Feels Like Mayberry

The view from our balcony

After being in an apartment for almost 3 months we are now in a house. Our first night at home Nolan, and as a suprise to Eric and the kids, Leisel arrived. Nathan clung to his brother and sister and just cried. It was so touching. Having them here made this house feel like home. Later in the week, Megan, Carla, Gavin, and Tanner arrived as well filling our house with laughter. Then it felt even more like home. Although the house is not entirely furnished and couldn't have been the most comfortable for our guests, the timing of their visits eased the homesickness we felt. Leisel left first but not without seeing moose, a glacier, the tidal bore, Seward, and a bear.

I am afraid of bears but when we decided to take a walk in the trails running through the neighborhoods we live in and close to, With 2 dogs, 3 adults and 2 children we definitely made enough noise to scare away bears. Just the same, I always watch for signs of bears so we can avoid if possible any encounters. While on our walk Nolan pointed out a pile of bear scat. My heart started beating faster, I started looking more closely at the underbrush, and I decided to leave the trail once we reached a clearing and climb to the road. Bears use the same trails as humans and I did not want to take any chances. Once on the street I had no idea where we were. We just started heading down on roads and trails until we got to a street I recognized and made it home. No bear. Eric thinks I'm paranoid but we ran into a bear on our very next hike.We decided to take the kids to Potters Marsh which is a great place to view wildlife. A trail which was previously closed was now open. I felt a little hesitation in using the trail, ok a lot of hesitation. I remember it was closed due to bear activity. Eric remembered it had been closed for construction. A black bear came running in our direction. We (excluding Eric and Nolan who stood their ground) didn't sprint this time or necessarily turn our backs and run, but we did hold hands and and walk out quickly, probably jogged, back to the trail head. The bear stopped and started to eat keeping his eye on Eric and Nolan-then he climbed a tree. We went back to the trail and watched him. He was amazing.

This is a picture Nolan took.

So many people we have met are from somewhere else and I believe this is what makes where we live so friendly. Our neighbors have introduced themselves. Even the postman (Jim) stopped by to introduce himself and welcome our family to the neighborhood. That's when I thought, this is like Mayberry.