Monday didn't do much yesterday like I said. I cooked oysters charbroiled them in the oven they came out great. Today I just cleaning around here I am still so sore from the cave I couldn't get up and go fishing. I will try it in the morning. I have to climb down the bank I knew I could go down but up might be a problem.
Tuesday we went and bought a bench for the next house. I couldn't fit it in this one. It was a wooden bench that had a sea otter carved on each end by chainsaw. Then in the middle a halibut carved in the middle of the back. The guy let me store in until I move.
Wenesday well back at the DMV trying to pass the test. After a 1 hour wait we finally passed the test. I am now officially a alaskian driver. Now it didn't go that smooth. I had to go back to the house 2 times for paperwork that they needed. I still didn't get my vehicles registered. In Louisiana you go by the registeration paper. Here title only. If it is financed you have to get the finance company to fill out a special form and send it in. By that time I was done for the day.
Thursday went fishing I didn't catch anything I had my line broke and lost my favorite bait. I had to go to 3 different stores to find another one like it. It was Carol's first day at school so I just hung around the house after I got back. I didn't know how it was going to work out. She came back in and was all gitty. She loved it. Whoo that was a relief I knew I had a hard road ahead if she didn't. I ain't wanting to leave.
Friday back to the DMV to get the vehicles registered. It was so packed I had to park a block away. Got there at 10:15 and left at 1:30 still no luck. She told me that it would take about an hour to type all that in and they closed at 2. I just asked if I could leave the paper work and come back in Wednesday. She thanked me for that and the people behind me thanked me to because they were not going to get their stuff done if I stayed.
Saturday I found a couple that were cleaning out thier freezer. They had some deer meat and halibut. I called them and asked if they had a neck roast she said yes that she would save it for me. We went to their house and pick it up and got a lesson on berry picking and mushroom gathering. We stayed about a hour getting lessons. They were a great young couple. On the way back we stopped and watch the salmon swim up a stream that was great. Carol said she felt sorry for them that they had to go up that waterfall. It was rolling over the rocks. We left there headed to a garage sale. We met a older couple that were moving back home to Arkansas. They were moving into a assisted living facility. She had dementia it brought back memories of Carol's mom she just kept asking Carol about her teaching she was a retired teacher. We stayed there for along time. He could see that her face would light up when she was talking to Carol. We did have a good time talking. Came home and went out to eat at a nice restaurant. I didn't know it was there. It was a fishing lodge that sold dinners to the public. The food was delicious I had the halibut and she had the steak that was the only 2 choices but we're fantastic.
Sunday well I woke down in my back. It took a while to get going don't know why. I think it's the awful couches they are rough to set in. You can't get comfortable constantly moving. But I can't complain it was furnished and I didn't have to bring that on the trip. I hope next week we move into the other house. I will get a recliner.
Sunday 26 August 2018
Sunday 19 August 2018
Week 3
Monday well I am going to agree with Drik my brother-in-law. You can eat just so much Salmon. I had enough for awhile. I went and bought some lard for Carol to make bisques that is one thing she has profected. My grandma Simmons could make the best she watch her a lot of times. Mamaw told her that she would just have to make them your way. Just use the same ingredients. She got them down right. We had bisques and white gravy with fried bacon. It was a true Verda supper. I also bought chicken livers and gizzards. That's Tuesdays supper nothing like fried livers and gizzards. I didn't fish any today. I hung around the house doing laundry and cleaning dishes. Ask Jill my daughter how I do clothes it's a snap. Carol worked on her class and ran errands today. It was a rainy day so it was easy to stay in.
Tuesday I stayed into day. Sunday I couldn't stop sneezing and I ended up with a cold. I am going to tell this Jill my nose was running faster than I could lick it. I just stayed and took some day quill by the night it was better at least I could breathe. Just a bad day.
Wenesday well I felt better and I went to the bay and tried the fish wasn't much going on there so I went back to get Carol to see to the starfish. There was some different colors on the rocks. We decided to go back down the dirt road we missed and little trail from the pictures it didn't look to bad. It was a good walk there was a waterfall just going into the ground. It fell into a hole that went to the cave underneath. We could see where the water line was that had to be some type a whirlpool the bottom was dry and the water line was about 20 ft up from the floor. I tred to talk her into the trip to the cabin but no dice. They give you a rowboat and you pack the boat with sleeping bag and food. The cabin is across the lake no electricity no water. You can fish and cook on the campfire. I ask her where her adventure was. She said in my soft bed in the house. I ain't going pay them 45 dollars to die in the woods eaten by a bear or a wolf. I might have to do that one on my own just me and the dogs. It sounded like alot of fun if you ask me. The trip back home we rounded the curve and there was a black bear. By the time we got stopped all she got a picture of was the butt. Then she said that's why I ain't sleeping in the woods.
Thursday got up this morning at 4:30 I made sure that I didn't miss the garbage truck this week. Two weeks of garbage in this little house was bad. At the house you just haul it off or just set it in the back of your truck for a week or so. Here you don't leave it outside the next door neighbor already had trouble with a bear. He was just going to put it out by the road and the bear was trying to get in it. The garage cans here you have to stick your finger in a hole to unlatch it so you can open it. They have it figured out. We went down the dirt road between to small towns. It was about 30 miles long. Some parts were beautiful and some were just woods. We kept climbing into mountains we came around a curve and a helicopter was talking off scared the hell out of us. We watched it fly off and had a big grable hook on a cable under it. We went farther down the road to a pull off and got out. We walked down the trail it was like walking on a mattress they got a name for it but it is moss covering the ground. It had tiny blue berry bushes about 3 inches tall growing through it. They had regular blue berrys on them little tart but good. We left there and all of sudden the helicopter came back a log was on the hook. It sat it down in the log set. I have been around timber business all my life I have never seen anything like that. I am glad we did it our way that looks a little dangerous. It was fighting the wind on the second one. We went to the only beach I have seen on this island. It had just brown sand like you buy at Lowe's to mix cement. The rest of the so call beaches are just rocks. 30 miles down a dirt road crossed all kinds of streams all kinds of swamps and no bears. On the way home right behind the house there was a bear. A total of about 70 miles we drove and I could have stayed home not bought that 3.95 dollar a gallon gas set in my lawn chair and seen a bear. Oh well
Friday. Well I said I was going to make this from the right side. Today started out pretty bad. I spent 2 hours in the DMV trying to get Alaska driving license. I failed the test. They put trick questions in it. Like pedestrian have the right away. Now you know where i came from we ain't got no crosswalk. I figured they best cross on a red light. Now the island I am on top speed is 50. Now this is the only place I have driven. It had top speed in Alaska is? Answer 55. See trick questions failed by 1 question. As the great pholphser Maxwell Smart said missed it by that much. It ended on a great note. We went to the seafood arts and crafts festival in Coffman Cove. Now I had a great time the crafts were real crafts jewelry made from rocks on the island polished made into necklaces earrings all types of things. Chainsaw carvings of salmon halibut and sea otters. The were beautiful. They had hand made tables and benches just amazing. Diffrent organizations showing what they offer on the island. Met some of the greatest people there every body was friendly and having a good time. The music was the best we sat eating the seafood boil it was a mixture of crab,shrimp,oysters,raindeer sausage corn and potatoes. The last song the little group sang was a tribute to one of my favorite singers Aretha Franklin it had a lyric in it "meet your soul". I don't know if they wrote it or it was someone else. But I got to thinking I have met my soul in this place. I have lived all my life in Louisiana. But I feel like I am home. You have a lot of thinking time driving around here there are no radio stations. You just hit the scan button and it never stops. Sorry far getting a little sappy but today that was the way I was feeling. Tomorrow the caves and back to the festival I got to have more oysters.
Friday up early getting ready to head out. I had to stop for gas and we watched them get ready to bring the new totem pole out. The town was rasing a new totem pole a tribute to veterans. We had reservations for 12 at the cave so we didn't get to see much. We made it to the cave. Now you figure that a cave you could find a entrance close to the ground not here. The guide told us 375 steps up is the mouth of the cave. It was just over 150 feet up. By the time I got there I was whooped my legs and feet were on fire. Now the guide had told us not to touch the walls your hands have oils and could do damage to the cave. Well I hope they don't put a black light down there Carols hand prints will be every where. She stumbled and was holding on to the wall all the way. The guide said it wasn't a tourist cave it was pretty much natural as you can see one. You went in with a helmet and a flashlight they furnished. They didn't want you to bring yours just incase it has some type of bacteria on it. If guide only new what was touched by Carol she flip out. One thing that is in the caves favor it floods during the winter several times maybe it will wash Carol's hand prints off. They said that is why it doesn't have stalactites and stalagmites the floods wash them away. The steps down were no better than going up. The legs burn just as bad. We stopped and rested going up but down non stop. We decided to go back to the festival. Driving 40 minutes after the cave we got out and our legs didn't want to work. We decided to eat and go back home to the couch but we did get a little feeling back into them and checked out a few more booths. We ate fried halibut tacos and blacken shrimp tacos got our oysters and headed home. By 9 o'clock we were both sleeping on the couch. Needless to say we didn't have to be rocked to sleep.
Sunday well we are hurting in places that we didn't know we had. I don't think we are going to make it to church today. I think we are going to set around and I am going to cook the oysters for dinner. So if we do get out I will add it to the next week.
Tuesday I stayed into day. Sunday I couldn't stop sneezing and I ended up with a cold. I am going to tell this Jill my nose was running faster than I could lick it. I just stayed and took some day quill by the night it was better at least I could breathe. Just a bad day.
Wenesday well I felt better and I went to the bay and tried the fish wasn't much going on there so I went back to get Carol to see to the starfish. There was some different colors on the rocks. We decided to go back down the dirt road we missed and little trail from the pictures it didn't look to bad. It was a good walk there was a waterfall just going into the ground. It fell into a hole that went to the cave underneath. We could see where the water line was that had to be some type a whirlpool the bottom was dry and the water line was about 20 ft up from the floor. I tred to talk her into the trip to the cabin but no dice. They give you a rowboat and you pack the boat with sleeping bag and food. The cabin is across the lake no electricity no water. You can fish and cook on the campfire. I ask her where her adventure was. She said in my soft bed in the house. I ain't going pay them 45 dollars to die in the woods eaten by a bear or a wolf. I might have to do that one on my own just me and the dogs. It sounded like alot of fun if you ask me. The trip back home we rounded the curve and there was a black bear. By the time we got stopped all she got a picture of was the butt. Then she said that's why I ain't sleeping in the woods.
Thursday got up this morning at 4:30 I made sure that I didn't miss the garbage truck this week. Two weeks of garbage in this little house was bad. At the house you just haul it off or just set it in the back of your truck for a week or so. Here you don't leave it outside the next door neighbor already had trouble with a bear. He was just going to put it out by the road and the bear was trying to get in it. The garage cans here you have to stick your finger in a hole to unlatch it so you can open it. They have it figured out. We went down the dirt road between to small towns. It was about 30 miles long. Some parts were beautiful and some were just woods. We kept climbing into mountains we came around a curve and a helicopter was talking off scared the hell out of us. We watched it fly off and had a big grable hook on a cable under it. We went farther down the road to a pull off and got out. We walked down the trail it was like walking on a mattress they got a name for it but it is moss covering the ground. It had tiny blue berry bushes about 3 inches tall growing through it. They had regular blue berrys on them little tart but good. We left there and all of sudden the helicopter came back a log was on the hook. It sat it down in the log set. I have been around timber business all my life I have never seen anything like that. I am glad we did it our way that looks a little dangerous. It was fighting the wind on the second one. We went to the only beach I have seen on this island. It had just brown sand like you buy at Lowe's to mix cement. The rest of the so call beaches are just rocks. 30 miles down a dirt road crossed all kinds of streams all kinds of swamps and no bears. On the way home right behind the house there was a bear. A total of about 70 miles we drove and I could have stayed home not bought that 3.95 dollar a gallon gas set in my lawn chair and seen a bear. Oh well
Friday. Well I said I was going to make this from the right side. Today started out pretty bad. I spent 2 hours in the DMV trying to get Alaska driving license. I failed the test. They put trick questions in it. Like pedestrian have the right away. Now you know where i came from we ain't got no crosswalk. I figured they best cross on a red light. Now the island I am on top speed is 50. Now this is the only place I have driven. It had top speed in Alaska is? Answer 55. See trick questions failed by 1 question. As the great pholphser Maxwell Smart said missed it by that much. It ended on a great note. We went to the seafood arts and crafts festival in Coffman Cove. Now I had a great time the crafts were real crafts jewelry made from rocks on the island polished made into necklaces earrings all types of things. Chainsaw carvings of salmon halibut and sea otters. The were beautiful. They had hand made tables and benches just amazing. Diffrent organizations showing what they offer on the island. Met some of the greatest people there every body was friendly and having a good time. The music was the best we sat eating the seafood boil it was a mixture of crab,shrimp,oysters,raindeer sausage corn and potatoes. The last song the little group sang was a tribute to one of my favorite singers Aretha Franklin it had a lyric in it "meet your soul". I don't know if they wrote it or it was someone else. But I got to thinking I have met my soul in this place. I have lived all my life in Louisiana. But I feel like I am home. You have a lot of thinking time driving around here there are no radio stations. You just hit the scan button and it never stops. Sorry far getting a little sappy but today that was the way I was feeling. Tomorrow the caves and back to the festival I got to have more oysters.
Friday up early getting ready to head out. I had to stop for gas and we watched them get ready to bring the new totem pole out. The town was rasing a new totem pole a tribute to veterans. We had reservations for 12 at the cave so we didn't get to see much. We made it to the cave. Now you figure that a cave you could find a entrance close to the ground not here. The guide told us 375 steps up is the mouth of the cave. It was just over 150 feet up. By the time I got there I was whooped my legs and feet were on fire. Now the guide had told us not to touch the walls your hands have oils and could do damage to the cave. Well I hope they don't put a black light down there Carols hand prints will be every where. She stumbled and was holding on to the wall all the way. The guide said it wasn't a tourist cave it was pretty much natural as you can see one. You went in with a helmet and a flashlight they furnished. They didn't want you to bring yours just incase it has some type of bacteria on it. If guide only new what was touched by Carol she flip out. One thing that is in the caves favor it floods during the winter several times maybe it will wash Carol's hand prints off. They said that is why it doesn't have stalactites and stalagmites the floods wash them away. The steps down were no better than going up. The legs burn just as bad. We stopped and rested going up but down non stop. We decided to go back to the festival. Driving 40 minutes after the cave we got out and our legs didn't want to work. We decided to eat and go back home to the couch but we did get a little feeling back into them and checked out a few more booths. We ate fried halibut tacos and blacken shrimp tacos got our oysters and headed home. By 9 o'clock we were both sleeping on the couch. Needless to say we didn't have to be rocked to sleep.
Sunday well we are hurting in places that we didn't know we had. I don't think we are going to make it to church today. I think we are going to set around and I am going to cook the oysters for dinner. So if we do get out I will add it to the next week.
Monday 13 August 2018
Monday 6 August 2018
Week 1
Well we are here and just can't get over the beauty of all of this. Now we have been warned that it will get nasty this winter so be prepared. We went on a walk on one of the trails. Now I have been to Arkansas on trails like that but had to pay somebody to do it. Here walk it everyday if you want or if you can with the weather for free. We walked it and I was a little tired after but not as tired as Roxie the pitbull she barley made it. I brought water for her and Dixie the Cur because the water is salt water along the trail. She wanted to stop and drink every few min. Dixie didn't care she was fine. I always though she was a little special but she was smarter than I gave here credit for. She walked on the big flat rocks looked like a jackrabbit Roxie just bulled through it the little rock hurt her feet so she was not impressed with the trail. When we hit the main trail it was alot of dirt so Roxie headed to the truck I was like the sled she was pulling with that leash saying I need to get to that truck. We also went grocery shopping that was a experience. The prices are higher than the lower 48. Somethings are extremely high. It is specially on things that you don't even consider in Louisiana. I go to the dollar store get salt for .50 to .75 here box of salt is 1.98 on sale. The brooms with the dust pan connected home 8 or 9 dollars here 15.00 that's the straw broom not the nylon one it was 17.00. I told carol we will just have to adjust on the way we eat and buy things. I bought a gallon of water for 1.99 to pour out so we could make orange juice because the gallon picture was 7.00 another thing we didn't think of bringing. Well you can't think of everything and not only that it ain't going to fit unless you want to naked. I know there is alot of things we will run into like that but it is just the way it goes. I will have to make a shopping list and send it to Louisiana to get it shipped up here. If you are planning to take the plunge make sure tupper ware, garbage bags, and paper goods come with you they like them here.
The time change is another thing that is getting us it don't get dark until 11 and at home I start cooking supper about dusk. Dusk here 9:45 hour later when it is ready you are washing dishes at midnight. It is getting better last night we went to bed at 11:45 that was the earliest we have gone to bed sense we got here Saturday. It took 3 days to do that so the old body is still adjusting.
. Well I had to revoke my wife driving privages Tuesday she went to the school to look around her class and do some paperwork on the way back she got a speeding ticket. I don't mind supporting the local business but the state trooper association I do mind. There is only 2 state troopers on this island and she met one. The last part of the week went fine. We went to dinner for the first time in 2 weeks with out dogs that was a treat they are like kids but you can leave them by their self's. She is having a bad adjustment to Alaska everything moves slowly here. Nobody's in a hurry they shop drive and just about anything else sloow. She can't stand it. If she would just put that damn cell phone down she might make it. I give you a example. We were at the pizza place in a booth there were 4 kids about 15 to 17 years old. Not once I saw any of them pull a cell phone out. They were just having a good time eating a ACTUALLY talking. I haven't seen that in a long time. I will give you another week next going to buy a fishing license and see what trouble I can get into.
The time change is another thing that is getting us it don't get dark until 11 and at home I start cooking supper about dusk. Dusk here 9:45 hour later when it is ready you are washing dishes at midnight. It is getting better last night we went to bed at 11:45 that was the earliest we have gone to bed sense we got here Saturday. It took 3 days to do that so the old body is still adjusting.
. Well I had to revoke my wife driving privages Tuesday she went to the school to look around her class and do some paperwork on the way back she got a speeding ticket. I don't mind supporting the local business but the state trooper association I do mind. There is only 2 state troopers on this island and she met one. The last part of the week went fine. We went to dinner for the first time in 2 weeks with out dogs that was a treat they are like kids but you can leave them by their self's. She is having a bad adjustment to Alaska everything moves slowly here. Nobody's in a hurry they shop drive and just about anything else sloow. She can't stand it. If she would just put that damn cell phone down she might make it. I give you a example. We were at the pizza place in a booth there were 4 kids about 15 to 17 years old. Not once I saw any of them pull a cell phone out. They were just having a good time eating a ACTUALLY talking. I haven't seen that in a long time. I will give you another week next going to buy a fishing license and see what trouble I can get into.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)