eight.

Onie had coffee and the writer had a Chai tea, made a few notes and wrote before they dressed to go to breakfast at Sidney and Barbara's.

At breakfast they each had scrambled eggs, county fried ham, an oven fresh biscuit, grits and a generous helping of fresh fruit.

Onie and a couple of other ladies headed back to yard sales they had visited yesterday as well as some they had missed.

The writer made some notes , played a few computer games, read the paper, gave directions to Clair, our oldest daughter, on how to get from Carlos, Texas to Oakhurst, Texas and then on down to Coldspring, Texas.

Honey wagon duty was taken care of and the fresh water tank was refilled.

Kurt and Becky stopped by and the writer and Kurt went to the grate where each landed a fish.

The rain that started during the honey wagon tour continued.

When Onie returned she fixed supper, a big salad and salmon on a bed of cabbage, topped with sliced onions and fresh cilantro. It was another creation from the gourmet cook's kitchen.

The dirty clothes basket was full and we also needed to play some Skip-Bo so at seven thirty we got in the Subaru and headed up to Kurt and Becky's.

The ladies started the wash while the guys shuffled the cards.

Cards were played and clothes were washed, dried and folded with the games coming to a halt in time with the dryer.

At the end of three games Kurt called it a night and headed to bed. The ladies and the writer played three way cutthroat, as the washer and dryer continued to work. The ladies were unable to overcome the age and stealth of the writer so they finished each next to first or next to last.

The last of the dry clothes were folded, some were still drying, and Onie and Pawpaw headed for the Marlin at one fifteen.

By one thirty they were in bed asleep.