concrete jungle where dreams are made of..

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Alaskan photo dump for something much more glamorous!

Last weekend, only 2 days after returning to Ohio, I hopped in a car with my family and drove 12 hours (and 127 Glee songs) to New York City to celebrate the marriage of my cousin J. I like a party as much as anyone, but what I like better than just a party is PLANNING a party. I so appreciated the details and work that went into J and M's big day. I could not have done it better myself...and that's saying a lot! ; )

This is my dad and beautiful sisters at the rehearsal dinner.

NYC is a bit warmer than Alaska so excuse the "shine"

My grandma, didn't you all know that the 80's are the new 60's?

My family, sans my brother and D who is taking the picture

My family + My uncle, aunt, and 2 cousins

I thought D looked super cute in his new sport coat but since he had the camera all evening we didn't get a picture together...this is his solution!

WEDDING DAY!!

Here we are at the cocktail hour

M and the skyline

Family photo op

Ok, let's observe the strong personalities in this picture. : )

bride and groom

I think this photo oozes joy.

Details

Details

Mom and Aunt M

Father of the bride/Uncle J

Those martini's were flowing, and getting stronger, all night.

More details

....and we danced

....a lot

....dancing leads to "shine" and lots of joyT.R.O.U.B.L.E.

This would be my dad, whispering something to my husband, while my uncle is in the left corner, at the bar.

oh, look another one of those martinis......

We were literally the last people to leave the wedding.

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL, STUNNING, GORGEOUS DAY! I cannot say enough about the happiness that this day embodied. D and I had such a great day with our family. We all laughed, there was crying, and dancing...lots of dancing.

Much love to my family on the East coast dealing with Irene right now and my sweet cousin and her husband in South Africa!

-h

runnin', runnin'

Who remembers that goal of mine to run a 5k? If you do I am impressed and thanks for stickin with me this long! ; ) Early in my Alaskan adventure/visit K mentioned an upcoming 5K...full disclosure here...I was a little leery. Aside from D, no one else can build me up and talk me down (ha!) like K, so before I knew it I was committed and "training." Our goal was to walk the race quickly and not be last.


We wore pink flowers in honor of my sister and K's mom, both of which had experienced some kind of violence against women.

The race map...at the turn around for the 5k we burst into song Whoa, we're half way there. WHOA livin' on prayer

Almost to the finish line! Can you spot us? We are right at the curve with the big red stroller.

Getting closer and we're smiling.

That'd be the back of me, skipping across the finish line!

Yay! We did it, in the rain, on a cold day, together!

For the record, K and I were not last and we beat our "practice" times. We celebrated with a baby and husband free, all three of which we love very much but girl time was needed, lunch. It was splendid. K wrote on her blog that she thought I had caught the race bug. She might be right. Surprisingly enough I have definitely had the itch to get 3.1 miles in per day and am thinking about upcoming races. We'll see!

-h

Homer

On an perfectly clear, sunny day D and I visited Homer Alaska. Homer, about an hour and a half from Kenai, is the Halibut fishing capital of Alaska. The Homer Spit is the southern most location of the Kenai Pennisula, jutting out 4.5 miles into the Kachemak Bay. The spit is home to over 1,500 commercial fishing boats including the famed Time Bandit, from Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch.

While driving we took a pit stop in Kasilof to grab some snacks and snap some pictures next to this huge porch swing. We made it! Pictures at the scenic overlook.

The Spit

Our view of Augustine Volcano, located on an island in the Cook Inlet.

Driving in..

The Seafarer's Memorial

In memory of those lost at sea

Ok, this was our favorite part of the day...

The historic Salty Dawg Saloon

D is not excited at all to go inside ha ha! It was the middle of the afternoon and tourists and fishermen alike were celebrating at the Salty Dawg. It is tradition for visitors to sign and leave a dollar bill somewhere in the bar. After enjoying a local brew and a concert from some tipsy fishermen with guitars, no really, D and I designed a dollar bill to leave in Alaska.

Can you read that?

Oh yeah, my dollar says www.thehalleydaily.com

I'm not thrilled at all... : )

THERE it is!!

Me pointing to my dollar!

Behind me you'll notice fishermen with guitars singing and drinkin.

We had some time to kill before dinner so we took a walk on the beach.

We had dinner at Captain Patties, which I highly recommend. Of all our meals on the Kenai Peninsula this was the best! D had a grilled Captain's platter (consisting of salmon, halibut, scallops, prawns, and rock fish) and I had baked halibut in dill sauce. mmm!View of the harbor

My catch for the day....
: )

-h