Well, we have 3 more weeks here in Ketchikan, Alaska! We are ready for the warmth of North Carolina -- personally, I'm a little tired of feeling chilled all the time. However, even though it is about 50 degrees outside today, it is very sunny and beautiful! Our daughter, Heather and her husband, Andrew, will be arriving for a week's visit on Friday, May 22. We are so excited to see them. Then after they leave on the 30th, we have one week left. We will leave on Friday, June 5, and arrive in Raleigh, NC on Saturday, June 6. Then we will drive on home to Wilmington.
Howard will then begin his month-long "retirement" before starting his next assignment in Norwood, N.C. on July 6. Norwood is about 10 miles from Albermarle, NC and about 40 minutes from where we used to live in Ellerbe. This assignment will go until about Oct. 16.
I'll update again before we leave -- we are planning on doing more "touristy" things while Heather and Andrew are here -- so I'll report on that later.

Stacy (on left) and Dr. Jennifer Bell (on right); our boating companions.

Here's Capt'n Howard, piloting our 16' skiff that we rented one beautiful Saturday. It started out a bit chilly, then warmed up as the day went on. We invited Dr. Jennifer Bell (doctor at the clinic) and Stacy, (a visiting nurse) to go with us. We had a blast!

On the hike through the woods, we came upon this beautiful little lake -- very serene.

It is a little difficult to see, but these fallen trees are covered by a soft, mossy-like growth - Alaska's version of kudzu.

On a path in the beautiful woods off Naha Bay, Howard "walks the plank" --

This is a view from the landing about midway through our boatride. This is Naha Bay. The church we have been visiting owns a ranch (camp) here and offers it out for others to use for youth camps, etc.

When we got back from our boat ride, we found these kids "swimming"! If you notice, only one is really in the water. It was still cold!

I got this picture also while on my walk up on the hill -- 2 cruise ships were in port - it's a little hard to tell by this picture but the second one is at the top of the one you see length-wise. When the cruise ships are in town, there are people at all the intersections with stop signs - when a visitor needs to cross the road, they stop all the cars. For some reason it is fun to see the ships come in - they are so big! I know this little town really depends on the business these visitors bring.

I took this picture while I was out walking.

The building in the middle bottom of the picture is First Baptist Church of Ketchikan. (The speck in the background is a float plane landing). It appears that the church sits right on the water, but in fact, it sits on a steep hill and there are several buildings between it and the water. There is also the main road. You just can't see it.

We have been visiting FBC for several weeks and will be taking the pastor and his wife to lunch on Sunday (May 3). I'm looking forward to getting to know them.