logan's alaskan adventure

When the Make-a-Wish Foundation fulfills a wish... they really do it right! Logan was watching for our ride to come pick us up and he came running... "Daddy it's white. It's a limousine!" He was so excited! That was just the beginning of our magical trip. The seven hour plane ride was good. Long, but good. The flight attendant introduced herself to Logan and asked about what he wanted to do in Alaska. When we landed, she introduced their special guest, Logan Dodd to the entire plane. Logan got to sit in the pilot's seat after we had landed. He was loving it, even if it was after midnight our time.

Tracy and Anthony met us at our hotel. It was so good to see them. Anthony has gotten quite a bit taller. Logan just giggled, he was happy to see Anthony (& Tracy!) Saturday, we took a drive north and visited a reindeer farm. (Did you know that caribou are called reindeer when they are owned by someone?) After a 20 minute educational session about reindeer, we got to pet and feed them in the field, no fences between us. We also saw a buffalo, moose and elk at the reindeer farm. We fed grass to the elk through the fence.

Sunday after church services we had a picnic at the Alaska Zoo. It was a cold day at the zoo, but we didn't let that interfere with our fun. (There is no comparison to the Cincinnati Zoo.) They did have a polar bear and a big sick elephant. Evidently some kid thought it would be fun to feed a plastic dinosaur to the elephant! After Sunday evening services, we saw a Mommy Moose and her two babies on the street in Anchorage. Mommy Moose had tried to hide her babies in the trees, but a lot of cars were stopping to take pictures. However, since we were going to church I left my camera at the hotel and did not get any pictures of the moose by the road! :(

Jeff got up early and went fishing for King Salmon. Unfortunately, he (and everyone on the boat) got skunked! Tracy, Anthony, Logan and I went exploring Anchorage. We visited the Wild Berry Farm, which advertised the "World's Largest Chocolate Fall." Being a huge chocolate fan, I was anxious to see this, but alas, it was broken. After the disappointment of the "World's Largest Chocolate Fall" we went to Beluga Point. We did not get to see any whales, however Logan reminded me once again that my child has no fear. He was half way up this HUGE rock before I knew it. Tracy had to climb part of the way up and talk him down. Not that he was scared, he wasn't, he just didn't know how to get back down. He loved climbing on the rocks. Anthony thought the rocks were cool too. He climbed all the way to the top!

Tuesday morning we were to head south to Seward. I, of course, woke up around 4 am sick. Extremely dizzy and nauseous. So we started a little later than planned. Luck for me, it did not last long (and just in case you are wondering it was not morning sickness!). We had a fun drive to Seward. We stopped at Beluga Point again, so Jeff could see what experienced climbers Logan and Anthony were. Only this time, Jeff was with Logan, so of course they went all the way to the top! We also stopped at the Alyeska ski resort and rode the tram to the top and ate lunch. It was a fun ride up to the top. It was rainy, cold and foggy, so there wasn't much to see when we got to the top, just snow! As we continued our journey to Seward, we drove down a six mile dirt road to the Crow Creek Mine and panned for gold. It was still cold and rainy, but that didn't stop us! We found a few flakes, not enough to retire on, but it was fun.

Make-A-Wish had reserved a house for all of us to stay together in Seward. We really enjoyed Seward. It is a quaint fishing town. We saw sea lions in the harbor and a bald eagle flew right over our heads. Jeff was scheduled to go Halibut fishing, but it was cancelled due to bad weather.

Wednesday, we had an appointment at the Alaska Sea Life Center. This aquarium was founded from an endowment from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Their mission is the save sick and injured animals that are native to their area. The folks at the Sea Life Center were gracious enough to give Logan (& his entourage) a behind the scenes tour. Wow. We had a blast and learned a great deal during our 5 hour tour. Logan had an opportunity to pet a seal, meet a sea lion up close and personal, hold a puffin in his hands, hand-feed the birds fish, feed and pet an octopus. And if you ask him, his favorite disgusting part was dissecting the squid. Anthony enjoyed the squid too! They both really loved going inside the bird's display and feeding them.

Thursday was our last day in Alaska. We were suppose to visit an Ididerod training camp for the snow dogs, but somehow we missed the turn. By the time we realized it, we didn't have enough time to turnaround and go back. Bummer! But we had fun on our way back to Anchorage. We stopped quite often to look at the scenery, see a moose and a few dall sheep, throw rocks, take pictures and shop for weird jerky meat.

The weather wasn't perfect, but we still had a great trip. It was so good to visit with Tracy and Anthony. They are doing very well in Alaska.

Thanks Make-A-Wish and the Hyatt Regency of Cincinnati (they sponsored Logan's wish) you really created lots of wonderful memories for Logan (and all of us!!)

Photo: The view from the harbor in Seward, Alaska.