...good friends, a yurt, and some kayaks

Mrs. Hufford was amazed that all of our gear fit in the car.

The Harlequin is a very seaworthy boat with room for six passengers and their gear.

This is the view out the back of the Harlequin as we neared Kayak Beach.

The yurt on Kayak Beach. It sleeps five people. Unless it is raining heavily and the tent is saturated--then it sleeps eight.

We have been planning a trip to Kayak Beach with our good friends the Emmerich's since last year when we visited them in Colorado. Everything came together on Monday when we packed our gear in the car and drove to Homer where we boarded the Harlequin for a ride to Kayak Beach which is located at the entrance of Tutka Bay. The ride was smooth and we arrived at the beach in short order. We ferried our equipment to the yurt and looked for some wood to start a fire. It rained off and on over the course of the afternoon so we spent our time between the relative dryness of the yurt and the fresh air of the outdoors as the weather permitted. We swapped stories and caught up on the news of each others family while cooking brats for dinner and standing around the evening campfire roasting marshmallows for 'smores using Reese's Peanut Butter cups instead of regular chocolate (it's the only way to go when it comes to 'smores).

At bed time some of the members of our party had intended to sleep in the tent. However, the tent had become saturated by the rain. It was sagging and drooping from the weight of the water so we decided all eight of us would sleep in the yurt. After some creative positioning of air mattresses and foam pads everyone was in their respective sleeping bag and fast to fall asleep. The trip was off to a great start and the continuation of our adventure will be told over the course of several installments. So, stay tuned for the next edition of...good friends, a yurt, and some kayaks.