Year-End Update

Wow!  How is it already the final day of 2012?! This year has just flown by, mostly because we have really settled in and become a part of the Homer community.  Thought I'd better catch up on posts, since I am way behind as usual.  How about this...my New Year's resolution is to get back to writing more often.

We spent much of the year, especially the latter half, as a family of 3.  The HICKORY was busy.  Much busier than the average buoy tender.  They were gone all summer to the Arctic to supervise Shell's oil drilling that never actually happened, back for 3 weeks, and then gone for 7 more.  After arriving home just in time for Halloween, they had to turn around and head out yet again for a couple more weeks of work.  We were able to spend Thanksgiving together (and even managed to squeeze in a trip to visit friends in Juneau), before they left yet again.  You know it's not normal when they have to request a waiver from the higher-ups for the number of days they have been away from homeport this year.  We were lucky enough to also be together for Christmas (we haven't missed one yet, surprisingly) and even set out on a post-holiday ski vacation at Alyeska Resort.  The ship was on standby, so of course it was recalled about 12 hours after we arrived.  Back four hours through the mountain passes and icy roads we went (curing me of ever wanting to drive to Anchorage again in the winter!) so the ship could go assist with a rogue oil drilling rig that came free from the tug towing it.  Across the Gulf of Alaska.  In the winter.  In a typhoon.  Thanks yet again to Shell for their lack of knowledge of operating safely in Alaskan waters.  They have been the main drain of our family time this year, not to mention what they have cost the Coast Guard.  More on the latest, holiday-interrupting incident here.  I have grown to really despise Shell, if you couldn't tell.

Our weather has been completely different than last year's. After the early October snow, we didn't get any more until Christmas Eve.  We spent all of November in the single digits, with plenty of ice to contend with.  It warmed up in December, but that led to rain.  After the nearly two feet of Christmas snow, the rain returned in a big way.  The snow is all but gone and the roads, yards, parking lots...everything... are all coated in ice again.  We are actually looking forward to school starting back up so we have something to do again, other than watching movies and playing with play dough.  

I know it may not sound like it, but we do still really love living in Homer.  I'm actually a bit appreciative that the weather and ship schedule have not been very cooperative lately, as it helps make thinking about leaving not quite as terrible.  For now anyway.  I'll leave you with a few pics of our November and December adventures. The ship has just pulled back into the bay, so we are going to dress up and treat the LT to a fancy New Year's Eve family dinner out at our favorite restaurant, the Mermaid Cafe, since he has been out in 20-foot seas and 60-knot winds for the past 72 hours.  I can't think of a better way to ring in 2013 and all the new adventures it will be bringing us.

Homer in Early November:

My very favorite people:

Thanksgiving in Juneau!  Mendenhall Glacier, which is open year-round.  We had such a great time hiking there in the snow.  We had less fun trying to fly out of Juneau in a surprise snowstorm.  Similar to living in Kodiak, the only way out is plane or ferry.  The city itself is really fun...good thing, since it's on our list of possible places to move.

Winter Solstice, December 21, 10:40am.  A balmy 5 degrees.

Fall? Already?

I feel like we're on an episode of Frozen Planet.  "The summer months are short in the far north.  Humans and animals alike scurry around in the fleeting sun, making the most of the time to travel and harvest before winter sets in yet again."

School starts in less than three weeks.  The fireweed is blooming, with the flowers already halfway up the stalk.  They say that when it reaches the top, there are 6 more weeks until winter.  Our streetlights came on last night around 10:15, the first time I have seen them on in months. Nowhere else we have lived have I paid such close attention to the weather, hours of daylight, and changing of seasons.  In Alaska, we truly live by the patterns of nature.

June went by in a flurry of outdoor activity.  Not long after we returned from our Great Alaskan Road Trip, word spread that the first salmon were running in the Kenai River.  Who were we kidding- we are more the Kodiak-style of salmon fishers, where you drive to a river, drop in your line, and reel in fish with ease.  We definitely are not the Kenai Peninsula style of combat salmon fishermen, who line the banks of the Russian and Kenai Rivers, hollering at each other to keep their flies in their own shoulder-width allotment of the riverbank.  But that didn't stop us from packing up our camping gear and heading out of town on an hour's notice for a Father's Day weekend initiation into family tent camping. We went with some good friends and had just about every piece of gear we needed between us all.  We snagged the last public campsite in a 40-mile radius and had a blast.  We also tried fishing...for about 15 minutes.  There was no room for amateurs.

Washing dishes in the Kenai River

Combat Fishing Zone

We had so much fun the first time, that the next sunny stretch of days (about 2 weeks later!) we headed out again.  This time it was to Captain Cook State Recreation Area, past Nikiski.

Boulder Scrambling

Alaska's natural playground

Serious discussions at a beach campfire

We did learn a few Alaskan camping tips:
-Darkness comes late (or not at all).  We used a black-backed quilt thrown over the top of our tent to help everyone get to sleep.
-All food belongs in vehicles or bear lockers at night to avoid unwelcome visitors.
-Keep bear spray within easy reach of all adults at camp--and don't spray it around the perimeter of camp as a deterrent (that was actually stated in the instructions that came with the spray- ha!).
-Starbucks Via packets make perfect camp coffee.
-Bring a propane stove if you intend to have coffee in a timely manner in the morning, as most of the firewood around is damp.

The end of June brought the departure of the LT, who has been floating around somewhere off the western coast of Alaska ever since.   He has managed to visit with several native Alaskans along the way and promises to bring home a bounty of unique souvenirs of his journey.  Shell was supposed to begin drilling in the Arctic Ocean this summer but has (fortunately??) run into several delays. You can read more about that here, as I'm not at liberty to say much else about the subject.

July brought us lots of rainy days, as well as some visitors.  We gave them the full Alaskan experience, including clamming (but no clams!), halibut fishing, glacier cruising, and dog mushing.

A side trip offshore for ling cod while halibut fishing

The most beautiful day on Resurrection Bay

Surprise Glacier

Floating on bergy bits (no, really, that's the technical name)

Another visit to Seavey's Ididaride

Even though it's now August, we have a couple more adventures coming up before settling in for the fall.  First, it's to Denali National Park again, this time on the Alaska Railroad.  We will also be spending Labor Day weekend at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer, about an hour north of Anchorage.  We are lucky to have a school that sees the value in family travel and doesn't mind a missed day here and there!  Until then, we will be savoring our last couple of weeks of swim lessons and beach time before having a first-grader and pre-k-er while looking forward to the LT's return.  We have crossed quite a bit off our Alaska bucket list this summer, with mostly winter activities remaining.  We are also already (!!) working on our list of locales to be stationed next tour.  That's right, we have to move again next summer.  So let's just focus on the now for now.