Mud Season

I was thinking that April was uneventful and muddy, but as I gear up to type I realize that actually we packed in quite a bit of stuff this month. The mud is, however, terribly stinky in places around town. So much so that boots must live outside and if the pantleg has grazed the mud they must go directly into the wash. I have heard varying opinions as to why the mud smells so bad this year, but none of them make sense to me. I think it is slowly subsiding as of this week. At least I hope so anyway.

Brian made it home from their 3 month trip a few days before Easter and was already up for a road trip the following week. Alyeska, the large ski resort just outside of Anchorage, offers free skiing and lessons to military the first Monday of each month. We haven't been to the resort yet, so shortly after the kids checked out their Easter baskets we hit the road. Thanksgiving was our last visit to Anchorage and attempt at downhill skiing, so everyone was fired up. The resort provided an insane amount of ski instructors for free. It was awesome.

Brian and James take their first big time run.

Kate and I on the chair lift.

Kate, James, and I all took lessons for several hours. Then, we spent some time skiing as a family. James still requires a little help down the hill as he likes to go fast, or as he would say "I like french fries (skis straight) more than pizza (snow plow)." We are definitely going to hit the used sporting good stores on our next trip so we can pick up skis for the kids. There is actually a rope tow hill in Homer, but it is only open on Sunday and you need your own gear. We haven't been yet, but we'll be ready for next year!

Kate also had her swim-a-thon this month. Brian was her lap counter and he says she did 3/4 of a nautical mile before he made her get out. Otherwise, I think she would have kept going until she sank.

Kate & Hazel at Kachemak Swim Club Swim-a-thon

The swim team has been a great way for us to meet friends. I love that the school district allows kids to take the bus from the elementary school to the high school for practice. Next year, Kate will be able to take a bus up the hill for Nordic ski club in 3rd grade. I have found that after school activities are much easier and more enjoyable for all of us when they happen right after school, so we are all home at a reasonable hour and don't have to go home, regroup, and motivate to get out the door again.

April also brought an opptunity to see the Northern Lights. The ship was in port, so that allowed me to meet up with some other ladies and drive up the hill for a better view while Brian stayed at home with the kids. In Homer they are still pretty low on the horizon, and I think the hill would block our view from town. There is also quite a bit of light from the nearby airport. We met a little after 11pm and drove as far up as we could. I don't have a tripod for my camera yet, so I was unable to take photos myself. The exposure time required is about 25 seconds. Luckily, two other girls had tripods, so I could see what they were photographing (and keep my hand in my pockets).

Aurora Borealis in Homer, AK

We stayed for a couple hours and saw three different waves come through. The horizon was red and the columns of light shone upward and swayed back and forth. The colors were really only pale green, but when I saw the photos my friends were taking I was blown away. The colors captured were the vibrant green that you see in calendars. It was crazy though because the colors were not that bright to the naked eye. Perhaps if you were farther north they would be? Anyway, I was satisfied, and so glad that my friends had a camera or I would have thought I saw a lesser version of the lights.

So, it's not quite May 1 and I would say winter is definitely over. The snow is melted in town, but the roads and sidewalks are filthly. The amount of dirt and dust in town is unreal. There are some sidewalks where you would have no idea that there is pavement underneath because of all the dirt on top. It's a bit of a dust bowl if you drive too quickly, but the street cleaners are getting started cleaning it up. If you head up a bit in elevation, there is, however still quite a bit of snow. I had one of my best skis yet (photo below) this week as it is so sunny and warm (35 degrees).

Kate's friend still has snow from knee to thigh deep at her house and she is only a few miles up the hill from us. Although winter feels like it has come to an end, I wouldn't really says it's spring yet. I haven't seen anything green, and the moose are now eating bark off the tree as there are no leaves anywhere. Although I haven't heard any first hand reports of bear activity, I have to admit I was a bit on edge while skiing by myself this week. I remember a similar feeling in Hawaii. As the sun started to set, the wind dropped a little and the surfing was ideal with a beautiful sunset to boot. I was always the first one out of the water though because shark attacks happen most often at dusk and dawn, not after the sun sets. Every cloud that passed in front of the sun and made a shadow or every turtle in the water sketched me out. So, I would watch the sun set from the beach as all the other surfers caught ono kine rides. Skiing was vaguely similar in that every every tree stump (and there are a lot due to some invasive beetle that ruined a ton of trees a few years ago) looked like a bear, and every moose, dog, or human (?) footprint seemed oddly large to me. I guess it's time to open up the bear spray...or stop skiing.

I have also attended a few gardening classes this month and have already planted my seeds indoors to get a jump start. People here are serious gardeners. The high tunnel is a pretty common siting around town and a high percentage of homes have green houses. Kate says I have black thumb and she's not too far off, but I am really hoping to grow a few things that we can eat. I bought some organic, heirloom seeds and started them indoors (below). If all goes well, we will be eating carrots, broccoli, potatoes, spinach, salad greens, and sugar snap peas this summer. Everyone says you can transplant the starts outdoors on June 1st, but that seems rather optomistic since it snowed yesterday (May 18)! This winter is on record as the longest winter (snowfall to snowfall) in 60 years.

When we found out that we were moving here almost a year ago, I said I didn't think I could do it without spending at least a month in Hawaii every year. Since we already did a California trip, it wasn't really feasable for all of us to go, but I asked to do Hawaii on a "shoestring budget" by myself and Brian is so wonderful that he agreed. Somehow he even convinced the kids it was their idea to give me a ticket to Hawaii for Mother's Day. They smiled and waved as I left knowing they were giving me one of the coolest presents ever. I spent 7 days getting sun, swimming, surfing, drinking mai tais, reading, and catching up with a friend I haven't seen in over 10 years as well as some former work colleages. After a few days in Waikiki with a friend. I moved to a rustic beachside cabin.

No water or electricty, but check out the beach in front of the cabin!

Brian and the kids had a great week. They even built a snowman while I was surfing!

I brought home a snorkel and mask for the kids so they can practice for a trip to Hawaii next year. I saw so many sea turtles on this trip and I would really love for the kids to see them too. Kate and James both proved adept with the snorkel in the bathtub and later that week in the pool

May brings the promise of spring...kind of sort of. There are many birds back in town and many more just passing through the flyway. The mud has dried up significantly and the smell is gone, the street sweepers and cleaners have done a great job cleaning up and reducing dust, and float planes are landing again on Beluga Lake. We have swapped our studded, snow tires for road tires, taken out our bikes, started wearing thinner down jackets, planted our indoor gardens, and it's light until 11:30pm but still the grass is not green and there are no leaves on the trees. Spring, please come visit us soon!

The bike rodeo in town provided an opportunity to tune up the kids' bikes and complete a safety course that included a simulated moose encounter.

Above, a local police officer quizzes James on what to do if you run in to a moose while biking. He passed the test so now were off and running, or better yet biking. We hit the Homer spit this weekend to try out the bike path. All of the seasonal businesses are back open as of May 15, so it's hustling and bustling again. There is only one cruise ship docking in Homer this year and it was this weekend.

Kate roller blading the Spit. James has finally figured out how to pedal.

May also means the end of the school year. Apparently, some Homer High School students arrived to prom by helicopter. Nice to see he dressed up for the occassion and that she is wearing a hoodie over her dress. I have to wonder if there are XtraTufs under there.

It's not surprising that there are more licensed pilots per capita in Alaska than any other state since so many remote areas can only be accessed by boat or plane. I crack up every time I sign a permission slip for Kate. As parents, we have to sign that we will allow our child to be transported by bus to wherever they are going for the field trip or we may elect to transport them ourselves...by float plane, boat, or car.

Earthquakes are happening all the time in Alaska, but I felt my second one the other night while reading on the couch. It only registered 4.6, but the epicenter was pretty close at 28 miles away. The house made some crazy creaking and cracking noises followed by a bit of swaying. Kate was still awake in her bed. She crept out of her room asking what the noise was and then could not have been more pleased that she felt her first earthquake.

Only three more days of school for the kids. James has already has his last day at the yurt. Here they are having their final circle time outdoors in a fishing boat turned play structure, of course. I included the photo so you can see how brown everything still is as of mid-May.

Undoubtedly the next post will chronicle our summer adventures.

 

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The Light is Back

So January was gray and uneventful. On February 1st we started our journey to California. I debated whether or not to include this trip in the blog but quickly realized vacationing in warm locations (or at least dreaming about them) is undoubtedly a part of our Alaska experience. I love that when people in Homer vacation they go big. It takes quite a bit of time and money to get out of Alaska, so once you're out you might as well stay a while. Our neighbors, with kids similar in age to ours, took their kids to Thailand for three weeks in January. The owners of our favorite restaurant closed up shop for the month of January and went to Belize with their young kids. A friend of Kate's leaves tomorrow for a kayak and camping trip in Mexico with her family. As you can imagine, I really identify with these adventurous travel types. Below: Homer airport before take off.

We went to California because the ship (and more importantly Brian) is in Long Beach for maintenance. Well Brian isn't there for maintenance, but you know what I mean. It took us three flights and an overnight in a hotel to get there, but the kids were great both directions. In six flights, there was only one 15 minute rough patch, but it was really rough. The entire row of seats in front of me got free wine, as did I, for dealing with James's massive meltdown and attempt to sabotage the flight at take off. I would do it again in a heartbeat though.

We spent the first week in Anaheim doing our due diligence as parents at Disney. I'm not sure I would have taken the initiative to go to Disney if the ship wasn't docked nearby and the beaches and air temps weren't so cool. Also, thank you to Disney parks for providing discounted tickets to military. It was a great trip made even better because we shared it with my parents. James surprised me with his desire to meet and hug characters while Kate focused her efforts on all things dark and creepy. Hollywood Tower of Terror (below) and the Haunted House were her favorite attractions. James really loved everything, but below he's taking on the Jellyfish Drop of Doom as we called it with Grandma and driving Mickey's car with Grandpa.

We spent the second week in Long Beach relaxing with Brian's parents. Since Brian and I lived in Long Beach years ago (holy shit we are getting old), we had a lot of fun walking, riding, and paddling (that's Brian below) around to our favorite spots.

Kate loved roller blading everywhere in town.

 

We ate an unhealthy amount of happy hour tacos, hit In-n-Out burger,

dusted off our old wet suits for a little surf (yeah it still fits me),

and even drove to Sea World San Diego (Thanks to Anheuser Busch for giving military free admission).

Enjoying Hodad's world famous burgers with Mimi and Pop Pop.

It was hard to leave Brian and the warmish days, but we were happy to arrive home and find the days in Homer almost 1.5 hours longer. In February, we were gaining 6 minutes of light every day. As I type this, we have just turned our clocks forward and now it is still light out when I put the kids to bed at 8pm. It's crazy.

The moose sightings are too numerous to count now. Almost daily we see them on our street, in our yard, holding up traffic in the road on the way to school, on the frozen lake, on the ski trails, and in the Radio Shack affiliate parking lot. That's right, the town is too small for a real Radio Shack, but there is a small store that is considered an authorized dealer. If I sound even remotely put off by the moose, I'm not. It never gets old for me. I am constantly taking photos, terrible ones I might add with my phone. This next one is of a mama and young yearling in our yard.

Here is another from the ski trail. As you can see we had to wait until we could tell the moose (left side of photo) was headed the other direction. Thankfully my friend's 6 month old golden retriever, captured on the right of this photo, is a good listener. He really wanted to go check out the moose, but we convinced him to stay with us.

Not too long after we got back Brian came home for a long weekend to celebrate Kate's 8th birthday. When the kids were in school, we went for a quick ski so I could show him what I've been up to for the two months that he's been enjoying the SoCal weather. I am afraid when the ship returns, the snow will be yucky and melting. The weather in late February and early March has been so great for skiing and sledding as it hovers in the mid to low 30s every day.

Here, Brian hit the ski trails (above) and the best sledding hill in town (below). The sledding hill is at the upper elementary school where Kate will go next year. Nice view of Kachemak Bay from the playground.

As I type this, it is spring break for the kids, so we've been filling our days with activities. Kate finished her Junior Nordic ski lessons last week, so we went for a real ski with a friend the other day. Can you believe the scenery? Here are Kate and Hazel skiing Sunset Loop.

We also hit the local gym's rock wall. This was an awesome experience for two reasons. First, Eve who was working the wall is half of our favorite couple from Alaska: The Last Frontier. So perhaps she is not living a completely self-sufficient life style if she is working kid climb time at the gym, but we loved meeting her and Kate even asked if she did real rock climbing while homesteading..."you know to hunt mountain goats and stuff?" The kids, especially Kate, is obsessed with the idea of homesteading. The only real application she enforces is turning off all the lights in the house, so we can hangout by candle light or with flashlights. The kids run around yelling "homesteading night!" while the microwave is heating up their hotdogs. Oh the irony. So, the second reason why the rock wall experience was so cool is that Kate, unbeknownst to us, is a phenomenal rock climber. Her legs are insanely long and lean and she's like a spider up there. She went to the top of the 3 story wall several times, trying a more difficult wall each time. I think we'll be back.

Kate putting her name on the ceiling.

Even B-man got to give it a go.

After months of requesting an opportunity, Kate (and I) finally volunteered at the local animal shelter during Spring Break. James hated the smell from the minute we walked in, so we had to find someone to watch him while we played with and petted mangy, stinky cats. Kate loved it and has her eyes set on walking dogs as well. We will be back for sure, but it will be easier when Brian is home.

We also tried out family karaoke night at a local restaurant and will definitely hit that again too. It was a hoot. Here are Kate and Birdman singing Wheels on the Bus. Check out the guy who runs the karaoke machine...for real y'all.

The ship is en route to Alaska and will make a stop or two to drop off buoys along the way. We hope to have Brian back by Easter. The three month trip went better than expected (for me anyway) and hopefully the ship won't have to take a trip that long again (not holding my breath). Our family situation is not, however, unusual for this community. There are so many husbands that travel for extended periods that no one thinks our situation strange. In addition to the 30 or so Coast Guard families that live here, we have met several friends whose husbands drive commercial ships, fish commercially, or work on the slope. I had several people tell me they "work on the slope" and I felt too silly to ask what that meant. I knew it had something to do with oil and being north, but that's about it. Most slope workers are engineers employed by BP, Exxon Mobile, or Conoco Philips in Prudhoe Bay, north of the Artic Circle. It is the largest oil field in North America. Their schedule is 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. They can live anywhere in Alaska (not sure if they can live elsewhere?) and they are flown up to the slope for their two weeks and then back again for their time off.

Side bar: Alaska is rich in oil but has no refineries. I paid $4.30 a gallon to fill up today. Thankfully, the town is small, and I can't even remember the last time I filled up.

Another friend drives for the Alaska Marine Highway system and has the same 2 weeks on/off schedule. Our neighbor who set net fishes in Prince William Sound (out of Valdez) is gearing up to leave in a few weeks to start maintenance on the boat before the start of the season. I hope to do a future blog post on the fishing, but obviously need to make it through the spring and summer first. I have a lot to learn. I hear Homer is just women in the summer as so many men are commercial fisherman. For me, I like knowing that it's not akward to show up to a dinner party unaccompanied, and that it's okay to tack myself on as the third wheel to another couple's date night (if you can stomach that term) because almost everybody in town is in a similar situation. Off the top of my head, I can only think of three families that have both parents living and working in town year round. Mind you I don't know everybody...yet. Small town.

 

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Happy New Year!

2013 in Homer begins with a ban on plastic bags. It's a trend that over 50 communities across the US have taken on. Bravo. Produce bags, trash bags, and a few other exceptions are excluded from the ban. I kind of feel like they should just go whole hog, but then again I am glad trash bags are still okay since trash pick up doesn't exist here. We drive our trash to the dump and sort our recyclables when we get there. It's an onerous task, but at least we get to spend time with a national symbol, the bald eagle. Why on earth we would put a trash bird on our national seal and more is beyond me. I am also sorry that James is deprived of trash day, a beloved day in any toddler household. Don't all little boys get fired up to see the truck come down the street?

Photos taken at the dump with my phone.

We had a very white Christmas when it started snowing December 23rd and didn't stop until we had over two feet by Christmas Day.

Christmas morning sunrise.

Immediately after Kate opened it, James yelled, "Kate you'll shoot your eye out!" Proud moment.

 

This is what Christmas Day should look like (unless of course you have the opportunity to go to Hawaii).

 

Before we left Connecticut, Brian sold the sailboat (boo) and bought 4-wheelers (boo), but one does have a snow plow on the front.

I'll admit it was a little fun to drive, but in the end it seems more complicated than it should be, so we are now the proud owner of a snowblower as well. Maybe we can off load some of the gear in the summer.

Good thing the kids played in the snow all day because it started raining the day after Christmas and it didn't seem to stop for weeks. They were sad to see all their snow creations shrink everyday from more rain.

Kate in her igloo and James trying out snow shoes.

It was gray skies, sloppy puddles, wet basements, and buckling roads for the next couple weeks. I am choosing not to focus on this because the blog is supposed to be all positive and adventure adventure. I am, however, dabbling in light therapy to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder. Not sure if I need it, but it seems wise to be proactive aobut it. The Mayo clinic tells me,

The light from a light box mimics outdoor light. This is thought to cause a chemical

change in the brain that lifts your mood and eases other symptoms of seasonal

affective disorder. Light therapy can also be used to help adjust daily sleep cycles,

which may play a role in mood.

If I am not plowing snow and soaking up fake sun, I am splitting wood. Pretty soon I'll buy a red and black plaid shirt and you won't be able to tell me apart from Dick Proenneke. That's baloney, but it's my blog and if I want it to sound like I'm roughing it with my running hot water, proximity to Safeway, and gas furnace to back up the wood stove then I will.

Before leaving for California, Hickory was sent out to assist Shell's oil rig the Kulluk as it broke free from its tug in hurricane conditions. Three tugs attempted to tow within the days that followed, all with the same result. Brian's account of the weather was horrifying to say the least. All crew members were air lifted off by the Coast Guard before the rig ran aground. The rig has recently been pulled off the rocks and towed to Kodiak following the storms.

I realize I may not have mentioned that our dog Jessie gets underway with Brian. She is a hunting dog and loves having a job or at least loves being at Brian's side with the prospect of having a job.

Jessie supervises the buoy deck.

Not only does Jessie get excited to get onboard, but Brian loves the company. The only downside is trying to get her to pee and poop outside in 20-30 foot seas.

So the winter vacation was a bit rainy and blah, but we did make little trek to Nikiski, a small town on the other side of the Kenai Peninsula. They have a large community recreation center with pool and waterslide that we wanted to check out. It seemed strange that such a small town would have this until we passed the Conoco-Philips plant on the way in. Surely the town required the company to invest in the community. It was a little over two hours for us, but we traveled with friends and the kids loved the warm indoor pool on a snowy day. There were at least 4 roadside moose sitings along the way. I still love it. These guys are just laying in the snow.

Once the kids were back in school and in a routine, I went for my first Nordic ski since our class ended in December. It was the first blue sky in weeks. After dropping our sons off at preschool, a friend and I skiied a 5k loop. A huge snowshoe hare bounded across the trail as we started off. There were quite a few ups and downs making for great fun, exercise, and views of the rising sun.

Skiing the Homstead Trail

We had so much fun skiing that we decided, against all better judgement, to take the kids on a night ski a few days later. The ski club lit a 2.7km trail with several hundred tiki torches. It was mid 30s and no wind, so we couldn't ask for better weather, but Friday evening often equals tired children. None of the kids had been Nordic skiing, but we promised them hot chocolate at the end and cool experience along the way.

We all donned head lamps and set out. I cannot tell you how stupid this idea was as the trail went down hill to start. Once you got to the bottom you were pretty much committed to doing the loop even if it was past bedtime.

Kate and James were not only troopers, but I would venture to say heros. Kate took to it immediately. She loved the downhilll parts and helped her friend overcome some fears. James just plodded along talking about hot chocolate and cheering on Team K to the finish line. I was amazed. James walked the uphill at the end and of course took a few breaks to lie in the snow, but it was awesome. He didn't even mind when we finished and all the hot chocolate was gone. There was, however, hot Tang (weird). The kids put snow in it to make snow cones because we were all actually quite hot from the work out. Both kids fell asleep on the drive home. I carried them to their beds and dropped them on their pillows. It was the easiest bedtime routine I've had in months.

I'll end with a photo of a moose peaking in our neighbor's window. It's not very clear, but you can see his legs and how close he is to the house. This was taken from my car window on the way to the Tiki Ski.

 

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