In July 2021 Amanda found some airplane tickets to Alaska for $117 per ticket. They were a red eye flight to Fairbanks. We jumped on the opportunity. I will share some of the photos and other exploits later, but one of the highlights was seeing my Uncle Doug and Aunt Linda Jonas at their home in Anchorage, Alaska. We also got to spend some time with my cousin, their son, Brook and his wife, Caitlin, at their home as well. The above photo is from Brook and Caitlin’s home on 23 July. It is not a great photo, but it is the best we have of the occasion.

We stayed with my Uncle and Aunt for several days. Another highlight of the trip was watching the kids play with their second cousins they had never met. Elle and Blye loved playing with our kids, and our kids had fun at their house!

This photo is from our last day when we left. Doug, Linda, and Blye sent us off with love.

Our red eye flight was in and out of Fairbanks, a 6.5 hour trip if that was direct. We were taking the long road through Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, so it was a much longer trip that included Glennallen, Paxson, Delta Junction, and North Pole.

The trip to Alaska was so successful, Doug came back that same summer to celebrate his 50th Class Reunion from Burley High School. It was supposed to be celebrated in 2020, but COVID-19 killed that, so they joined up with the 1971 group to celebrate their 50th in 2021.

We celebrated by throwing on a little party for Doug and Linda while they were in town. Jackie and Mary Lou are two other cousins that came to celebrate with us.