We were at the Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska! After the train, they guys were particularly excited about this. When we got there the big guy wasn't on duty yet. We arrived just before 10am and he wasn't going to be at work until 11am. Doesn't sound long, but when you are 8, an hour is an eternity! We told the boys that the big man must be having a big breakfast to get ready for his busy day. We looked around the facilities at Santa's home.
First, we posed before this cool mural showing the elves at work.
Next, we took a seat in Santa's sleigh and talked about how uncomfortable it must be to sit in a sleigh like this all night long and how do all those gifts fit into this sleigh anyway? Where do the elves sit? Lots of questions, all with one answer, Santa is magical.
Third, we checked out the reindeer. There were only three of them out and about, and no sign of Rudolph anywhere. At this point we had gotten through about 30 minutes. We were running out of time and options. So, we decided to leave North Pole with plans to return after our afternoon events.
Before our afternoon adventure, we met up with my friends Nicole, TJ, Cedar, and Coral who all live in Fairbanks. We met at the Chena Pump House for brunch. They have quite the great brunch there at the Pump House! We sat outside in the sun and enjoyed good food and good friends. Then, we headed off to our afternoon adventure:
Here are Kieran and Alastar at the Riverboat Discovery III. We went on a 3 hour tour (I know, I know) along the Chena River. It is quite the tour, it is actually a tour that Laura and I went on when we were little girls and we came to Fairbanks with our mom and Aunt Frances.
The boat stops at a lot of places along the river. This stop was the home of Susan Butcher. Susan Butcher was one of my all time favorite mushers. She won the Iditarod Sled Dog Race four times. I remember hearing about Susan Butcher for most of my life. She passed away from cancer in 2006. The person down in front of the house is her daughter Tekla. Tekla talked with us about their dog kennel and did a demonstration on how they train their sled dogs. 
The trip goes to a recreation of an Athabascan fish camp. Here we saw a demonstration on how the salmon is dried and smoked so it can be used throughout the winter.
Here Kieran is sleeping on a traditional bed of a bear skin over a mattress of spruce tree branches. He said it was pretty comfortable, but that the hide was a little itchy. He thinks they should use a different kind of hide, one that is softer.
At the camp they had a chance to pet some of Susan Butcher's dogs. Here is Alastar, checking the dogs out.
After our 3 hour tour we headed back to North Pole for our second attempt at talking with the big guy. This time we were in luck!
Alastar visited with Santa and told him what he wanted for Christmas. He had gotten himself the elf hat earlier and Santa wanted to know why he wasn't at work!
Kieran also visited with Santa. The boys were so excited to meet the REAL Santa in his REAL home in North Pole. It is easy to tell when you are in North Pole - you know how? All the light posts are painted red and white like candy canes. I can't remember what the boys asked for from the man, toys I have never heard of. It was a really busy, really hot day! It was in the 80's in Fairbanks - this also caused questions - where was the snow in North Pole? Answer: it's summer.
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