Since they were already going to be in Minnesota (Editor’s note: MN is still very far away from AK. In fact the two should generally be considered nowhere near one another, but I guess we’ll have to ignore that for now.), my folks decided to fly up for a visit about 2 weeks ago. They got in on a gorgeous Wednesday afternoon while Beth and I were still at work and spent an hour or so settling in at our house and playing with Bella before I got home (I left work an hour early so Beth arrived about an hour later.). The plan for the night was eggplant parmesean, Ceasar salad, beer, wine and conversation, and it went off without a hitch. Shocking, I know, given the folks involved.
Beth had to work on Thursday, but I took the day off and after a leisurely start to the morning my parents and I took Bella and drove up to Powerline Pass, an area of the Chugach State Park right at the edge of town. Our hope was to see some of the moose that congregate there every fall and even though we didn’t see any up close we did see several from long distance (Note: that’s not my picture below, but this blog’s been seeming kinda drab ever since my camera bit it). We also saw several sheep in typical sheep-sighting fashion (i.e.: a clump of white dots on a far-off ridge) and my mom and I saw a bear scampering through some clearings across the valley. It was a gorgeous day, with a touch of frost on the ground, the whole city of Anchorage below us, and Denali visible on the horizon 145 miles to the north.
After heading home for a quick lunch it was time for the part of the visit where I put my parents to work. First it was a trip to the grocery and liquor stores, where we stocked up for what appeared to be a much larger group than our party of 4. Next, I set up my mom in the kitchen making spaghetti at Beth’s special request (amazing that the girl can win points with my mom by making her cook a major meal, but my mom was quite tickled to find her spaghetti sauce in such high demand) while my dad and I loaded up construction debris and headed for the dump (with Bella along for the ride). After offloading 800 pounds (my dad was determined to get our before and after weights in the car) of junk that used to be my house, it was back to the house for another major meal accompanied by libations and conversation.
Beth had to work on Thursday, but I took the day off and after a leisurely start to the morning my parents and I took Bella and drove up to Powerline Pass, an area of the Chugach State Park right at the edge of town. Our hope was to see some of the moose that congregate there every fall and even though we didn’t see any up close we did see several from long distance (Note: that’s not my picture below, but this blog’s been seeming kinda drab ever since my camera bit it). We also saw several sheep in typical sheep-sighting fashion (i.e.: a clump of white dots on a far-off ridge) and my mom and I saw a bear scampering through some clearings across the valley. It was a gorgeous day, with a touch of frost on the ground, the whole city of Anchorage below us, and Denali visible on the horizon 145 miles to the north.
After heading home for a quick lunch it was time for the part of the visit where I put my parents to work. First it was a trip to the grocery and liquor stores, where we stocked up for what appeared to be a much larger group than our party of 4. Next, I set up my mom in the kitchen making spaghetti at Beth’s special request (amazing that the girl can win points with my mom by making her cook a major meal, but my mom was quite tickled to find her spaghetti sauce in such high demand) while my dad and I loaded up construction debris and headed for the dump (with Bella along for the ride). After offloading 800 pounds (my dad was determined to get our before and after weights in the car) of junk that used to be my house, it was back to the house for another major meal accompanied by libations and conversation.
On Friday morning it was back-to-work for the DC-ers. Beth and my dad worked at putting up vinyl siding on the front of the house (which I’ll let her describe on her own blog) while my mom and I worked at burying metal flashing to cover the foundation of our house ahead of putting up the rest of the siding. We worked pretty much straight through from 9 AM until about 6 PM, with a break for a robust lunch (spaghetti, eggplant parm, leftover meatloaf sandwiches, etc.), before the traditional post-construction dinner at Don Jose’s. It was fajitas and a margarita for me, and if I recall correctly it was margaritas all around as we were all feeling pretty parched from a full day of labor.
My folks claim to have enjoyed putting in the work on our house, and were very complimentary of the work Beth and I (and her parents, and Chris, and other assorted helpers) had already done on it. Still I bet they were pretty happy the next day to not find themselves at work. Instead we drove north of town for a canoeing and camping trip in Nancy Lake State Park. But this post is already pretty wordy, so I think I’ll make that trip a separate post for another time.
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