Art, Caroline Crabtree

way towards Anchorage. It was a thrilling sight. Later we saw a lone Trumpeter swan on a lake. The scenery was beautiful. The fall colors are much in evidence all along the way. Once in Homer we walked to the Salty Dog Saloon, the oldest building in existence there. A real relic with sawdust on dirt floors and a bar counter full of carved names of people probably long dead. Linda and Bonnie each had a drink and I asked for the car keys. About this time I discovered the pin that held my scarf to my jacket was missing and I had locked the keys in the car. We managed with help to get the door open and go on our way. We found a Russian community and saw their church. It was stunning with gold inlaid religious pictures on the outside. I took a picture. Then we drove to the highway and headed back towards Soldatna. We reached Ninilchik just at sunset. Linda parked exactly where Bonnie had earlier. When we opened the doors and got out, Bonnie said, “You aren’t going to believe this but here is your pin.” She reached down and picked it up. We had been gone seven hours. How many tourists had tramped those grounds; how many cars had parked there or driven over those grounds? And yet the pin was still there and undamaged in any way. I just can’t believe our luck on this trip. Time to go home. At the ticket counter we were told a plane was scheduled to leave at one twenty. We had to hurry to the gate to get our names on the waiting list. When they announced, “One minute until the doors close,” they told us they had seats for us. There would be no meals for us but they had snacks. However, when it came to mealtime we were told they had plenty of food and they fed us. How lucky can we get? We have lived charmed lives on this trip. Was it because we all went to church that first Sunday?

Caroline Crabtree

Volume 1, Issue 2 | Winter/Spring 2018 | THE BEACON 23