I was going to start this post by telling you that Doug and I parked at my step-sister’s house, but if you’ve known me for any length of time, saying step-sister begs the question, “which one is that?”
My family tree is nothing, if not confusing, so here’s a simple chart:
Tara is the step-sister we stayed with in Soldotna. Prior to this visit, I’ve only met Tara a few times since her dad and my mom were married when all of us were already adults. Having the chance to get to know Tara, her husband, and children on this trip was absolutely wonderful!
If you’ve been reading our blog since the beginning then you know that Tara’s dad, Darrel, was very special to me and part of the reason we started these travels. It turns out that Tara has so many of Darrel’s great qualities that I felt from the moment we arrived that were old and dear friends! It didn’t hurt that her entire family is outgoing, open, and overwhelmingly kind and hospitable!
Tara and her adorable daughter pulled out all the stops for our first night there with a huge tray of appetizers and an amazing halibut fish fry. We parked on their lot just below their house. Not only do they have a beautiful house, but lovely gardens, patios, and a stunning lake view!
They gave us a Soldotna tour the next day and took to us to the Kenai River to walk the boardwalk and watch people fish. Just up from the river is a park where we spent the rest of the afternoon at Soldotna’s infamous “Wednesday Market”. Food trucks, craft booths, a beer garden, live music, and more. Addy, her daughter, recommend the best maple bacon donut I’ve ever eaten and Tara insisted that I do the fish painting kid’s craft, which was really fun. The Wednesday Market in Soldotna is a must-do if you’re there in the summer!
Tara has been a pre-K teacher in Soldotna for over 20 years. She’s not just any pre-K teacher, but one that really goes the extra mile to give every student the foundation and tools they need to succeed throughout their academic years. I’m not exaggerating when I say that every teacher (pre-K or other) could learn some things from Tara’s approach which yes, includes learning but also includes lessons in team building, respect for others, inclusion, and even recognition that differences and unique talents are to be celebrated. It’s really fun to walk anywhere in town with Tara because she’s got celebrity recognition! So many people either had Tara as their teacher or their kids had her as their teacher. As you can imagine, it’s not just that she’s a fixture in a fairly small community, she’s an incredibly kind and caring, but also demanding, teacher with an energy that is infectious. It’s all these things that make her so memorable!
Tara’s daughter was also a delight. She is a good student, very organized, a dedicated dancer, intelligent, funny, helpful, kind, beautiful inside and out, and an excellent conversationalist! This is one impressive pre-teen!
With demanding jobs, we didn’t get to spend as much time with her husband and son as hoped, but we could not have enjoyed our couple of days in Soldotna more!
Our original plan was to visit the them, then head to Homer for a few days as we had pre-booked (in January or February) a bucket-list grizzly bear tour, and go back through Soldotna for few more days over a weekend where we might be able to spend a little more time with them.
Little did we know when we left Soldotna that our tour would get rained out and rescheduled or that Tara would pack her camper and drive down to Homer, family in tow, to spend some additional time with us camping while we waited for our new tour date! This was above and beyond! I’ll share more pics of our time with them in Homer in the next post.
Tara’s been member of my family for over 20 years, but she and her whole family are so much more than that now!
