Lodge Maiden Chronicles: Commence Last Semester in T Minus 10 Days and Counting...

I can’t believe the summer’s gone by so fast! I still remember getting off the plane with Syd to see a dead bear on the dock our first day. It’s crazy how much has changed since then.

Just in case you thought I’d fallen off the edge of the earth, let me assure you that I am alive and well. Here’s some of my life happenings I’ve had since my last blog posting.

All in one day: I went out on the boat, got dropped off at portage and hiked up with Mckenzie, Jordan, Ed, and Chad to Laura lake (or at least the vicinity of it, I never actually physically saw it). On the way back down we went spinning for salmon at a waterfall and a couple other spots along the river. I caught my first silver salmon on my 2nd or 3rd cast! (and I didn't catch a single one after that…) After dinner that night Luke took a few of us out to Waterfall and we saw 9 bears! (5 at one time!). One even tried to follow us along the trail for a while. On the ride home we saw lobbing whales and I rode on top of the boat the whole way back. :)

Garrett's family has been coming to visit us as well. During one week his brother Brandon’s family came to stay with us. Brandon’s wife Martha and I went kayaking to the “Barbie Island” rock arch and then to the back bay where we ate a picnic on one of the islands back there. We saw a few otters and one came within 10 ft of us! Also Garret’s mom (Debbie) and his daughter Maddie came to visit. While they were here we celebrated Little Garrett's birthday. He turned 3 this year. He got a batman cake and a mini trampoline. :) And Garret’s dad (Harry) came out and helped with the foundation for the new warehouse. It’s gonna be awesome! Needless to say, I like Garret’s family. I’m missing Huong, Sophia, and little Garrett a lot right now because they left to go back to town before Huong has her baby. I love you guys and miss you!

On another day both Syd and I went out on the boat and I saw whales so I climbed up on the roof of the boat. I rode up there for at least the next half hour. The wind in my face (as well as the occasional spray of water from the bow). I love the feeling of being suspended in air for that slight second just as you reach the crest of the swell. That freedom that makes you feel you could almost start to fly before the boat drops down into the next swell. I really felt like I connected with the ocean that day.

 

There was a group of 12 guys here who all own separate businesses, but are still partners. One of them found out I play guitar and asked me to play for them all. So I did. Most of them said I'm really good and that I should think about recording and becoming a star. Your thoughts?...

One evening Syd and I kayaked out into the channel to see the sunset. While we were out there we met Garrett and his kids in the whaler. He offered to tow us home, and on the way we went a little to fast and got water up over the front of the kayak. We didn’t flip over, but we both got wet. That was when Syd decided we should jump off the dock that night. So we did. I was really cold, but fun! And it was my first time swimming in the ocean. :)

Speaking of Syd, I really miss her…

She already left to get back in time for school to start at BYU. She has no idea just how much of an amazing person she is! She has changed my life in ways that she will never understand. I could write pages and pages about our experiences together! And to think that if we both hadn’t come to Alaska we never would have known each other. I guess God knew how much we needed to be friends. Summer sisters for life, right Syd? :)

For a few days I got to go out on the boat with Jim and his fiancé Gail. They needed more people on board to catch all the fish that he wanted. He’s taking it all back to a local homeless shelter to help out. Also, Jim is a cosmetic surgeon. He offered to fix Luke's nose because it had gotten broken once before and was crooked. So he did it right there in the crew cabin with Luke in the recliner and everybody watching (I think someone has it all on video somewhere). Anyway, Luke’s nose is straight again, and is healing up well.

Oh yeah. Jim, Gail, and Max (a dog-trainer from California) had to stay an extra night because of bad winds. The planes couldn’t fly out and the waves were too high for the boats to make it to town reasonably. The other thing that keeps planes from flying in is fog. Depending on the visibility in certain areas, routes have to be delayed, thus delaying clients from going in and out. That’s happened a few times this summer.

Right now we have a big group of mexicans. Remember the group I told you about last time? Well that was a grandfather and all of his grandsons. This time it’s the same grandfather with all of his sons/sons-in-law. Luckily they are tidier, and more adept at using coffee makers than their sons. ;)

Other random fun comments: I got complimented for my no-bake cookies. Swiss guests have left the crew chocolate as housewarming gift/tips. I’m bringing home some rockfish otoliths; see if you can figure out their significance.

I love you all and will see you soon!

[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase]

Shawni

Lodge Maiden Chronicles: Weeks 3 & 4

Hi everybody!
Sorry I've been late with posting! We've been busy with our first 2 sets of clients here at the lodge. So, what's happened these past weeks? Let me e'splain ... No, there is too much. Let me sum up.
Week 3:
Syd and I were able to clean up the cabin area of the Vantage before we started having clients come. And Josh and Luke took us out and showed us places around the bay and nearby islands.
Around the Lodge site we've been cleaning cabins (dusting, scrubbing, sweeping, vacuuming, hanging moss pots around the veranda, hanging light fixtures, etc), and re-organizing the 3rd floor of the crew cabin.
Our gardening adventures included pruning devil's club (very thorny), planting perennials, fertilizing fruit trees, weeding & watering the garden, moving an old dead (rotten) tree that had fallen over one night, and cutting out a tree root to plant a rosebush.
When it comes to cooking we haven't done a whole too much yet, but Brian said we'll be helping him a lot more once we've finished a lot of the groundskeeping/gardening stuff. So far we've baked about 20 dozen cookies, I helped make the cod one night, and I made Sister Holman's spinach salad another night. Someone please tell her that it was a big hit. :)
There's this really cool island someways west of the Lodge called Russian Island. I've been there twice so far. Once was for a bonfire we had with our first guests. Brian fired up the grill (a converted water heater tank, if I remember correctly) and we had a nice barbeque. It's a very beautiful place! Back on the point the view is just breath-taking! And I never thought I'd say that I'd seen a sunset more beautiful than a Rexburg sunset, but I have to say that an Afognak sunset beats it. By a lot. The colors are so vibrant, almost neon! And the trees on the mountains, with the layers of clouds, reflecting all the light off the water...
It's just like nothing I'd ever seen. Makes me believe even more than before that God's an active force for beauty and creativity in this world. :)
So far the wildlife I've seen include whales, eagles, an eaglet in its nest, bears, deer, foxes, starfish, and many types of fish. And speaking of fish...
I've been fishing! So far I've caught ling cod, halibut, and bass! Luke also let me drive the boat for a stretch or two. :) I've also decided that I am going to own a vacuum sealer. It's one of the most handy inventions on the earth! I think I've helped package about 500 lbs of fish so far! This has included salmon, bass, halibut, yellow eye, pollock, and chinese rock fish (the ling cod isn't in season yet). Not bad for the first week of season.
And I can't even begin to finish my post without mentioning some of our lovely clients. Our first set of the season were Debra and Pam from Australia. Two of the sweetest ladies I've met. Very vibrant personalities who don't let age hold them back (if they even think they are old, that is). ;) We've had many a good laugh and I was really sorry to see them go. And our second set included Phil, Bentley, & G. Three avid fishermen all originally from Utah, around Springville area. These lovely gentlemen were the ones who invited Syd and I to go fishing with them, and that was when I caught my first (and second) halibut. They also are LDS and let us have sacrament and blessings before they left this morning, and we could definitely feel the difference in the spirit here at the lodge while they were here and after they left.
I hope I'll be able to keep in touch with all these wonderful people because they definitely feel like good friends of mine.
Let's see... anything else that's happened? Well, I fixed the guitar. Luke brought some new strings back with him when he came back from town. And after I unstrung it then I glued the crack on the back seam back together, cleaned it up, polished it, and put a touch of oil on the fingerboard. I strung it up again and it looks and sounds 10 times better than it was! Not bad for my first time trying to be a luthier. ;) And I got to go on a 70 year old fishing boat called the Victory when it came in carrying fuel for the fuel tanks out here! I took a lot of pics with Syd that will eventually make it to facebook somehow.
I have about 3 months left here, and I'm not sure if that'll be enough to have my fill of Alaska. Don't know if it could be enough for anyone. I love it here, and I'm definitely having a lot of fun. I miss you all and love ya lots!

[Insert fun signature sign-off phrase]
Shawni