Grandma Great

This letter came from my Great Uncle Pete and was written about my Great Grandma Fagen. What an inspiring woman she is!

Family,

Today we are in Hoonah, at Icy Strait Point. It is a very cute Alaskan village. This port is limited to one ship a day and today it was Radiance of the Seas day. It is home to the Zip Rider, the world's longest zip line. It is over a mile long, drops over 1300 feet in elevation and you reach a speed of 60 miles per hour. As expected, I rode the Zip and had a great time. However, the real news is that a record was set today for the oldest woman to ever ride the Zip.Charlotte Fagen (91 years old) rode the Zip and broke the previous record set by an 88 year old woman. They took pictures of her and made an announcement on the bus ride to the top where she received a rousing ovation from the other thrill seekers on board.Word had spread all over the island like wild fire about the 91 year old lady that was going to ride the Zip Rider.At the launch pad they were expecting her and treated her like royalty. It was an exciting and exhilarating ride. When we got to the landing zone there were people all over cheering and clapping. It looked like press row with all the cameras clicking. From then on, everywhere we went on the island, people would stop us and say how great it was or how inspiring it was, or that when they grew up they wanted to be just like mom. We both got Zip Rider tee shirts and the bartender at the Landing Zone restaurant offered her a free shot of whiskey which she refused. So instead they provided a round of sodas for our whole group and a bottle of water for mom.This attention continued when we got back on board the ship with people congratulating her and telling her that she was the talk of the entire island. (Which she was). People we met on the plane to Vancouver told us that they proudly told others that they had met her when overhearing conversations about mom.Going back in time, yesterday when I told mom I was going to ride the Zip Rider and explained to her what it is, her eyes lit up and she said it sounded like fun. So I told her if it was accessible for her I would go with her. Some others were not so sure it was a good idea and expressed as much to mom. She finally put that discussion to bed when she declared that she should be allowed to have some fun in her life too.While the discussion was over, that didn't stop the hand wringing and worrying that was going on behind the scenes by the thrill seeking, record breaker's daughters. Worries about snapped necks, pulled out shoulders and all sorts of possible injuries. Thankfully, like most things we worry about, none of those worries came true.Finally, it was truly a beautiful, fun, memorable day in a fabulous location and we were all glad to have been part of it.More later.Love,Peter, Sarah and Andrew