Helllllo from the Great North

Over a year and no entry. Reprehensible!

I just read over my post from Thailand and realized that goddammit this is a good thing to do and I need to get my act together and get back on the ball. I had forgotten so many of those quirky little stories until my mind was refreshed by well, me.

So another summer in Alaska passed on the Kilkenny...much of the same-same with one glaring exception: another chick on the boat! Two different women (wayyy tougher than I) joined the crew at different points to be scallopers. It was really interesting and I definitely enjoyed indulging in a few estrogen-fueled chats. Both Amanda and Anna were super wonderful and they worked very hard. Honestly, it's not like we had time to sit around and discuss Sex in the City or anything. But it really did change the dynamic on the boat.

The BIG difference is that I brought the car up with me last year. Yep, I can proudly say that I successfully drove to Alaska. And back! I went up the Al-Can, couchsurfing my way through British Columbia. The best hot tip I got from a couple I stayed with in Dawson Creek was to hit Liard Hotsprings, which is where I spent Solstice. For the journey home, my bestie Johnnie flew up and met me in Homer right before my last trip out on the boat. He got to fly into a village and go fishing with a buddy he met at the local dive bar, Kharacters. When I got back in early August, we started our drive south. We made our first stop at Matanuska Glacier which was gorgeous...you can actually walk out on the ice and putz around. Treacherous, thrilling, and tremendous! We camped in Tok, AK before going international and it was one of the coldest nights I've ever spent outdoors. In BC, we spent time in Whitehorse and Lilloet before having the most disgusting pizza ever in Williams Lake. Isn't there a saying about sex and pizza? That they can never be truly bad? Well that saying is wrong. I don't know what the hell is wrong with Canadians but they sure know how to muck up food. For example:
-BUTTER on sandwiches (along with mayo, mustard, etc)
-GRAVY and CHEESE on french fries...oh it sounds fancy: poutin. I say, French for "gross".
And I have never witnessed more A & W hamburger joints in one place at one time so I just had to look it up...Canada is the 11th fattest country in the world in 2010. Being that in 2007 they were #35, my money is on them jumping into the top 3 by 2015.

John left me in Seattle since he had to fly home to get back for work. I opted to take the longer scenic route along the Oregon coast and I'm really glad I did. It was one of the most scenic drives I've ever done.

Ok so Fall 2009 I was back on the drift gillnet fishery in Southern California. Again, same old same old. I even ended up on the Mary Vincent again with my old buddies. On Halloween we anchored up off Pismo Beach to wait out a storm and were going stir crazy staring at the beautiful beach from the harbor. So close, yet so far away! We decided to go for it and called for a water taxi to come pick us up from the boat. The wrinkle was that the last run was in 2 hours. Not enough time to futz around for us. Our other friend Michael drove up from Morro Bay and picked us up. We had lunch and then secured plans for our return trip back to the vessel...at the local Big 5 Sporting Goods. Yep, that's right, John rowed us back in an inflatable raft. At sundown. Amid signs warning you to swim at your own risk due to all the documented shark attacks. It was quite an adventure.

I decided not to go abroad this spring. Instead it was finally time for this gal's Great American Road Trip. I thought I would get to see a lot more than I actually did, but it was still great and I some good quality time with friends and family. I'm gone off the grid in respect to Facebook (gratefully so) and that's where all my pictures are...if I ever transfer them to Picasa web I'll put a link in. Not that anyone is reading this except me HA!

I won't elaborate much except run down a quick-n-dirty list of all my stops. Ok, maybe highlights and unforgettables too....

Prescott AZ
Scottsdale AZ
Bisbee AZ
Las Cruces, NM
Big Bend National Park, TX *****VERRRRRRRRRRRRRY cool. Had lotsa fun here.
Kerrville, TX
Ft. Worth, TX
Kerrville, TX
San Antonio, TX
Kerrville, TX
Ft. Worth, TX (and I actually WASN'T sick of Texas yet!)
Memphis, TN
Fall Creek Falls State Park, TN
Smoky Mt. National Park, TN
Asheville, NC
Raleigh, NC
Washington, DC
Bridgeport, CT
Akron, OH
St. John, IN- went in to Chicago the next day. Have to go back, really liked it.
Council Bluffs, IA
Denver, CO
Moab, UT -- went in to Arches and Canyonlands NP and stayed at the hostel at night. Pretty good hiking and scenery...but wasn't as great as Big Bend!
Las Vegas, NV
Claremont, CA
Angeles Lakes, CA - yearly retreat w/ Mom
Claremont, CA
Fullerton, CA and finalllly wait for it, wait for it, wait for it....
LONG BEACH, CA which is what I was calling "home" for the last 2 years.

So, 7 1/2 weeks, approx 3500 miles, tons of highway and byway viewing, and a whole bunch of postcards later I made it. And felt very rushed.
It WILL happen again...right 'lil Corolla???!

Ten days ago, I drove up to Prince Rupert, BC and caught the ferry across the Gulf of Alaska. It was a great experience. I camped out on the deck along with the other budget travelers which was perfectly fine. The weather was amazing and there were hourly sightings of whales. It was by far the best way I have ever traveled. The ferry made stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Yakutat which are all towns in Southeast Alaska only accessible by plane or boat. Honestly these places didn't strike me as beautiful or spectacular as all the cruise ship buildup makes it seem...I'd rather look at Homer/Kodiak/Talkeetna type scenery myself : )

Now I'm killing a bit of time before scallop season begins on July 1st. The boat has changed owners so this year I'll be based out of Kodiak although from what I hear we will be making periodic trips to Homer (yay). Since I've got all this time on my hands along with a very reliable mode of transport, I'm going to finally get up to Fairbanks and spend Solstice up there sightseeing, running a midnight 10k, and hitting the Chena Hot Springs Resort. On the way back down, the plan is to camp couple nights in Denali National Park. Hopefully the weather behaves. Then, before hopping on the ferry to Kodiak island, I'll spend a couple days in Homer seeing all my End of the Road buddies.

I really can't complain about a single thing in my life.
It is just that good.