Alaskan Airborne AdventureNot just another Adventure…

Life is nothing without the friends you have in it. You can do some amazing things in life, but if you don’t have anyone to share them with, what fun would that be?

Our adventure took us through Dillingham (a small fishing village) where we met up with an old friend from Iowa – Travis. Now, I have never met this guy (I have heard plenty about him), but after just a few short min with him I understood why Doug and Mark considered him a good friend and why we made this stop.

Travis took us on a tour of the cannery he is a manager of. We were blown away by the machinery and processing that goes into harvesting and packaging salmon. The whole plant is worked on and prepared for months, only to process salmon for about 3 weeks a year.

After the tour we said our goodbyes and took off toward Homer – home of Alice’s Champaign Palace. (and good fishing)

But I have gotten off track of my original topic. (Blame that on my wife – SQUIRREL!) Just a few days ago we were in Canada on our way here, and as we were coming through the pass, we heard a voice on the radio – normal take off call, nothing special and Doug snapped to attention. “Is this TR?” Sure enough, we had just found another of Doug’s many friends, flying his Cherokee about 5 miles ahead of us. Dinner and a few beers at our evening stop there allowed us to meet more new friends (two sisters with big dreams that run a little restaurant in Whitehorse, Canada)

Every person we meet and have a chance to talk to has a story. Whether it is why they live in Alaska, why they moved here, or even what their hopes and dreams are. The key is taking the time to find out. Sit down with someone, anyone, ask their name, and let them talk. It’s amazing what you might learn.

Throughout this journey (scratch that, adventure) we have met many people. You can chalk that up to Mark and Doug’s inquisitive personalities. Often times you find out amazing information about someone (like the man we met yesterday wearing a John Deere hat…Doug asked if he was a farmer, turns out he was born in Mason City) I have learned on this adventure that I need to slow down and enjoy the life I am living, and not let it rush by me at a million miles per hour (or knots if you pilots so desire) Those experiences that you have may just be that much more enjoyable with those new friends you found.

Till next time,

~Adam