How was your summer? It flew by for me and Bear with an incredible trip up to Alaska. We spent time with friends and all that nature really filled us up in the most important ways—fresh air is good for the body and soul!
We visited with our friends, Ashleigh and Ashleigh (how cute are their names?). Boy Ashleigh is a pilot, so we got to go on some incredible journeys where there was no one else around for miles. 
One morning, we woke up, I made everyone a healthy breakfast, and then we took off in Ash’s plane. Bear and I were both excited before taking off in this little plane on the water. I knew we couldn’t have been in safer hands! The views from the plane were so beautiful. We landed after two hrs in Brooks where we were hoping to see some bears in the wild. 

At the Brooks waterfall, we saw bears. Lots and lots of bears. They were there eating salmon—getting as much in their bellies as they could ahead of the cold winter months to come. The bears wait ever so patiently for the salmon to come to spawn and die. We were a tad early in the season, so we weren’t sure we would see many…but we did! We couldn’t believe how close we were to them. Mama bears and cubs, teenage scrawny bears, and full-grown grumpy bears. When we were leaving there was a big bear on the path in front of us! 
Flattop trail was our first time hiking in this state. It was a bit scary toward the end when we were crawling up the top of the mountain. We all would have turned around sooner, but Bear was determined to get to the top! And it was such a great view from up there. I love his determination and curiosity.

On our third day, we all flew into Homer. Ash landed us beautifully, and we took a water taxi to a cove and wasted no time getting in the water to go kayaking. After the gorgeous views and the adorable sea lions and otters, we went back to our cabin rental to have dinner on the deck. It was stunning! Of course, we wanted to see more, so we went on a walk after which led us to some horses. This day and every day on this trip ended later than Bear’s bedtime, I caught him enjoying the beauty and simplicity of this gorgeous place. My Bear even got to help fly the plane during this part of the trip. That was a wild moment for this Mama Bear! 
Our kayaking adventure is one to remember. I had Bear in my kayak at first and he got himself so wet. He was super cold and not helping to paddle—just dead weight. We were in the middle of the bay halfway to our beach. I’m trying my hardest to get to the end, so I hollered to the Ashleighs that perhaps Bear would be better off in Ash’s kayak, instead of us dead at bottom of the bay. 
We paddled to the water’s edge that had a small lodge—all by itself.  Were we trespassing? I wasn’t sure. The keepers came out and we asked if we could take a rest. I told them that my baby was wet and cold and needed a break. They kindly let Bear in to use the bathroom. As soon as I walked in to look for him, I found Bear sitting in front of a fire with cookies and hot water to warm up. They couldn’t have been nicer to take care of us! 

After our rest, we swapped kayak partners, so a very pregnant Ashleigh was with me while Bear went with Ash. It was a way better arrangement for this mama and mama-to-be. After arriving at our beach destination we hiked to the glacier and had a picnic. It was freezing! I must have had a million layers of clothes on, but it was so worth it. It was cold but the spirit of adventure warmed our hearts.  We headed back down the hike, kayak, home, and went to dinner then to bed.
It was a wonderful trip full of adventure and we just couldn’t be more grateful. Did you take any trips this summer? How was it?
P.S. Give some of our camping favorites a try!