Bjorklund Log: Alaska Trip Day 43

6/28/11

Taku Harbor, AK

Miles Travelled: 23

This was thankfully not an early morning for us, we got up at the normal time and had a leisurely time with breakfast (as leisurely as 2 hungry boys will allow that is). It was rainy and we didn’t have far to go today, so we took our time and were on our way by about 9:00. We motored out of the cove and discovered fog, so the radar went on and watched it for ice burgs…no Titanic-ing for us!

The passage was pretty uneventful, visibility got better was we headed up Stephens Passage and soon we didn’t need the radar. It was still rainy, but Tor said he was warm, so I didn’t feel too badly about hanging out with the boys down below. The boys went down for their nap about 45 minutes out from Taku Harbor, but we were hoping they would keep sleeping if we tied up to the dock and just left the engine running. Unfortunately Lars woke up after only about an hour. Odin continued to sleep until we decided to move the boat around to the other side of the dock. I got off the boat to help with the lines and we pushed and pulled Yare to the other side so we could get some protection from a swell that was kicking up. Lars got mad and started crying, but I couldn’t get back on the boat until we were safely tied up on the other side of the dock, so we did it as quickly as possible but unfortunately Lars’ crying woke Odin up. We learned our lesson…try to minimize disruptions during nap time! Both boys could have had longer naps, but at least they got a little over an hour each.

We took advantage of being tied to a dock to go for a walk. Taku Harbor is a park run by the City of Juneau and the dock we tied up to was brand new with lots of space for boats. We walked by a boat out of Anacortes called Hey You which we first ran into in Fords Terror and it turns out that they had a young crew member aboard, Madison who is almost 18 months. We talked to her Mom Katy and Dad Rory and the Captain of the Hey You Grandpa. Madison was down for a nap, but Katy and Rory promised they would bring her by for a visit when she woke up.

The Yare crew headed up to the beach to check out the Tiger Olsson memorial cabin (cute place for rent $10 a night) with a wood stove and a tall swing right outside. We saw humpback whales in the bay and played on the swing and walked the path down to the beach by the ruins of a cannery.

When we got back to the boat Tor played with the boys in the after enclosure and I took the opportunity to hide out for a little alone time up forward and read my Kindle. It was the recharge I needed. Later we heard a knock on the hull and got to meet Madison and chat with Katy and Rory. They live in Twisp and we really enjoyed meeting them and seeing Madison and Lars and Odin interacting. It’s always neat to spend time with kids who are a little older than yours are so that you can see what the next stage looks like. Madison is walking and since she’s been on Hey You for the past couple of weeks, she learned how to climb a ladder, so we saw her climb our companion way ladder. She was steady and very professional about it, but I will say my anxiety level went up…I’m HOPING we will be home by the time the boys figure out how to climb. I’m not sure how we child proof that hazard. Ugh. I won’t think about it now.