Wow! What a weekend! It's always so much fun when friends come to visit us. Family has to visit -- they don't get much choice. But friends really have to go out of their way to select Alaska as their vacation spot, so it is always that much more meaningful when they do.

This weekend it was my friend April (nickname Peanut) who came up to visit, with her husband Oliver and daughter Kyra. Peanut is part of my group of girlfriends from college -- about 10 of us that have remained close through the years. They cruised up through the Inside Passage and ended up in Whittier. We met them at the dock in Whittier on Saturday morning. We hoped to meet them at 9:00 but we missed the Whittier tunnel by 4 minutes and had to wait another hour until it opened again. They were awfully glad to see us -- cruise ships are apparently not the easiest place to take a vacation with a 3-year old. Kyra was very happy to see kids her age and have access to all those fun toys that regular kids have.

We didn't do much exciting -- a salmon bbq, some good wine, a trip to the Sunday Market, a trip to the park to let the kids play. We just enjoyed catching up and getting to know each other's kids -- it is a wonderful thing to see your friends' children becoming friends with your children. It's like this generational continuation of friendship that somehow seems so meaningful.

It was a short trip -- we took Peanut and her family to the airport this morning bright and early. But we had a very nice time catching up. It's just busy -- all day Friday catching up with the laundry, mowing the lawn, making sure beds are made, etc. before they come and all day Monday now doing the same to clean up after the visit!