Getting Settled…

We’ve been here at Renfros Lakeside Retreat for just over 2 weeks as I begin this post.  We’ve worked our first week and today is the last day of our first week off.

When I left off last time, (in the “First Week at Renfros Lakeside Retreat” post – not the “Getting to Alaska” post) I was telling you about our awesome cruise trip out to Kenai Fjords National Park – where we saw whales, puffins and glaciers!  How exciting was that?  Pretty amazing for sure!

The following day, we resumed our regular work schedule.  After work one day, Gary took Bill and I out to dinner to Chinooks.  Chinooks is known for its seafood, and with its location right on the waterfront, the views are fabulous!  We ate King Crab and Halibut and stuffed ourselves silly!   It was a wonderful evening out getting to know Gary better, as well as getting a taste of Seward dining out!  Thanks again, Gary!

heading in
view from my seat!
look at the size of those legs!
halibut special!
we wanted to try and get the view in the background – didnt work out to well
Then on Friday, Gary decided to take all of us to breakfast.  We all headed to Trail Lake Lodge Restaurant, just 10 miles north of us in Moose Pass.  We enjoyed a delicious breakfast and chatted away the whole time!  Part of what we talked about was the upcoming yard sale, which was happening the next day!

Moose Pass is a very small town
restaurant is downstairs, lodge rooms upstairs
their banquet facilities – overlooking the lake
the general store
views are awesome!

Saturday was not one of our regular scheduled days, but we had agreed to help out selling all the items Gary wanted to get rid of.  I think I’ve mentioned before, he had remodeled the 5 lakeside cabins this past winter, and in doing so, had 5 of a lot of things to sell, such as small refrigerators, stoves, shower enclosures, etc., as well as a bunch of misc. items.

A U-Haul box truck had been rented to carry all the times down to Seward, to Gary’s storage unit, where the yard sale would take place.  Bill, Bob, Marna and myself were on our way to Seward by 8am on that misty, damp morning.   We were hoping the weather would improve, or at the least, not get worse.  Gary had said rain would not keep people away, as locals in Seward were used to this kind of day.

We arrived before 8:30 and started setting up right away.  We wanted to have people be able to see at least one of each of the larger items and we also set up a table for smaller items.   Even though the ad for the yard sale said it would start at 10, we had our first customers arrive before 9.  Once they started coming, they didn’t stop and all 4 of us were busy until about 10:45, when it started to slow down a bit.

all set up!
ready to sell!
people are wanting to buy!
lots of people!
adding to his pile of stuff!
gorgeous views!
Bob and Bill – what do want to buy today?
Marna and I went to get burgers for lunch at Reds Burgers, while the guys stayed behind to continue selling.

supposedly the best burgers in town – they were good – but the only ones we’ve had so far
outside seating
yes – this is the indoor seating!
see? very cute!
By the way, the weather never improved, but Gary was right, it didn’t stop the people from coming!  The ad said we would close up at 4, but when we hadn’t had anyone come by in a half hour, we decided to start packing up, that was at about 1:30 or so.  We returned the rental and headed back home.  After counting the money back at the lodge, we figured we had earned just over $1,000!  Not too bad for a few hours of work!  Best part, there is a lot less stuff taking up space around here and at the storage unit, which was the goal!

Marna is very excited! We don’t have to bring anything back!
this storage unit and the truck were mostly full – this is all thats left!

Bill and I have been mostly just hanging out this week on our days off, getting some chores done, etc.  We did find our way to Soldotna and Kenai one day, where we went to Walmart and Fred Meyer for a few things.  We had lunch at a cool little place in Kenai, Burger Bus.  Very yummy and prices weren’t too bad!


Bill got the rig washed, he borrowed Gary’s powerwasher, and has started on waxing it.  It looks 100% better already!


The past few days, I’ve been sick – UGH!  I caught a cold from my co-worker, but I ended up with a fever, so now I’m taking a z-pack and also Musinex.  When we signed up for our ACA insurance for this year, our agent, Kyle Henson, of RVer Insurance Exchange told us about a service he offers called Teladoc.  For $149 a year for the 2 of us, we have access to doctors 24/7 for minor things, like a cold that is escalating.  I called the morning after I took my temp and it was 100.7, and after taking a simple medical history (which only needs to be done once on the initial call), they located a local doc and scheduled a phone consult for me.  They said the doc would call me within the hour and about 30 mins later my phone was ringing!  The doctor asked me a bunch of questions about my symptoms, which I answered, and she said she wanted to put me on a z-pack, and she would have it called in.  I received email confirmation of everything, including that the RX was submitted and would be ready in an hour.  Before Bill left to get it, I called to make sure it was ready and it was!   How cool is that?   The whole thing went incredibly smooth and I couldn’t have been more impressed or happy about it!  I’m fairly certain a visit to an urgent care would have been a lot longer ordeal, as well as a lot more than the $149 we paid for an entire year for both of us!

Tomorrow starts our new work week, I am hoping this cough has calmed way down by then!  We are planning to head to Homer on our next week off (starting 6/16) for a few days.  Time to see someplace new!

Hope all of you have a great week!

14 thoughts on “Getting Settled…

  1. Really enjoy following your blog! Found you via the Chouters.
    Whenever you get to Soldotna, look for the Moose is Loose Bakery — yummy.

  2. Hope you are feeling a lot better. Sounds like a busy couple of weeks. Love the beautiful pictures.

    1. It did work great! It’s one of those things you hope to never need – but so worth having if/when you do!
      And yes – Gary is a great guy!

  3. Hey Kelly. Hope you are feeling better. Sounds like you are having a great time. Glad everything is working out for you. Can’t wait to hear about your next adventure in Alaska. As always, I love all the pictures. We can’t wait till we can spend the summer in Alaska. Have a great week and feel better.

    1. Thanks Chris! I am feeling better – actually slept last night which I think helped a lot! Your day for returning to AK is coming!

  4. Hi Kelly! I just finished reading practically your whole archives! What a great adventure you are having! Your pictures are stunning! Looking forward to reading about your time in Alaska!

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