never taken their island home for granted. We took a leisurely drive to downtown Kodiak to check on progress of preparations for "Crabfest" 
that would begin the day after our flight home leaves. (Rats!!!) But, the shops, restaurants and other businesses in the downtown area are a lot of fun to visit and are operated by some very colorful and interesting people. We also had the opportunity to have lunch at another favorite of ours - "Monks Rock", a fantastic restaurant, book store and gift shop all wrapped into one. I'm not sure I'll get all of the organizational relationships right but ... I believe the shop is operated by the staff and students from St. Herman's Seminary - and is affiliated with Holy Resurrection Orthodox Cathedral in 
Kodiak. However it is set up, the bookstore/coffee house/gift shop is extremely well run with excellent choices in any of the above categories for which you wish to shop. The food is outstanding and waaaayyyyy more than most of us normally eat in one sitting. I'm not going to try to 
duplicate their menu here because it is huge and ever-changing. Go to one of the many on-line sites that have info for Monks Rock and you'll see for yourself - it is well worth the visit. I saw one review of the shop that I agreed with right away. One visitor said that when they entered it was like getting a big, warm hug. I agree!!! Oh - I would also encourage you to visit the Cathedral and their gift shop. Great stuff. Anyway ... our "post-graduation" activities included a whole bunch of fantastic adventures and I will be heard pressed to do them justice. One of the things that 
Linda really loves to do here when she has a little extra time is to search for "beach glass" along the shoreline, 
particularly around Mission Beach. She takes our 'finds' and converts them into some really attractive displays. She placed some of mine into a small container and it immediately became one of my treasured possessions. But - hey, regardless of what - or how much - you find on one of those excursions, what more could you ask for than to be surrounded by spectacular scenery, wonderful family and friends and weather that is 'Chamber of Commerce' quality? There is so much here to remind you of the beauty of this earth, our country and the special joy of being around folks you love, 
sometimes it seems almost dream-like. Our search took us along the coast of Chenega Bay, looking 
southward toward the Gulf of Alaska. The expanse of ocean is dramatically huge and, looking out across the placid waters sliding gently ashore here it is easy to forget that to the northwest lies the rich Bering Sea with it's enormous waves and perilous fishing grounds and to the south lies the gigantic North Pacific, an almost incomprehensibly large body of water!!! We have friends and family who make their living on those mysterious and often-hostile waters and we keep them in our prayers at all times when they are out 
at sea. For those of you who have traveled with us in the past you might recall some of our posts showing construction of one of the ships now 
fishing out of Dutch Harbor way out on the Aleutian chain. If you missed that, please take the opportunity to scroll back in time and take a look. I think you'll enjoy it. And ... we talked earlier about our 'recent graduate' and his plans for fishing this summer. Well it turns out that, instead of squid or anchovies, this time he will be fishing for salmon. Should be a very exciting summer!! 
But, while we're talking fishing ... I can't let the opportunity pass to do some bragging of our own. Regan, Matt and Morgan treated us to what we had hoped would be a successful fishing trip but what wound up being an absolutely spectacular adventure!!! Early on Linda and I both 
hooked Pollack and Rockfish but she outdid me and not only reeled in more of everything but she added Cod to the list as well. As odd as it might sound, we decided not to keep these guys since we were hoping for Salmon. And then .... Right in the middle of a tremendous string of 'angling luck', Matt pointed to the south and we turned to see a whole line of 'spouts' signifying thepresence of some of the largest creatures on the planet - whales!!! We willingly (and quickly) abandoned our fishing activities, pulled our lines in and headed toward the spouts. Quietly cruising near the spot we had spotted them we were soon surrounded by these gentle giants. A school of fifteen to twenty Humpback Whales circled our boat and treated us
to a spectacular aquatic show. I added a fairly brief video to give you an idea of what we got to see. I think all you'll have to do is click on the following link - Whales of Kodiak to see what we experienced!!! It is not a very sophisticated clip but I think it will show a little of what we experienced - and our delight. The area where our giant friends were 
swimming was in the direction of Aleksashkina and Long Islands and, with our earlier luck with fishing, it seemed pretty clear that they had found a really great place for lunch themselves!!! The views in every direction are simply spectacular. As we looked westward we recalled earlier visits to spots further out on the island and talked about what we might like to see during our limited time. Rezanof Drive is the main 
highway running along the coastline to the west past the airport and is a beautiful drive. As it curves around the end of Womans Bay, Rezanof eventually intersects with Chiniak Highway to the left and, later, intersects with Saltery Cove Road to the right. (That route leads to another of our favorite places - Pasagshak.) We didn't have time to make it all the way out there but the Pasagshak River and Pasagshak State Park are really, really great places to visit - 
particularly if you are an outdoorsman or a nature lover. It is one of the best places to fish for salmon and the wildlife sightings are fantastic. On a previous visit we were out at Pasagshak and at one point I thought our son, Rick, was going to jump out of the car. He had spotted a pair of spectacularly beautiful Bald Eagles perched at the top of a low tree and it was an unreal 'photo-op.' Well - in remembrance of that trip, as we were heading out 
the Chiniak Highway, Linda spotted a nest way up in a tree and we pulled to the side of the road. We looked closely and, although it is not as clear as we would like, the photo at the left shows a baby eagle waiting for mom to bring lunch!! What a marvelous way to remind us of what a wonderful treasure this country is - but - also what awaited us before long. We too would soon be 
stretching our wings and taking to the air to return to our side of the world. Along the way there would be countless reminders of the things we have seen and done and opportunities to laugh some more - and - to do some fussing when our travel plans don't work exactly like we want. But, there is nothing that can erase the gorgeous scenes we have enjoyed, the warmth of family and friends we have been blessed with or the pride we have gained for all of our friends and family 
who continue to meet difficulties head-on and prevail despite tough odds. This has been a wonderful visit and we are, again, delighted that you were able to join us. We will probably come back with some additional "wrap-up" things we would like to add but we are also gearing up for additional travels in the near future. We have a couple of options coming up quickly and we will tell you about them as soon as we get things settled. In the meantime, hug your own graduates and let them know that we are all counting on them. Then, come on back and join us for the next adventure. See ya.
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