 We start the day in overcast. |
 The first activity is to go look for the whale from yesterday. I didn't find him but I was the first out. |
 I even paddled out of sight of the boat. Pretty daring of me. |
 This is Diana. Yep, way, way out there. I blew up the shot to prove it. She is fearless. She is my hero. (She's nuts.) |
 We are on the way to Fossil Bluffs at Halleck Harbor. Kent says we'll see petroglyphs. |
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 Marie decides to climb a rock. She got to the "Bear Lives Here" sign and turned back. We only let Perry chase bears. |
 Under the smiling petroglyph, the village smithy finds sea creatures. |
 It takes big balls to drive this boat. |
 We found a series of interesting caves under the petroglyph. |
 This is Fossil Bluffs. Perry found fossils. DJ used to live among them in Florida so we no longer look for them scattered on the beaches of the world. |
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 The petroglyph is above to the left. It is a monument to the days before spray paint and gangs. Times are harder everywhere. In Alaska you don't see people wheeling shopping carts full of soda cans around. You do, however, find women collecting old fishing nets. |
 Rachel returns from the wilderness. You can't tell but she drives a really trick kayak. It is very narrow. My butt is wider than her boat. |
 If you look closely, Rachel walks among the rocks. Look to the far right. I'm very nervous. Every time she gets on shore, we have to eat natural food the next day. Just once you'd think she could find a cheetos bush. |
 The Chester B is a very fine boat. No tourists allowed. |
 Kent scared the tourists away. If you don't ride the Chester B, this is how they treat you. It's a big sardine can. Our ride is much, much nicer. |
 The taxi ride to the dinner restaurant. We decided to eat a a place that is literally on the water's edge. |
 You know how those Iraqi taxi drivers are. They always have the same answer when you tell them where you want to go. "I have no clue, mon." |
 But the good news about cab rides in Alaska is that you can drink while they drive. |
 The bad news is that they make you drink weird stuff. |
 Of course, "water's edge" dining means something different when the tide comes in and you lose your dining room. If this beach gets any smaller it will become a forest. |
 Cocktail hour at the boat before the chef's real work begins.. |
 The fire starters. Don't ask why I dubbed this restaurant the Chateau Vin Diesel. Just remember, you can't get the wood hot enough to burn unless you can get it hot enough to burn. Catch 22.
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 The view from Chateau Vin Diesel. |
 When they say she cooks over an open fire, this is what they mean. Rachel specializes in wood smoked flavor. In California this meal would cost three hundred dollars. Up here it costs about the same but that's because of the day rate. Of course, up here we get noseeum's which we don't have in California. A good Cabernet makes them easier to handle. |
 Drop Rachel in the middle of nowhere with a fish and a stick and soon you'll have dinner. Bring Kent along and you'll have wine. Bring whales along and you'll have song. Man... wine, women and song... it don't get no better than this!
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 Everybody relaxes with a drink at cocktail hour. That's because we drank the AWOL wine rescued from the beach on Monday. |
 "You've got to have big balls to ride this boat." |
 A good meal brings out the romantic in everybody. Kent's busted on so many fronts. He is huggin' his sweetie and SMILING! HA HA HA... I'VE GOT IT ON FILM. Remember, you saw it here first! |
 Hum "Taps." Every day of your life should end this way. God is Nigh.
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