Thankful

It is great to be back in Alaska again after a quick two week visit home to Hawaii. I love the islands and it is always nice to go home after some time away, but Kaneohe is uncomfortably hot this time of year. Lori and I try to plan to be in cooler climates in July and August, and Alaska fits the bill. I had to put my fleece on when we landed in Sitka yesterday, and that's fine with me.

We got a lot done while we were home. Besides mowing the lawn, cleaning the bottom of Moku pe'a, and seeing doctors, we got to visit with friends and family. We attended a fun and memorable wedding on the Kaneohe Bay Sandbar last Saturday morning, and today we are powering north through the fjords of Alaska. The contrast between the these two favorite maritime locales is striking, and we are thankful to be able to enjoy them both.

Our arrival back in Sitka started off on the right foot. When we climbed out of our taxi at the New Thomsen Marina we found Matt standing at the head of the dock pretending to be an airport chauffeur holding a paper sign that said "Leary - Lloyd" on it. The laughs had started already and we weren't even aboard the boat yet.

We spent the evening catching up with Matt and Vicki and getting familiar with their trawler "Thankful", our cruising home for the next two months. She will be a comfortable vessel for exploring the Pacific Northwest and it will be a fun and compatible team. The four of us cruised together for a couple of weeks each in Tahiti and Tonga aboard Moku pe'a in 2011 and 2014, and we had a blast. We are looking forward to more of the same aboard Thankful.