Hello down there,
It's good to hear from you folks down there. Life here continues with all the change and challenges that accompany it and we just continue to go with the flow like salmon swimming upstream. Damn, that was poetic huh?
Anyway, we just got back from Anchorage Sunday night. We shopped, ate out, shopped, visited with Christy, shopped, went to a movie, shopped, went to Seward (where we shopped), shopped....... I guess we had a good time. We looked at houses for the first two days then decided to wait a few months to save some more. We spent some time with Christy and Shawn. Christy took a ride with us down the Keni Peninsula south of Anchorage to Seward which is about a two to three hour drive. Along Turnagain Arm which is a large channel beside and below Anchorage we saw large pods of Beluga Whales which are a small white whale, and some seals. The arm has a huge tidal change once or twice a day measured in many feet and at low tide large sections of mud flats are visible. Some days there is a bore tide which is literally a wave coming in from the sea. There was a humpback whale stranded there that died earlier in the spring and some belugas were trapped just a couple of weeks ago. It seems odd to me that as muddy as the water is and with as much a variance of tide the whales even come into the arm. The road along Turnagain arm begins just below Anchorage and where we saw the whales was about 15 minutes outside the city. The Aleyska ski resort is just about 30 minutes outside of town. There is a small restaurant nestled down a dirt road by the resort called the Double Musky. Of all things it is billed as a Cajun restaurant with a New Orleans theme. Gotta tell you, the crawfish pie Patty had and the jambalaya Cathy had was delicious. My 22oz rib eye was kicking too, as was Christy's 18oz New York steak. Yea, we pigged out. While in Anchorage we also found the one Popeye's fried chicken for another taste of home. As I was saying though, what we did most was shopped. We had to come back just to make more money. They tell me the key here is to get out once every three to four months. Now I know why. We have been here almost six months and wanted to buy out the city. We even had an "Alaskan suitcase" as a checked bag-a Coleman ice chest full of shrimp and boudin my cousin Joe sent us, Italian sausage, Hillshire farms Polska Kielbasa (6.49 a pound here-6.79 for three pounds in Anchorage with .29 cents a pound to ship), bacon (again, 2 pounds less than one pound here), and some pork medallions. We used to gripe about stores putting Christmas decorations up for sale in September but we bought a small tree with lights already on it and some small decorations. We also picked up some Halloween decorations. What we couldn't bring on the plane with us we went a day early to the Alaska Air cargo terminal, placed it on a pallet, and had it shipped. I got John from the fire department with a fire department pickup to help me collect it from the airport and haul it inside. Only cost me a pack of shrimp. Of course he was trying to force some Moose meat on me at the same time. It is a rough life here in the wilds. I spent the last three hours unpacking it and putting it away. Also, inside the shipping terminal there were multiple pallets with just antlers on them (Moose and Caribou) with the points covered with cardboard and tape. One other thing. When we got to Anchorage it was sunny and cool with the temps in the 50's and 60's. The mountains on the northern border of the city had not a spot of snow on them. They looked like the peaks you see in Arizona or New Mexico. Thursday it clouded up and snowed heavily. Christy was running around happily while Shawn brooded on the coming of winter. Friday the mountains had snow halfway down-just beautiful.
Speaking of Moose. Moose season is in full swing with a lot of hunters in town. The day we flew out to Anchorage the plane left late due to all the hunters and their gun cases having to be checked. That is where the moose meat came from. These guys come up trophy hunting and don't want the meat so they give it to the churches or the senior center. Even they had too much. The caribou are just south of town although we haven't seen them and a lot of people are hunting them right now. We are not hunting as we are still nonresidents and the license is so high. After we have lived here a year we are considered residents and for about $50 we can get a license. The limit here for caribou is five per day 365 days a year for residents. If you go around town now you can see hides drying on racks. I went on an ambulance call yesterday and in the cunnychuck (a small closed in entryway you come into up here to dress or undress in coats and boots, or just get out of the weather while waiting to enter so you don't freeze) there was one or two skinned and partially cut up caribou on a table. It is a staple here.
Well, summer here is definitely gone. The high temps have been in the mid to upper 40's and sunny with lows in the upper 20's to low 30's. There is some ice forming along the waters edge and the seals are plentiful along front street in the sound chasing herring. Most of the waterfowl has left with just a few types left. The seagulls are still here though. When they go winter is here for sure. One good thing about the increasing darkness-now from about 9pm until 8am and the clear weather. The northern lights have been out every night. Mostly a band of green light with sometimes a swirling area at one end. They come out around midnight and are out intermittently until about 5am. We bought a new camera in Anchorage and attempted last night to get them on film. We got some of it but it is still too dark to show up on the pictures.
One other thing. We passed JCAHO with better scores then ever before. The way they celebrated-they asked for the president, the director of nursing, and a few others resignations. Ahh, hospital politics, makes Louisiana politics look tame. We all have jobs, no problem there. After all, the corporate ladder climbers have to have strong backs to step on on the way up. That's where we have always come in handy. We are ok. I'm a nurse and we are keeping our options open. We do like it here and aren't planning on going anywhere, but if we do it is still part of living our lives to the fullest.
Take care,
The Sam's
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Last updated:
08/29/05