BELL Fishing Trip 2014

The annual BELL company fishing trip was an adventure as always. We boarded at 6 am, hungover, and sleepy eyed. After a quick safety briefing, the captain informed us that there were 25 knot winds and 10 ft swells in the vicinity of the prime Halibut hole. We collectively (the 2 people awake) opted to head out for Halibut anyway. After 2.5 hours of THE roughest motoring I have have experienced, the captain decided to turn around and abort the Halibut fishing altogether. Abby had loaded up on Dramamine the night before and the morning of, so she somehow slept through the hull-cracking, rough water. Josh, Lyle, and Brendan all got shaken up so bad it resulted in over-the-rail heaving, and general misery.
Despite the rough water and sea-sickness, we did get into some good Coho (silver salmon), and by the afternoon, the waters had calmed and we were all feeling much better.

The boys at the dock - bright and early!

Morning was rough - rough seas and rough stomachs

Lyle - Fish On!

The silver hole - Lyle with Abby in background

Deckhand filleting salmon

Four of us took home 75 lbs of fillets

Mt Marathon

Its that time of year again, for the BELL company fishing charter out of Seward. This year, B convinced Abby, Josh and Lyle to join in the adventure. The group decided to head down a day early, spend the night, and find some trouble. The weather cooperated magnificently, so Josh, B and Abby decided to hike to the top of Mt Marathon, the site of the famous, annual 4th of July mountain race. The weather was absolutely beautiful by any standard, especially Seward's.

Amazing view

Seward and Resurrection Bay!

A+B+Josh+Mtn = Awesome!

Thorns - the best of Seward!

Lyle loves Butt

The Yukon Bar

Duckfarts.

Remember the last time she wore that hat?

Chamonix

Annecy, France

We rented a car (Opal), and drove to Annecy. It was about five hours through the country, and very beautiful. Annecy is small and quaint. There is an incredible lake, and if you're lucky enough to be there on one of the warm, sunny days, there is even a little beach. Brendan was there on his 17th birthday, exactly 20 years ago.
We got in late, so we walked downtown and had some dinner on the main canal.

The French countryside was full of fascinating sights:

Downtown Annecy is beautiful 

Paris - Day 2

Our second full day in Paris, we went to the Louvre. We spent many hours in the Louvre, and saw as much of it as possible in one day. The paintings, the sculptures, the Egyptian artifacts, and the people. The many, fascinating people.

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