Settled Back in Anchorage

It's been a long time since we've put anything on our blog, between spending 5 weeks on the East Coast and then catching up when we got back to Alaska!  Our posts may be out of order as I find the pictures and remember what we've been doing!  Most recently, I flew to Detroit for my niece's wedding over Labor Day Weekend, and Brian flew to Galena, AK to assist other volunteers in rebuilding houses for people who were displaced from flooding of the Yukon back in late winter.  In Detroit, I got to see a lot of family, which was very fun, and I'm so glad that I was there for a great wedding with a wonderful young couple . . . I found it very heartening to witness them beginning their life together.

Meanwhile, Brian was being mistaken for a plumber (in the absence of a real one) and problem-solving getting running water, working sewage, etc. back in Galena with church volunteers, FEMA people, and seeing what life is like on the Yukon in a village of about 500 people.  He particularly liked the flight from Fairbanks to Galena on a small plane where he could look right up the aisle and see what the pilot was looking at!  He enjoyed it enough that he'd like to go back!  These two pictures are of the "FEMA tents" and the plane from Fairbanks - notice the "baggage claim" in the foreground!

This is a "typical house" in Galena - some have plumbing, others don't - this one is still waiting for the plumbing to be repaired.  Waste is pumped into a holding tank and then pumped out by a truck periodically.  Nothings buried, because it's permafrost.  Everything comes in by a weekly barge (for 6 months of the year) or by plane, but the planes are small - anything big has to come by barge up the Yukon.

Just before we went on our separate ways, Jessica came from Santa Monica and visited for a week.  It was a busy week, and we didn't get to do much with her, but we did spend one whole day on our boat, picking up our last shrimp of the season and enjoying the views of glaciers, mountains, and the beautiful waters of Prince William Sound.

Dipnetting for Salmon

Brian went to the Copper River with Carl and Nick for salmon on Monday (leaving late Sunday - they get there at 2 am to stake out their place in line to be taken upriver and dropped off, then sleep in the car as best they can until it's their turn!)  They technically were able to take 40 Copper River reds apiece and 1 king salmon apiece but came home with 20 apiece and split 1 king.  That's still a lot of fish!

Brian with his king salmon

They were home by 9 pm Monday, tired and with a full day of sun in this unseasonably warm early summer.  The next morning it was time to package the fillets for freezing (a college student fillets them on site for $1.50 per fish - up from $1.00 last year and still well worth it!) We'll probably take some east with us when we go on Sunday).  And if I can find the time, maybe some canning before we go?

Diane and Carl's house - packaging the salmon for the freezer

Tuesday evening we had old friends visiting, Chris and Dick Reister from Utica, NY.  We walked downtown to the Snow Goose for a meal outside on the deck then a leisurely walk back first through the Town Square to see the flowers, then along the Coastal Trail/Chester Creek trail back to our house.  It was great to see old friends and good to see them enjoy Alaska.  They are headed for Seward tomorrow and then up to Talkeetna.  I'm finishing up at work in the next few days and then I might have to think about packing for our trip!

A Weekend Conference in Denver

Busy time of year . . . we're getting ready to go east, the sun's up til all hours of the night, and there is no shortage of things to take care of!  Brian's sister Janet and her husband Fred were here for a week beginning the end of May, and it was great to have them visit.  We went to Talkeetna with them two weeks ago, and I think that it is the only 2 days that it rained in the last month!  We've had beautiful, unseasonably warm sunny weather - even up to 80, 81, which I've never seen in the 3 years that I've been here!  Janet and Fred took a trip to Seward on the train, which it sounds like they liked, and they saw moose and a bear along the way, lots of birds, and then seals and sea otters in Seward.

I thought I had a pic of them, but maybe not!

Brian dropped me off at the airport to fly to Denver for a conference and headed over to the train to pick them up from their trip to Seward, and then they headed home Friday a week ago.  We'll be there ourselves next Monday, as we leave here Sunday night.  The coordinator for the American Democracy Project, sponsors of the conference is Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, who oddly enough, is a first cousin of my stepchildren, so we connected again at the conference.

I remember Jenn from skiing at Cooley's when she was still in high school - as you can see she's a little past that now and about to have her first child!  It was a good conference, and I also had time to bike along the Platte River to an Indian grocery that a colleague wanted to find, meet for dinner at the Aquarium Restaurant, and hang out at Rock Bottom on the 16th Ave. Mall with some very interesting characters!

I got back in time to have a couple of giant birch pollen attacks, which is the first time in my life that I've had allergies like that -- no pictures, big swollen up eyes, pretty awful!   And then, a wonderful weekend of the Wisdom Course on the web - Brian is taking the course, and I am co-leading it!  We're both going to have a big "growth and development year."  Who knows what will happen next?

A Day on Kakwik in Whittier, AK

We started off fairly early and made a day of it today, heading for Whittier by 9:30 am.  By the time we got through the tunnel, on the boat, and filled up the gas gussler, it was heading for noon as we headed for Blackstone Bay.

After checking the shrimp pots, (and we got about 5 lbs of shrimp!), we got ourselves a little out of the wind and stopped to grill chicken sausages for lunch.  What a beautiful day!  It was in the 70s, sunny, and except for a little wind out on the water, very warm and inviting!

After lunch we took turns in the kayaks exploring some little nooks and crannies in Shotgun Cove.  There is still snow right down to the water and tons of waterfalls pouring down the mountains!  Beautiful to be out there.  And a good place up on deck (above) for me to read David Sedaris while waiting my turn (and napping in the sun!)

Once we were underway, it was chilly enough to bundle up, but still a good place to read on the back deck of Kakwik.


Back at the dock, we finished up and stopped for a cup of chowder (which for some reason was cheaper if you bought it with beer - the special, chowder and beer!), then headed back home - 8:30 but still broad daylight - it won't get dark til about midnight now, maybe later.  Time to go back to work tomorrow - it's been such a nice weekend.  It was 76 degrees when we got home, nearly unheard of in Anchorage, and the forecast is 70s for the next 3 days - I don't think that's ever, ever happened!

Back in Anchorage -- spring and maybe even summer arrived!

We've gone from late season - unseasonable-snow to sunny, sunny skies and 60s to 70s weather in one week!  Memorial Day weekend has been spent with two good biking days so far, and today is scheduled for Whittier and taking Kakwik out on Prince William Sound.  Looking forward to a lazy day before gearing up for the next work week -- only 4 days but lots to catch up on!

Brian and Carl went out on Kakwik for the "shakedown cruise" Thursday - Friday and came back with oysters (purchased) and shrimp from our pots.

We had the oysters Friday night, and I also found scallops at the Spenard Farmer's Market after yoga Saturday morning that we had Saturday night -- boy, do we love Alaska seafood!  I loved being back at yoga after a few weeks away, and this is the first chance I've gotten for the farmer's market again - it opened last week, but I was teaching.  Not much fresh grown yet - some spring greens, sprouts, but also my favorite piroshki stand (they can't be that good for you, but they surely do taste good!)  We went for a later afternoon bike on the "Bird to Gird" trail along Turnagain Arm - the trail was in good shape except for some caution through 3 avalanche areas from this winter - some debris and water on the path.  So fun to bike along the water with the mountains right there . . . it's just gorgeous!

Sunday was an errand day initially - Brian's sister and her husband will be here on Wednesday. We also recently bought a little grill, and we got a small table and 2 more chairs for outside along with our great "CHAIRity Auction" bench that we brought to Alaska with us!  Mid-afternoon we decided to go for another bike ride, along the Coastal Trail this time toward Kincaid Park and with Mary and Lance, our landlords. 

Mary, Judy & Brian taking a break at Earthquake Park

That was a fun ride and another 2 hours, then a late afternoon/early evening glass of wine outside on our new chairs then dinner together with a very good risotto with scallops and spinach and a great salad that Mary brought up.

You've got to love holiday weekends.  Off to Kakwik early today with a stop for scones and coffee at our favorite, Fire Island Bakery.  I'm too lazy to put pictures in right now, but maybe I'll add them later -- and we'll have pictures from today! 

A Side Trip to Ojai

We couldn't be in Santa Monica without a trip up to see Judy's sister Christine and her husband Michael, Justin and Marica and their children, and Piper and James -- we drove up Monday morning, and it was only 102 degrees in Ojai!  We spent a few hours at the pool, a stop at Christine and Michael's to clean up and have a glass of wine (in the air-conditioning), and then it had cooled off enough to reconnoiter at Justin and Marica's home for dinner on their big patio that could hold "the whole family!"

Marica and Justin made a wonderful dinner, Sonia brought salad, and Christine brought a chocolate cheesecake with berries - yum!  Great food, great wine, and great company!  We stayed overnight and had breakfast at Lake Cassitas before driving back to LA.  Then it was one last lunch on the beachfront, in Venice this time, before saying goodbye to Jessica at the airport and getting back on theplane.

To add insult to injury, we got home late Wednesday night, and Friday afternoon as I sat in my office, it started snowing furiously!  We had snow all of Friday night, and it was up to 6 inches up on the hillside.  For us closer to downtown, it was all gone by today.  I had to teach a graduate social work course all day Saturday and Sunday, but it was beautiful and sunny today (still a bit cool!)
We're still waiting for summer here in Anchorage, but we have about 18 hours of daylight -- it's light til about 11:30 pm now.

Mother's Day in Santa Monica

Brian and I went to Santa Monica for a few days for Mother's Day to see Jessica, and it was lovely to be in the sun and be warm.  Santa Monica was a nice temperature but could be on the coolish side with a breeze, 68-70 degrees.  It was great to see Jess, and she has a nice apt. just a few blocks from the beach.  Saturday we rented bikes, the 3 of us (cruisers) and rode for a couple of hours on the bike trail that runs right through the beach.  We rode one way and walked out onto the Santa Monica pier, then the other til we ended in a place with fruit popsicles!

Lots of dodging other bikes and, in some places, pedestrians, but it was fun!

It's about a 5 hour flight each way but a direct flight at least!  We went to the Getty Museum on Sunday for Mother's Day and took a picnic with us - Jessica made a kale salad and a tomato & cucumber salad with mint, and we added brie cheese and a sourdough baguette - great picnic under a shade tree.  The grounds are beautiful with some very unique gardens and pretty interesting architecture too, even besides the indoor exhibits.

We came back to the beachfront and went to the Georgian Hotel, which I didn't end up with a picture of - must have been on Jessica's phone.  Wonderful little porch over looking the water with a nice ceviche and cheese tray to with my wine and their beer!

And then back to the beach in time for the sunset - we had a good one, as you can see in the picture!  Santa Monica is beautiful, and Brian commented on how many people are out walking, biking, doing yoga, generally just enjoying the outdoors.  He even said, "I could live here!"  We're not ready to give up Alaska yet though (even after it snowed when we got home and they said it was the 232nd day with snow this year!)

Too soon, it was time to go back, but first we had a trip to Ojai - next entry!