Ashton and Amanda Callahan

Can I just say that I’m so thankful for good friends? Especially ones that I haven’t seen in 10 years, who’s wife I’ve never even met, and who still shows up when things are crappy.

If there was any place to land in Homer, God knew Ashton’s place was the best one. He and Amanda have carved out this beautiful homestead on 40 acres of Alaskan wilderness overlooking glaciers and mountains and it’s really quite spectacular.

Ashton is that kind of a person that seems to succeed at everything he puts his hand to. He is an incredible builder and he tinkers with all kinds of things around their home and it just “works”. Hard not to be a bit jealous of someone like that… but he’s so dang goodnatured and friendly and great that you can’t hold anything against him for long. Just don’t getting him talking about the government… to say he is an independent thinker and wants people to stay out of his business is an understatement. And then Amanda is his perfect counterpart. She is so tough and strong (I mean someone who can naturally birth breech TWINS is a force to be reckoned with) and manages three milking cows, all these chickens, a garden, making cheese, butter, cream… all with a 5 year old and twin three olds following her around. I was deeply impressed.

While Tim and I tried not to get anyone sick, the kids had a blast at the Callahan’s. They canoed in the pond, swung on the huge swing in the haymow, and, the little ones at least, had fun making friends. Abbey and Hannah even managed to connect with their best childhood friend from our long lost Seldovia days and meet up for ice cream one evening.

One evening Ashton took us up is his crazy flying machine at 11pm - welcome to the land of the midnight sun. I’m not even sure what it is… it’s like a go-cart with a parachute. I’m not even sure why I felt like it was safe enough to allow us all to go up in it. Hundreds of feet up with plenty of trees to crash into, cliffs, and a frigid ocean… how I could manage that but not a walk up a cinder cone I’ll never understand. But there’s something about Ashton that inspires confidence that it will all be just fine.

Coupled with his stories of sinking his boat just outside of Kodiak island after overloading it with fish and maybe a few questionable decisions… he still makes you feel like he’s got it covered and not to worry. His ability to gamble with his life in a carefree way is a bit higher than most, but it makes for a really interesting and adventurous person to hang out with. And he’d give you the shirt off his back, as long as you don’t tick him off.

So even though we were chomping at the bit to get across the bay - the views just torturing us - Seldovia is right over there… just out of reach!! We were still having a pretty great time with this very amazing family. It was an experience we didn’t plan for in any way, but I’m grateful for their hospitality, their generosity, and the delicious raw milk!

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