Dish of the Day .Oil ,Funky Monkey salad ,Russian Orthodoxy and Scrabble

The Oil dock on the Cook Inlet Kenai

This trip has been full  of appetising new and diverse experiences ones we can savour . Our spiritual food choices have been broadened as we have tasted the Alaska experience leaving us with opportunities to read and learn more on our return.

This post is a bit like a meal of four courses . Our starter is the beach walk near the oil refinery (pictured above). The second course a convivial meal with friends ,the third a taste of the importance of history within Alaska and the concluding sweet the enjoyment of relaxed company during evening games of Scrabble!

So enjoy your meal those who are following this Kenai Peninsula meal at home.It may spur you on to new experiences of the good neighbourly kind wherever you find the opportunity.

The Friendship of the dog owners is a good place to start.It brings us together from all walks of life , backgrounds and ages.We have the love of dogs in common and such is the nature of our friendship with Soly (from Venezuela) Amanda and Jan from the lower 48 now choosing to live in Alaska........and Mary in Alabama who follows by the technological contact of facebook and e mail .Such is our connectedness.The opportunity to have this kind of friendship can be found wherever you live. We are here now celebrating our wedding anniversary because of such a friendship .

Our venue for this walk was the beach looking at the oil platforms and refinery dock on the inlet.Around 6 dogs provided our company. So spirited were they on this grey day that it was difficult to count exactly how many. Imagine a breezy grey day but nevertheless an energising one .As the dogs played we talked about recent good reads and human relationships listening understanding and sharing with each other. Plenty to muse over.The volcanic mountain tops across the inlet stood guard silent since the 60's .

Digital photography of Alaskan landscapes to be found at www.kenaiImages.com

The second course was to be found at the "Funky Monkey " cafe where Amanda graciously treated us to a meal. .We laughed as our English accents were likened to those in "Mary Poppins" of course and of course we hyped it up with the occasional toodle pip and tally ho! .So much so that a couple of ladies realised our enjoyment and offered to take a photo of us all .I will post it on our return but all I can say is that Keith looks pretty pleased with himself surrounded by four ladies of all ages ! The owner of the Funky Monkey is a digital landscape photographer.A sample of his work is above.The salads were amazing . I had a Funky Monkey special green leaf salad ,walnuts ,dessicated coconut pineapple and raspberry dressing.

The third course is a visit to the Kenai Russian Orthodox Church where we were greeted by a retired previous priest at the church who was over 80.He introduced us both to the importance of the Russian presence in the peninsula and an understanding  of the contrast between liturgy and worship as between his and our Anglican church.He was himself originally from the lower 48 and was married.Icons embellished the walls of this tiny church as his words underlined the importance of the Russian presence in Alaska in centuries past.The Russians bothered to learn Native American language and so were able to mission alongside and gained a respect in doing so.Still members of the Kenaitze tribe worship here.The altar area is hidden behind doors until services and only priests can officiate there. Recently the foundations of this little church have been strengthened.It can once again stand proudly yards from the waters of the Cook Inlet where harsh winds sometimes blow and increasing darkness calls in the long harsh Alaskan winters. 

The game of Scrabble provides the final course of this meal."Hey familiar to you at home. Not the way they play it here?" Keith and I have played Scrabble on a number of evenings with our Alaskan hosts but according to Webster's dictionary !! We have had so much fun comparing the American and English vernaculars laughing all the way.I realise now Nick and Kate that I no longer have a competitive edge -well not after playing with Stan the Russian strategist (Boris Spassky look out) ! Jan who has such a wide- more- than -4 -letters vocabulary and a facility for gamesmanship beyond belief and Keith who with hours of computer experience of playing Scrabble is ready to make the most of the limited opportunities the "little ole Webster's dictionary" can afford colonists from across the pond.LONG LIVE THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY DEAR FRIENDS NEVER FEAR WE WILL THRASH YOU WHEN NEXT WE MEET IN BLIGHTY !