"Mark and Mariam, Our flight home to Portland was perfect, weather clear all the way.Thank you for a truly excellent time in Naha! We had such a great time canoeing and hiking around your beautiful wilderness. Your hospitality was wonderful, we enjoyed every moment at your lodge. Attached are the photo's from the camera we forgot the USB cord for, feel free to use them as you wish. We will be in touch for a visit
next year, perhaps a bit longer so we can try for Halibut. Thank you, Gracias, Cheers & Hasta luego!" Jeff. 2011
"Hi Mark, We will send a CD with our photo's from Naha right away. I'm not sure the emailed photo's are easily manipulated for use. Thanks again for a great time! We are enjoying fresh fish with wine tonight... have to "ease" back into reality! Cheers!" Jeff. 2011
“Dear Mark and Miriam. It was great to meet all of you. We had a great time and the fishing was great”. Peter. 2011.
“Hi. We had a great time”. “P.S. Please say hi to Ivan and Sara”. Henry. 2011.
"Hi Mark and Miriam, We had a great time at your place and appreciate your friendship. I am putting together some picture for you on CD. The newspaper article will run on Thursday. I will send you a copy. In the meantime, here are a few pics for you”. Gary. 2011.
“I just was want to say thanks to each of you…Gary Lewis and family had a fabulous time throughout their visit and it’s all about each of you making that happen. Wonderful people, great product, and a willingness to reach out and support one another…I am proud to know each of you and have the opportunity to represent you in our marketing efforts. Thanks you again and be well.” Dragon, Ketchikan Visitors Bureau. 2011.
“Dear Mark & Miriam. Here is the book I promised to Sara and Ivan. It is the finest book on chess I have ever encountered. The book is not difficult to use as it first appears. Also, please find enclosed a token of my appreciation for the extraordinary service your family devoted to our little group. I see Hans regularly and each conversation includes reminiscences of our days at Naha Bay. God’s Blessings”. Ray. 2011.
“Last week, I went on a fishing trip to Alaska with three Lutheran friends: George, Ray, and Hans. We spent 6 nights at Naha Bay Lodge, which is located about 10 miles north of Ketchikan and is operated by a wonderful couple, Mark & Miriam Edwards, and their delightful children, Sara & Ivan. Mark met us at Ketchikan Airport and transported us in his spacious pickup to Knudson Cove, which is a few miles north of Ketchikan. Here we purchased our fishing licenses and other supplies before loading our luggage into Mark’s cabin cruiser for the trip to Naha Bay and the tiny community of Loring. Here are a few photos from a most memorable fishing trip in a truly spectacular Alaskan setting”. Dale. 2011.
“Thank you, Miriam, for your fabulous meals and for sharing your wonderful family with us. We love you all. I think the photo I took of Hans hugging your children on the Loring Community dock shows the kind of affection that developed with us Lutherans and your family in just five days time!” Dale. 2011.
“We made it home safe and a few pounds heavier thanks to Miriam's cooking. The fish arrived this afternoon. We had halibut this evening for dinner. Michele was very excited! I think that I got the yellow eye. I made a quick video for our friends and family. It is titled for Carl of course. You can view it on youtube.
Thanks again for your grand hospitality! You are wonderful hosts, and I can not wait to come back to Naha Bay again. Take care.” Barry 2010.
“We are home safe and sound, and have a freezer full of fish. Thank you for a lovely time, wonderful food and warm friendship. We would love the soup recipes and the topping you put on the pink salmon. Hope to see you in a couple of years when the fish supply gets low! Fondly.." David & Pat 2010.
“Steve, me, and fish all made it home OK. Raining and traffic jam on I-205 going home. Guess we're back in civilization or whatever we call it. Anyhow, thanks again for a great trip and hope rest of year works out for you. May see you next summer." Tom 2010.
“We had a great time on our trip. Our last day in Ketchikan was wet but nice. Anya got a nice b-day present, and I got in a couple more hours of fishing. Our trip home was very smooth, our fish was still frozen solid ten and a half hours later when we walked in our door. We really enjoyed the wonderful piece of the earth you guys have up there, Mark was a great guide and Miriam your cooking was awesome. Thanks again for a great week.” Jake 2010.
“Hey! We had a wonderful rest of our trip, although the food wasn't quite as good as it had been. The fish got here wonderfully - and for only $20/box! It was such a joy to spend the week with you and your family. We appreciated the top notch guiding, food preparation and personalities! We welcome you to Minnesota anytime. Thank you for everything! Safe travels down south! Take care.” Anya 2010.
“We arrived home with no problems. The fish made it as well in the frozen
state they left in. I definitely miss your family's warm hospitality and especially the "Cuban coffee". I certainly hope to visit again someday. Take care.” Phil 2010.
“Just a brief note to tell you how much all of enjoyed our stay with you. You always make us feel more like friends than guests in your special little spot of the world and we hope to be able to visit you again in the future. Our stay is always about more than just the fishing. Give the kids a hug for us and let's stay in touch.” Tony & Wendy 2010.
”Thanks for the wonderful time. I had a great first time fishing experience and time with my dear friends. You have a wonderful lodge and family. Whenever you have time if you could send the mushroom soup and the oatmeal bake recipe I would love it, thank you! Go fish.” Deanna 2010
“Thanks for sending the pictures of my dad's adventures!” Sue 2010
“Our return home was great. The fish were still frozen when we returned to our homes. I haven’t smoked any yet but I foresee that very soon. Thanks again for some great memories. We had a fantastic time at your lodge! I haven’t seen Gary’s pics yet but here are a few of mine, Have a great 4th of July weekend! Thanks again.” Sean 2010.
“Hey there everyone. Sure do miss being up in your area. Thanks again so much for all your kindness. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, we will be in touch.” Dave 2010
"Ted and Jeff made it home just fine with the fish ….They very much enjoyed their trip - it was very special for Ted to take our son, and your hospitality and cooking were great! The halibut looks wonderful - we will try it tomorrow. Maybe Ted and I will make it up there ourselves one of these days. I would love to go! ….Thanks for everything!" Marge 2009
"We had halibut last night, which everybody loved. We enjoyed your company as well, not to mention the incredible experience we had - truly a once in a lifetime experience." Eugene 2009
"Just wanted to thank you. We had a great time fishing and staying with your family. The fish was shared with friends and family and all enjoyed. Just wanted to thank you again for your hospitality." David 2009
"Thanks again for all your hard work and your hospitality!" Tim 2009
"Thank you so much for everything. I cannot tell you what a good time I had – it was by far the best fishing experience I’ve had fishing in a long time. Your hospitality was incredible and I love your family." Andrew 2009
"We had a good time and we were well pleased with everything. I can't wait to get back up there."Anthony 2009
"I had time to grill some halibut this week-end it was fantastic. When we get our pictures down loaded, we'll send some to you. I just want to thank you for the great time we had at your lodge . The sights the food all were terrific, not to mention the fishing wasn't bad either." Joe 2009
"We really enjoyed staying with you…..Your meals were great and well prepared." Becky 2009
"Dear Mark: Thank you once again for the fishing trip. I could not have enjoyed it more, and the enjoyment continues as I recall all its events. The warm hospitality given by you, Miriam, Sarah and Ivan was overwhelming, and I will always have great memories of the trip. Best wishes." George 2008
“Yes, we are back to Reality! I'd much rather be fishing & eating
with you guys! What a great trip & adventure we had & we all agree to that. It was a vacation we'd all like to go on again & of course we'd come to Naha Bay. Many many many thanks for everything you did for us. You are both very hard workers & I so admire you for making the decisions you have & supporting each other the way you do. We are all having fresh fish tonight, by the way!!...Thanks again for everything.” Suzie 2008
“Just want to add my voice to the chorus on a wonderful fishing experience with you. It was my first adventure of this kind and certainly not my last. Miriam, again I savored every bite of your fabulous culinary preparations and Mark, you did a great job on the water, etc. You compliment each other beautifully and I very much enjoyed Sara and Ivan! Look forward to crossing pathways with you again some day. Take care...” Jeff 2008
“We had a great time.” Carolyn 2008
“James had the most wonderful time up there, again!! You guys are great! Keep in touch. Thanks” Colleen 2007
“Mark and Miriam: I wanted to drop you a line and thank you for all the things you did to make our trip such a great time. It was great to meet and spend time with all of you. Mark, among all the things you helped us with, I am very thankful for all your help with getting us set up with gear, boats, instructions, directions, advice and basically, getting us out fishing. It made a huge difference and you never seemed to tire of all our questions and cries for help. There may be a sainthood involved here. Miriam, I would have never thought that you could keep everyone happy given all our different tastes and dietary issues. However, you made it seem effortless and we will be talking about your meals and our over-eating for years. You never know what it will be like to share someone's home with them, especially if you don't know them. I am especially thankful for how comfortable we all were with all your accomodations and, in particular, how much we enjoyed your company…until we cross paths again, best wishes.” Jeff 2007
“Mark, Miriam: Had a great time at your place and will gladly come back as soon as possible (maybe next summer). My catch made it home without a problem although I haven’t had the time yet for a fish fry…Thanks again for all the hospitality.” Les 2007
“Mark and Miriam: We received the fish this week. Thanks. All the gang can not stop talking about what a great trip we had. Thanks again. We all enjoyed your hospitality.” Phillip 2007
“We had such a wonderful time staying with you and plan on a return visit probably in 2009. Miriam, would you email me your seafood casserole recipe?...Thanks again for everything” Leslie 2007
“Mark and Miriam: Just returned home on Saturday…We had a wonderful summer and the visit with you was the highlight. The fish arrived in great shape--had some salmon on the grill last night. Leslie and I are discussing our next visit…Thanks again for the great visit…I will have Leslie send pictures as soon as she gets organized from the summer.” Ray 2007 - Click here to see article published by Ray Duvall.
“We had a very good time. You have a great place up there and it was so nice to get away there. I will forward the sites to Andy and I will send you some of the pictures we took. Looking forward to seeing you again. It was very hard to come back to work after that great vacation!!!!!” Craig 2005
"Hi Guys....Can't tell you enough how we enjoyed our stay with you fine folks and our fishing with George and TJ. Mark, thanks for all you help and patience with us in retrieving Steve's luggage and for the help with our catch. Still cannot believe that we did so well on Kings. We sure met our goal…Miriam, thanks for your great meals and sense of humor. There is no better way to keep a positive attitude than having a good sense of humor.” Jack 2005
“Thanks for a great time. When can I come up next year and go King hunting?
Honduras was nice. Naha was way nicer.” John 2005
“Mark and Miriam: Our family had an awesome time and have some great memories of our trip. You both made us feel so welcome, and treated us like friends. We have been to many lodges around Alaska, but feel that your hospitality and services could not have been better. Thanks again for everything you did for us and we will be seeing you again! …We will keep in touch and send you some photo CD's soon. Best Wishes.” Pradines 2005
“You could not have done a better job on our fishing trip and we look forward to seeing you again for another.” Paul 2005
“Mark and Darrell had a terrific time! The salmon is wonderful. Mark made a salmon chowder yesterday. I certainly DO want to come next year if possible. Mark is planning on it! Thanks so much.” Sarah 2005
"Received picture and recipes today, we would also like recipe of rice soup. Hope you have received pictures we sent by mail. We got home with fish in great shape even after being delayed for three hours in Seattle which made us get home at 1.30 in the morning. Really appreciate the pictures of the kings ,now we have proof that we went fishing. Sincerely; Vernon 2005
“Just wanted to let you know that Jerry and I had a great time and really appreciated how nice both of you were! ….We have enjoyed several of the fish so far and they have been wonderful on the grill! I've got some good shots of the fish and will send them to you next week. Take care and again it was a pleasure to meet both of you! Mark, don't forget to put one of our pictures on your website! Ha ha…… all of our friends were jealous when they saw the size of those silvers! …thanks again for a great week,,,,,when I'm older and look back on the pictures I'm sure that it will bring back fond memories of that week so thanks for sharing that time with us. As we say here in the south,,,,your good people….take care.” Tom 2005
“We had a wonderful time at Naha Bay, thanks to all your hard work and, most of all, your good company. We feel that we not only found a good vacation spot, but made some good friends as well. It was extra nice having Sara & Ivan as vacation grandkids. Our grandchildren enjoyed seeing their pictures.I am sending along some of our photos that we thought you'd enjoy…Our group will hopefully be getting together in the next few weeks to share our pictures and eat some fish, which, by the way, arrived in great shape. Thanks again for your hospitality and for some great vacation memories! … Miriam, Ron and I each gained 7 pounds on vacation!!!!!!!! Must have been the cream puffs and bananas foster” Kathy 2004
“Mark & Miriam: Thanks again for a great week. The Pikers held our annual duck hunting reunion on the Eastern shore of Virginia last month. Harry’s video of the Naha Bay adventure was playing all the time. It brought back memories and lots of favorable comments.” Len 2004
“Mark & Miriam: We concluded on our trip home, this was our favorite Alaska experience to date….we'll definitely be back to see you. I would like to hit in the middle of the silver and steelhead runs, even if I have to come for 3 or 4 days. Mark--keep us up on what's happening around there. Everything was great and thanks again for making our stay so comfortable.” Darren 2003
"Mark, Miriam, Sara, Ivan – and Teddy, Enjoyed meeting all of you, traveling around the salt chuck, skiffing thru the lagoon, and spending my first evening in a yurt. It was a good time." Brian 2003
“Mark/Miriam: I noted on your website that you've had lots of visitors...good for you! …we've had ample time to reflect on the wonderful time we had in Alaska. They want to do it again...my little boy will soon turn four, so I may wait a little bit until he is old enough to join us. Until our paths cross again, take very good care of yourselves.” Antonio 2003
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