I want to invent a single word to capture the way I feel right now — something that aptly describes a sense of being simultaneously overcome, inspired and completely refreshed from an experience that's so fully consuming in all the best possible ways, that it makes you smile in a private cocoon of your own nostalgia for days.
Let me start out by saying that when you work in the Alaskan seafood industry, summertime is “go time,” a full-effort sprint that coincides with the summer salmon runs. It’s a condensed period when fishers, processors, buyers, and everyone in between is working around the clock to get things done — not just for the summer, but to support them through the next year. For my husband Arron (WAC founder + CEO) and I, we’ve been traveling all around the state to touch base with different players in our supply chain, to connect with our partners and various industry leaders. These face-to-face connections are so important given that the entire Alaskan seafood industry hinges on strong relationships. All the while, we’ve made sure to introduce different elements of Alaska and the seafood industry to our kids, especially now that our son is getting old enough to really appreciate what it means to be on a boat.
Needless to say, after nearly a month on the road, I suggested to Arron that we take a work-cation across the bay from Homer at Tutka Bay Lodge, which is owned and operated by our friend and content partner Chef Mandy Dixon. Her incredible recipes are the bread and butter of our Live Better Wild series, and her musings about life in Alaska often appear, to our delight, in this newsletter.
I imagined that we’d have just a little mom and dad getaway to rest and unwind in a setting where work felt more like a vacation. What I didn't expect was that in going to Tutka Bay, we would be embarking on a full-throttle extravaganza of the senses. That our brief, one-night visit at Tutka Bay Lodge would turn into a total enchantment of the spirit. We didn't have a lot of time so we decided to pack in as much as possible, something easy to accomplish during an Alaskan summer since the sun doesn't really set until after 11pm in South Central Alaska this time of year, which essentially gives you a whole extra chunk of day to play with.
We started with a hike around the property with the goal of not only seeing all the luscious flora from the deep forest to the raw expanse of rocky beaches, but to also forage some of the edible plant life that we would hopefully bring back to the kitchen for use in some of our meals. We spotted beach greens, which we learned used to be referred to as "scurvy greens," because explorers were known to forage this peppery-tasting green — which we found growing on a sand dune where the forest meets the beach — to build up their immunity and prevent, you guessed it, scurvy. We also found beach peas, whose flowers bloomed a gorgeous violet edible petal, and which the chef at the lodge, we learned, likes to use as garnish. We also came upon the crown jewel of Alaska's summer flowers, the unmissable fireweed, whose magenta flowers we picked and later pressed into blue corn tortillas.
The culinary aspect of our visit itself was a testament to the level of sheer creativity and innovation that's possible around the bounty of Alaska's wild seafood. In addition to the above mentioned tortillas, we partook of dishes like: a seafood cioppino featuring poached halibut and king crab; sockeye salmon in a teriyaki glaze served on a rice congee with a beet-cured egg, micro-arugula and cucumber; a dish of poached spot prawns over cold sesame noodles; the most delicate sockeye salmon spread atop potato chips as an hors d'oeuvre; and a pan-seared halibut served with a green mole, whose greens were all foraged from the property by the chef. I list these not to make your mouth water, but to illustrate a point about Alaskan seafood — that it is wildly dynamic, beautifully versatile and can be anything that you want it to be!
We also had a chance to go beach-combing during a low tide, which in Alaska is nothing short of a choose-your-adventure scavenger hunt that can lead to the most unexpected beauty. During the low tide, the shores are teeming with signs of visible life everywhere. All it takes to be an up-close-and-personal witness is a willingness to crouch down, bring your eyes close, gently turn over some rocks and pebbles and stay curious about what may lurk there. The highlight from our session was a starfish who seemed to look right back at me as I inspected the undersides of its arms.
Last, but perhaps the most exciting and certainly most awe-inspiring moment of our stay was the fact that I got to ride a helicopter! While Arron was tied up with work meetings, I was offered the chance to take a quick ride up to one of the mountain ridges that flanks the property. After the safety protocol review, I was instructed to strap in, put on my headset and off we went, over the bay, which below me appeared like a sheet of liquid mirror, and onward to the very top of the snow-capped mountain ridge whose jagged silhouette was both terrifying and stunning. The perspective from those heights took my breath away, as did the view below of verdant lushness in all varieties of forms. The ride was as unforgettably beautiful as it was exhilarating.
Between the hikes, the beach combing, all that delicious food, a wood-fired sauna that melted me into the most relaxed version of myself and some real quality time with my husband Arron, our Tutka Bay was a shared experience that I will never forget. It reminded me that Alaska is full of magical locations such as this one that are endlessly rife for exploration and explode with wonder as far as the eye can see. As of today, we’re back on the road in Alaska, in service of building deeper connections to the people and places that give this state its incredible character.
Maybe the word I'm looking for to describe how I feel right now is simply grateful. Here's to summer experiences that light up your soul, wherever you are.
Live Wild!
Monica
Pictured above: A collage of some of my favorite images and moments from a 24-hour period of my life in Tutka Bay, Alaska that will go down not only as a work-cation, but a treat for the senses in every way possible.
