A week ago today I received news that my 89-year-old uncle, my mom's only, beloved brother, had died. By the next day I had secured a ticket to Juneau, Alaska to join my parents, my sister and her family, and my aunt, cousins, and cousins' kids for a graveside service. I left Tuesday afternoon and returned, reluctantly, Friday morning. It was a whirlwind trip, but oh, so special! And yes, the views far surpassed the beauty we enjoyed on our Memorial Day weekend trip, hard as that may be to believe. Don't worry; I have proof. 😉
It starting Tuesday night, flying into Juneau. I glanced over from my aisle seat to see sunset, sea, and rugged terrain. Oh, it was hard not to have an unobstructed view!
I finally gave up and handed my iPhone to the woman in the seat next to the window so she could get a better shot:
The next day the family congregated at Lena Beach, where my uncle's family used to go for campfires and good times when my cousins were growing up. I'll spare you the many photos of people you don't know and share mostly the stunning beauty of the setting and the weather we enjoyed. It was a perfect jewel of a day in all ways. My cousin who lives nearby brought his stand-up paddle board for those who wanted to enjoy the placid water of Lena Cove; if I'd had a change of clothes I might have given it a try. Going out with my oldest cousin (who lives in Hawaii and paddle-boards a lot) was a highlight of the trip for my nine-year-old nephew!
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| The dandelions were HUGE! |
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| My mom, right, with my aunt and one of my cousins |
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| See the whale spout? |
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| And at this point I had to leave to catch a ride to our hotel; sniff. |
Thursday morning my dad, BIL, nephew, and I paid a quick visit to the state museum.
I love to read all the placards to learn what I can. But the older I get, the sadder history makes me, illuminating as it does mankind's greed, particularly that of my European ancestors, who move in, displace and 'de-culture' the natives who are far from the primitive savages they are made out to be, and plunder all available natural resources. We really don't deserve this beautiful planet!
Thursday afternoon the 20 of us had a very simple service as specified by my uncle himself a decade ago. Hundreds if not thousands would probably have shown up at a public memorial for this man who had been a family doctor, surgeon, and commercial fisherman in the area for 50 years, but that's not what he wanted. He asked for family only, sharing a few happy memories, reading the 23rd and 91st Psalms, singing his favorite hymn, saying a prayer, and reciting the Lord's Prayer together. His wooden casket was decorated with fresh forest greenery and dandelions picked that morning, and afterwards colorful fishing lures were tossed on top.
We all retired to the paddle-board-owning cousin's house afterwards to eat and visit and make more memories. After living within 30 miles of another cousin for decades but only seeing her at family reunions, we made plans to meet up in Salem soon. More memories to be made.
My sister, her family, and I headed to the airport at 4:00 Friday morning to catch the same 5:10 flight to Seattle. This time I had a window seat. That's the Mendenhall Glacier behind the wing of our airplane in the second photo.
So that was my unplanned, family-reuniting, memory-banking Alaskan adventure. A big part of me didn't want to leave. But back home I am at . . .
