Rory, Colleen, and the O'Daughters

As the saying goes: "the boat can accommodate cocktails for 6, feed 4, and sleep 2". This doesn't apply to us at all times. We recently ended up with 8 total onboard, and though it was a tight fit, we had a really great time.

Our dear friends, the O'Family as we call them (self admitted 'Recovering Irish Catholics') honored us by spending their vacation time onboard!...

We went fishing, caught halibut that was too small, and we threw it back in, caught sole that was too small, and we threw it back in, and set crab pots which caught crab that were too small, and had to be thrown back in. Do you see a pattern here?

Fishing is a stylish occasion.

The next destination was the Anan Wildlife Observatory. Because of some Alaska Marine Highway Ferry delays, the O'Family had missed their original reservations, so we decided to just go there, and see if they could get in anyway. As it turned out, their family of six could go, and Bill and I stayed on Denali Rose. The bay is notoriously bad for anchoring, and the weather was blowing, so Bill was going to stay on the boat regardless, to prevent any problems. The group ashore lucked out, and got to see a couple of black bears, and a brown (grizzly), mama bear with 4 cubs. This is a rare occurrence for a brown bear.

There she is behind the log with her youngsters.

The next stop is LeConte glacier, by way of Petersburg. Apparently the pizza parlor in Petersburg has a reputation for great pizza, so we had a discussion as to what kind. We called when we got within cell phone range, and ordered 2 larges to go. Just a "touch and go" at the harbor, as we tie up the boat and walk a couple of blocks to pick up the pizza. Since we hadn't caught any fish we could eat, we also stopped at the local fish processor retail outlet, and bought a halibut. The guys gave Colleen and I a hard time about that, but it was delicious, and they agreed. The pizza was worth the stop also.

We finally caught the appropriate sized halibut.

The day at the glacier was fabulous, the sun came out, the icebergs cooperated, and the seals were plentiful.

Quite spectacular!

Curious seals

Our O'Friends

Beautiful day in LeConte Bay at the glacier.

And no glacier visit is complete without netting out a piece of glacier ice!

Oooooo, it's cold. 

Daily life aboard Denali Rose...

The O'Daughters were enthralled with the scenery... [actually, this was one of those brief moments when a cell signal was available...]

Colleen enjoying her evening.

The lower dinette area folds down into a bed, the O'daughters snuggled in, playing cards.

Rory is a champion griller.

Where are we going?

It's an O pile, checking out who still had data available on their phone.

They even went swimming (?) a couple of times. I say BRRRRR, but whatever floats your boat...it's a tepid 54F in the water. 

"Come on in"

Everyone had a chance to pilot.

Colleen at the wheel.

By the time we returned to Wrangell, our O'Friends were seasoned cruisers, well trained Swabs, Galley Slaves, and Ship's Mates. "Aye Aye Captain, anchors aweigh!"