Back Home Safe in Alaska

I know most of you may be thinking about Chris while he was away on Duty. He returned home safe on Wednesday. He had a nice trip, but was ready to go home by the end of the 2 weeks. He is back at work today in Kodiak and is look forward to the weekend when Emily and I get home.

The dogs did just fine in the kennel while Chris was away. They missed him A TON!! They were so excited to see him and wouldn't leave his side! (I can't wait to get home and see them myself!)

Los Angeles Zoo

Today we went to the L.A. Zoo. (Me, Lisa, and Em) And...to sum it up...we got there just before 1pm and left a little after 2pm. There was hardly anyone there and we were actually able to see the majority of the animals.

The L.A. Zoo has changed tremendously since I've been there last, but it's still rather small...there really aren't that many animals...no shows...smelly...and you walk forever just to get in to the main part of the zoo. Overall...disappointing...but, we had a good time while we were there and Emily was walking all over the place, which she loves!

Dinner in Dutch Harbor

I talked to Chris last night, it was great to hear from him. They were stuck in Dutch Harbor which is located about mid-way along the Aleutian Islands. Dutch Harbor is famous for being the "starting point" for the crab fisherman from The Deadliest Catch.

They flew down to Dutch Harbor to drop off a few Admirals that were traveling with them. However, due to mechanical errors on the part of another helo, they got stuck for the night in Dutch Harbor.

I'm sure I may have mentioned this before, but the Coast Guard plays a small role in the show and appears during any Search and Rescue efforts in the Bering Sea. The Coast Guard helo is fixed with cameras and so are the swimmers; this is so if the SAR Alarm goes off, the producers of The Deadliest Catch will get every camera angle possible of the Rescue.

So, while they were in Dutch Harbor the producers from The Deadliest Catch set up dinner with the crew from The Wizard. So, Chris' crew of 5, The Wizard's crew of 6 and the folks from Discovery...making a total of about 40, went out to enjoy a $42 seafood buffet. Chris said it was the best buffet he had ever had and that all of the fish prepared was the freshest he had ever seen.

He had the opportunity to sit near a deckhand from The Wizard and talked with him during dinner. This deckhand has a BA in Physics, but went fishing one summer in Alaska and loved it so much that he can't imagine doing anything else...go figure.

Chris is supposed to be leaving Dutch Harbor later this afternoon, I think their flight is scheduled to go out around 4pm AK time...of course, that's all depending on weather. His duty in St. Paul is almost over and he is scheduled to come home one week from yesterday. So far, no SAR cases yet...but, in the big picture, that's probably a good thing.

Welcome to Long Beach!

When I first scheduled our flight to California The Long Beach Aquarium was one of the MAIN places I wanted to take Emily before we went home. She has such an interest in "fishies" and loves watching them swim. One of her favorite things at my parent's house in their screen saver which switches to an aquarium with swimming fish. She just loves it!

So, Emily and I were excited to have mom and Lisa join us today for our LB Adventure. It was MLK Day and mom was off work; it was also awesome that Lisa took time out her schedule to come along...she's been spending a lot of time with us lately and I know she has many things she'd like to get back to.

Well, the day started out with the Aquarium of the Pacific. Emily loved splashing in the water and touching all of the things there were to touch. I think, however, the coolest part of the Aquarium was the Bird Area. Emily and Lisa got to feed the birds. I think Emily loves birdies just as much as she loves fishies...so, being able to see the colorful birds up-close and feed them was just awesome!

We had a great time at the Aquarium, but our time in Long Beach wasn't quite done. On-the-fly, Lisa and mom decided that they wanted to take a Harbor Cruise...so, off we were on a 45 minute boat cruise throughout Long Beach's Rainbow Harbor. In Emily's words "...WHEE..." - Needless to say, she loved the boat ride!

Emily had a short nap...and then we were off again! This time on a nearby carousel! Emily and Grandma went on the, rather fast, carousel in The Pike. I tried to get a few pictures, but the carousel was going so fast that by the time I snapped the picture they were almost out of view.

It was a surprisingly long day in Long Beach, but we saw A LOT and had a really good time!

I Heard From Chris Today

note: this post is about hunting and is not my typical cheery topic

It's been a few days since Chris arrived to the small island of St. Paul, and I finally heard from him last night.



They have 1 phone that is available for personal use on base and everyone stationed needs to take turns using the phone. So, at 12:30am PST Chris finally called.

He said that the helicopter finally arrived at St. Paul yesterday; they don't normally have a helo stationed on the small island because there is only a need for possible search-and-rescues during the Opilio Crab Season which is going on right now. So, the helo finally arrived a few days after Chris got there.



So, because there was no helo, Chris had a few days off. So...they went hunting. Five men set out for Alaskan Caribou. Chris went along with a Captain, a Pilot, an Electrician and another AST. They walked 3 miles into the island's interior through the snow. As I mentioned in an earlier post, there are no trees on the island, so there is no real "cover" for the caribou.



It didn't take long until they found a herd. They all got a shot in and all 5 of them left with a caribou of their very own...yep, even Chris. This is Chris' FIRST hunting experience and Chris' FIRST kill. They gutted the animal in the field before making the 3 mile trek back to the car. Chris said that the animal still weighed about 150lbs even after the animal was gutted.

He skinned the caribou on Sunday and is planning to keep the skin because it was a really beautiful coat. I believe this is the only 'trophy' we can afford to keep because taxidermy is SUPER EXPENSIVE (like thousands of dollars) and that's just not in the budget now. As far as the meat, they cut out all of the edible pieces and are separating them into bags. He'll probably end up bringing most of the meat home to grind into hamburgers or make sausages.



How Do I Feel About This: Well...it's taken me 6months to get use to the idea that we may eat caribou meat for a year straight and I still don't know that I'm 100% comfortable with everything. But, life is different in Alaska. Meat isn't cheap and it is WAY too expensive to go out for a steak. I really believe that while we're there we'll be eating a lot of fish and caribou or deer. We're living off the land, and this is what's available. No part of the animal will be wasted, and it wasn't killed for the "excitement of the hunt" - it was killed for food. I really believe there is a difference.



The St. Paul Caribou: We knew that before Chris left that he'd probably return with a caribou. He was told that the local people of St. Paul look forward to the winter months when the Coast Guard comes to town because they will go hunting while they are there. The caribou on St. Paul have no natural predator, so if there were no hunting, they would need to get rid of about 300 caribou each year due to overpopulation. So, in a way, the Coast Guard is doing them a service.



In the end...Congrats to Chris for his first hunt. He said he took a few pictures, but those may be tricky in getting until he returns. His only request...we take a picture of him and his caribou, and make a copy for Bass Pro Shops to put on their corkboard-wall-of-successful-hunts. :0)

La Habra Children's Museum

Last week Lisa and I took Emily to The La Habra Children's Museum. She had a good time touching all of the exhibits and playing with everything there. I think in another year-or-so that will be an awesome place for her to visit (she's still a little young.) But, she had a great time and it was a fun day out!

...playing the drums...on the carousel...grocery shopping...what's next mommy?

Emily and Mommy with a real Kodiak Bear!

And, Emily playing Dress-Up.

Worlds Apart

Well, Chris got off to Saint Paul Island just fine. His flight was originally scheduled to take off on Friday. However, due to a blizzard, his flight ended up leaving on Saturday. For those of you that may be unaware, St. Paul is located right-smack-in-the-middle of the Bering Sea. Because of the extreme weather and location, there are actually no trees on Saint Paul. Yet, there are quite a few caribou because they have no natural predator on the island...except man and gun. Ya...Chris is planning to go hunting while in St. Paul; and by the sound of it, he'll probably end up catching something and we'll be eating caribou for the next year straight. To set the record straight, I'm not a huge fan of hunting. But, if there were ever a place to live off the land...it's in Alaska. Living here is different, and we do not have the same luxuries as you do back in the Lower 48. You've really got to keep an open mind if you live in Alaska.

Well...Chris will be in St. Paul for 2 weeks and I'm not sure if I'll get the opportunity to even talk with him at all while he is away. There is no cell service out there in such a remote place, and no guarantee on Internet service either. I'm sure he may be able to sneak in a land-line call, but there is no guarantee.

So, in an effort to get over my foreseen sadness tied around Chris' departure...Lisa and I went to Vegas! It was a trip that I sorely needed! Gosh, just to get a FULL DAY to myself...well, I haven't had one of those in years! And Vegas was the place! I was so excited!! Lisa and I saw a Hypnotist at The Paris Casino (he was so-so) and then we hit a few of the local bars before heading back to the hotel to get some sleep. It was a quick trip, but I haven't been to Vegas in years and so much has changed! I can't wait to go back with Chris, Lisa and David...I'm totally already planning our trip. :0)