We got in after midnight yesterday and missed the views on the way in, then woke up around 8 when it was still dark out and couldn’t make out our surroundings. The wait was worth it though, and the view from our corner hotel room (Reese’s parents hooked us up) certainly did not disappoint.

Cook Inlet on one side...

Chugach Range on the other side...

We spent the day taking it easy and exploring Anchorage. We stopped in a couple shops downtown, and I thought the coolest shop was probably the Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers Co-op. I’m not much of a “shopper,” but I have to admit the fiber from the musk ox was a remarkably soft and warm. Hope things cool off some, otherwise I think the hat Reese picked up is going to be a bit warm!

Reese sporting her new Qiviut hat

We drove around a bit and tracked down a couple of fly shops.  We stopped in McAfee’s Fly Shop first and didn’t hear any promising news  (although he was helpful and forthcoming with info).

Reese snuck this pic in... getting the bad news

I wasn’t quite ready to give up so we checked out the World Wide Angler shop. It was a sweet shop and was HUGE, but unfortunately the news there wasn’t any better than at McAfee’s. Fly fishing Alaska in late November just wasn’t meant to be for me. Guess I’ll just have to come back in season!! Ended up talking skiing for a bit with the WWA crew and I’m hoping we can work in some skiing time at Alyeska before we head home. Looks like they’re going to open up in the next day or two.

Thankfully the rain slowed down and cleared up some… but as soon as we got downtown it started AGAIN. My plans were falling apart. The baseball game was canceled and we were left sitting in the back of the rover ( I was sweating it out trying to come up with a backup plan if the fireworks were a no-go).

Do I look nervous?

FINALLY… the lights in the ballpark go out… and the fireworks started.  Tried to hold off until the finale, but couldn’t…

and she said yes

Harder to take a picture in the moment than I anticipated...ha

Reese is definitely out of my league… I still have no idea how I got so lucky!

I’m sure my fly fishing hobby addiction is frustrating sometimes… but I’m workin’ on getting her hooked too:)

If you look close you can see the surprise on her face as she's getting a strike

Classic face...

She’s definitely my best catch!