Airports and Governors and Bears...

but not necessarily in that order.

WOW! It is just 2:30 here in Alaska this lovely Friday afternoon and yet a lot has happened already today.

The girls and I rolled out of bed reluctantly at 5am to take Greg to the Juneau International Airport for his hunting trip with his younger brother Steve. Greg flew into Anchorage where Steve picked him up and the two drove up to the Palmer area where they are hiking in to about 5000 ft elevation to hopefully fill Steve's Dall sheep tag. We have our fingers crossed that he'll get a big one and the hunt will be a blast for the guys. Here are the girls saying their goodbyes to Daddy. Smile, girls! When we got home, we sat in the driveway for a few minutes, thinking we might be able to hear Daddy's airplane take off, even though we could not see it through the fog. Instead, we saw this through the windshield:

Yep, ol' Yogi just moseyed through the yard, very close to the car where we were just staring at him.

Holy smokes! Thank God I was so exhausted from getting up so early (and also staying up late sewing a neck gaiter for Greg) that I made up a reason to just sit in the car for a few minutes, or we might have had a much closer encounter. So, those of you who scoffed at the teeth marks on our trash can lid (see older post) should be red-faced now.

And because it is such a pleasant surprise and an exciting time for Alaska, we're jumping on the Palin for VP bandwagon. Here is a picture of Gwen meeting Governor Sarah Palin last fall while we still lived in Valdez. Palin was pretty darn pregnant in this photo it turns out, but that still didn't make Gwen (Palin's very biggest fan in the world) want to smile or even look at the camera. I kid you not, when Palin was newly elected Governor in early 2006, Gwen would be running through the living room and come to a screeching halt in front of the TV, cock her head to one side and say, "Did somebody say 'Sarah Palin'?" It was so adorable considering Gwen had just turned two at the time. Also considering that neither Greg nor I voted for her.

Palin was so charming and personable at this event. She stayed and talked to every last person who waited in line, much to the dismay of her aides who were nearly beside themselves and jumping up and down, trying to get her to the airport. She gave Gwen a big hug before I snapped this picture. While we like her immensely and feel she would be a great President, let alone VP, we are sad to see her go so soon. We aren't quite ready for her to leave Alaska yet, but she would be a great leader for our country! Go Sarah! Please note: I am mum about McCain; I don't have an opinion on him yet. Heck, I just got interested in this presidential race this morning! :)