Kodiak Vacation - touch tank and refuge

We went to the touch tank and refuge center!

Lucy was enamored with watching all the fish swim around. 

A picture of the tank she watched so closely.

Jaydon, Granny and Papa at the touch tank.

Finding a sea star

Touching a sea cucumber

Feeding time!  It is the first time I have been here when the animals were fed, it was pretty awesome to watch.  The fish new as soon as the ladder came out that it was food time and they were swimming around like crazy.

Look closely and this crab has a fish tail that he is frantically trying to eat.  I guess the big cod will steal the food from the crabs when that is all that is left so they have to eat quickly.

At the refuge Jaydon got to do a fun scavanger hunt looking at all kinds of animal displays (of which I got no pictures).  Then we went upstairs and saw the giant whale skeleton that was preserved from a whale found on a beach on Kodiak.

Kodiak Vacation - 4th of July

Happy Fourth of July!  We had a fabulous time celebrating the Fourth in Kodiak.  We got to see a parade, wave some flags around, do some fireworks, watch the New York firework extravangaza and do some beachcombing and hiking too.

Lucy was not thrilled to be taking some Happy Fourth photos, I had meant to go back and take more when she was happier but I forgot so here you go:)

At the parade!

Lucy did a great job holding her flag almost the entire time!

This little car was awesome, added bonus he had a dog and threw candy to Jaydon and Papa.

The artwork octopus made of stuff/garbage found on the beaches.

Watching the New York fireworks on TV.  Kodiak doesn't have a big fireworks show anymore and besides it stays light so late that the show is normally at midnight or so anyway.  The TV served us well having an amazing display right before bed time!

Papa and Granny bought some sparklers and a couple little fountains to light off.

Jaydon watching Papa light the fireworks while eating watermelon, life couldn't get much better.

Aftermath of a popper!

Kodiak Vacation - Fishing

Fishing!  Jaydon caught his first few fish, if you ask him how many fish he caught he will tell you three and two (three the first day and two the second). If you ask how many fish the rest of us caught he will proudly tell you zero.  It is true, we didn't go out too far and really only jigged for herring but  Jaydon was the only fisherman in the group who caught anything. 

Video of his first fish.

On the dock waiting to board the boat with dad.  And I think the only photographic evidence that dad did make it on this trip for at least a few days.

Papa and Granny getting the boat ready.

Lucy on her first boat ride.

Jaydon driving the boat!  The picture above this is him on this trip, the picture below this is of him at 10 months!  I didn't realize I dressed him the same :)

Jaydon reeling in his first fish.
 

Victory!  Ask Jaydon how big his fish was and he will hold his arms all the way out and say "this big"  I guess you can see the truth.

Lucy meeting her first fish.

Twofer

Proud Jaydon and Papa.

Fishing wore Lucy out!

Jaydon on fishing trip number two, I think he was doing a Popeye impersonation here.

He tried for herring and caught a flounder.

Another proud moment.

Touching his fish

Kissing his fish

And to top it off they even got to see some sea lions on the second fishing excursion.  A great time was had by all!!

Kodiak Vacation - Hiking and Tidepooling

Jaydon loved hiking and would ask every day to go on trails and bridges.  It was awesome and he was sure speedy.  He would run ahead on every hike, no matter the length, and have a ton of fun! 

Jaydon and Granny hiding in the trees.

Lucy and mama out for a hike at Near Island.

Throwing rocks was one of Jaydon's other favorite activities.  The awesome thing is that trails often led to rock throwing places, double win.

Video of some rock throwing.  One of our last days on the island he went with Papa and Granny and Papa stopped counting after he threw 200 rocks, no exaggeration.  He really liked throwing rocks.  I think his shoulder was a little tender for a couple days after, we needed to get the pitchers ice bags on him sooner.

As Jeremy always says, no place beats a nice day on Kodiak!

Going on the slide at Granny's new school (she will be the new principal at elementary school).

Another day, another hike.  See how far ahead Jaydon is, that was common.  Someone would frequently have the job of running to keep up with him.

Some tidepooling at a beach.

Found a seastar.

Jaydon really loved bridges, he wanted to go on trails with bridges so Granny and Papa tried taking him to as many as they could think of.  This day we did a great little trail (just under 1/2 mile one way) and it had a ton of fun bridges to throw rocks off of.  Jaydon pretty much ran the whole way unless he was throwing a rock.

Up the stairs to the post and then back down, Calvin the dog came too!