The Great Alaskan Pajama Party

1964 was the year I graduated from Taft High School in Woodland Hills, CA. An unofficial class ballot indicated I was least likely to succeed. I played football and tennis, surfed, and goofed off.

During that year, Lyndon Johnson was elected in a landslide a year after President Kennedy was assassinated. The Beatles first appeared in the U.S. on the Ed Sullivan show, Medicare became law as part of the war on poverty, the 24^th amendment to the Constitution eliminated the poll tax and made it easier for poor people to vote in federal elections, the U.S. military launched the first attacks on North Vietnam, Elizabeth Taylor married Richard Burton, race riots erupted throughout the nation, and Goldfinger opened in local theaters. 

I had good friends in high school, but it was tough to stay in touch without internet, e-mail, and cheap phone service. Except for class reunions, of which I attended a few, I lost touch with most of my friends. A few years ago, I was lucky to reconnect with my best friend from those days, Troy. He lives in Homer, Alaska with his service dog Earl. Val and I got together with him last year while we were in Homer, and it was like picking up a conversation right where we left off years ago. With the help of cocktail hour, the idea of getting a few of our high school friends together on our boat for a week in Alaska became the topic of the evening.  

In late July, Roger and his high school love Claire flew in from Colorado, Jim traveled from Florida, and Troy and Earl made the ten-hour drive from Homer to Valdez.

 I knew from my prior conversations with Troy that he, Val and I all shared much in common, and I knew Troy had stayed in good touch with the others in the group, but it did cross my mind that we were taking a bit of a gamble spending a week in close quarters with people I hadn’t seen in many decades.  But it worked out great. We advised everyone in terms of packing to plan for more of a pajama party and less of a luxury cruise, so the week was dubbed “The Great Alaskan Geezer Pajama Party.” Val said it reminded her of The Big Chill, only on a boat, and without the funeral. 

We got underway the morning after they all arrived.

Prince William Sound is a treasure trove of lovely sheltered spots to explore. We headed first to Unakwik Inlet to see Meares Glacier, one of the only advancing tidewater glaciers in North America. It was calving loudly, and seeing the evergreens knocked down along its advancing edge was awe-inspiring.

Naturally, we couldn’t let the opportunity to collect a hunk of glacier ice pass us by. These balls of ice are far heavier than they look!

We anchored that evening in Cascade Bay, one of our favorite spots.

This was as many people (and animals, with Earl and our two cats!) as we have hosted aboard, but the Buffalo was up to the challenge. 

Our pattern for dinner was to spread out comfortably on the upper deck to enjoy cocktails and wine, and graze on a variety of hot and cold finger foods. We have a heater on the fly bridge, but didn’t need it for our evenings up there; the enclosure kept us warm and cozy.

Fishing was high on Roger’s list of activities, and fortunately the Coho (or silver) salmon were just beginning to run, so those who wanted to were able to fish to their hearts’ content. 

We also tried our hand at catching some spot prawns, which we’ve had good success with in the past.

But this time we got skunked. In the pic below, we had left the pot soak too long. The prawns came, licked the bones of our herring bait clean of every molecule, and left without even leaving a tip!

One day I took folks ashore in the dinghy for a hike up the hill to an abandoned cabin in the woods.

We always bring a horn and bear spray when venturing ashore.

Below, you can see where bears have used this wooden structure as a scratching post.

It’s nice to while away an afternoon in a peaceful anchorage.

And yes, it’s especially nice to have an afternoon nap!

It’s important to rest up, because come every evening, energetic and colorful discussions will be required in order to solve all the problems of the world!