It's Official!

It's Official! Jonathan and I are now official Alaskans! We bought our waterproof jackets and "Xtra Tuff" boots!. Here are some pics of us on the beach in our new Alaskan attire.



Jonathan eating some sea lettuce



At the beach




Jonathan in his new boots. He likes to stand in the water because they are super waterproof!







This beach was awesome because it had white sand! We also found some huge shells there. If you come to visit, we will take you to "our beach" and show you around! Next weekend we are going to check out fossil beach hopefully and maybe go shooting so there will be pictures to follow.

Crab Fest 2010

Jonathan and I experienced our first Kodiak Crab Festival this last weekend! Jonathan helped a friend, Tom, build and decorate two bed/karts for the annual Crab Fest bed race. Jonathan ran in the race with several other guys and WON! His team won Kodiak sweatshirts. Jonathan and I are also "official" Alaskans now because we own the "Alaskan Tennis Shoe" known as the "Xtra Tuff Boot". They are rubber boots that everyone wears around here with everything from jeans to church clothes! We also had to buy rain coats because nothing we had in MT even remotely blocked the rain. People could tell we were "out of towners" because we were always soaked. Now that we were outfitted with our rain gear, the new fun can start!

On Saturday, Jonathan and I were in the Crab Fest Parade. We pushed a bed/kart in the parade. It was really fun! Here are some pictures of us with the one bed/kart and our friend Tom pushing the Queen of Hearts bed/kart.




After the parade, Jonathan and I went to the Crab Fest and checked out the booths, etc. We figured out that the kids play on the rides and the adults eat! We had some yummy halibut fish tacos and awesome king crab by the plate!

On Sunday, I ran in the Pillar Mountain Race with a friend and some other nurses at the hospital.

Here's a little description of the race and terrain.

Pillar Mountain Race. The traditional Pillar Mountain course starts on Marine Way in front of the Harbormaster building, goes up Mill Bay Road, down Birch, up Pillar Mountain Road, follows the trail west along the top, goes down a rugged trail into Swampy Acres, and back on Rezanof to the finish at the starting line.

In reality, the course went from the Harbormaster building, through town, and up a GIANT mountain! And once we reached the top of the mountain, we trekked down a creek (I'm not even exaggerating, it was an actual creek) to the main road and dodged traffic all the way back to the Harbormaster building. I think the total route was 9.5 miles but it seemed way longer. Plus, the weather was rainy, foggy, and misty all day which made for crappy pictures that didn't even turn out. I plan to run next year's race and now know what type of jacket, shoes, etc to wear. It was a blast overall! Tomorrow will be a day of recuperation and checking out the white sandy beach in Kodiak. We heard there was one on the island and will hopefully post more pics of it tomorrow. Jonathan starts his police job on Tuesday so I will also post a picture of him in his uniform. He's excited to start his job and we have been meeting alot of the officers who have been great! We hope you all are doing well!

Love,

Jonathan, Jessica, & Kitties

First Day of Fishing!

Today Jonathan and I went fishing with some friends. Our captain was a friend we met when we first came into town and we rented a boat from the Coast Guard. We loaded up the boat and took a trip around the island. Jonathan and I learned how to bait our hooks, tie line, reel correctly, etc. We were fishing for halibut, salmon, anything we could get basically.

About halfway in the trip, we caught our big break and caught ALOT of fish! We got a skate fish, 5 halibut, and 5 black bass! We also caught some "uglies" as they are called and threw them back. They're bottom feeders and are not good eating that we were told. My first fish I caught was an "ugly" and then I caught a bass! It was the biggest one of the sea bass we caught! Ha! The halibut we caught weren't huge, but they were huge to us!

Our awesome catch!



The skate we caught



I've turned into a fisher-woman!



The infamous Kodiak seal "King George" and his ladies



Ships in the harbor











The whole fishing crew



Learning how to fillet




Hopefully we catch some more fish on our next fishing trip. If you come up to visit we will take you out fishing! I got to drive the boat when we were trolling for salmon and our captain said I did great! (It's from those fishing days with my mom and dad in CA). Our total weight of fish we caught was 40 pounds! Turned out to be an awesome day of fishing!

Into the Bush

This Wednesday I headed out on my monthly bush trip to the village. I should first define the bush as an area in Alaska that is only accessible by plane or boat. The school clinicians each have one or two villages on/near Kodiak Island that they must visit once a month during the school year. My village is called Ahkiok and is about an hour plane ride to the west. And not a jet plane either. A bush plane. And if you have never seen a bush plane, be glad. Once you ride in one, you will up your life insurance policy. First off, a story about the plane ride…

I arrive at the airport on time, with bags in tow, ready for my bush adventure. It’s not large by any means. There are no terminals. You walk into a building, give them your name (no ID, no ticket, no security) and they take your luggage and put it in the plane. I got on the plane and our pilot was Russian and spoke with a thick Russian accent. I must have looked scared out of my wits because he said “You first time flier? If we go down, I try to land near to shore. We have 20 minutes in water before freezing.” First thing he said! I got on the plane and sat in the last seat (it’s a 4 seater including the captains seat). The luggage is held down by something that looks like a tarp and I’m sitting right next to a door. I actually had to lock the door myself because the pilot said, “You lock door. Make sure you lock it good or we go down.” He actually said this! I must have looked white as a sheet by now because then my Russian friend said, “If you throw up, we have no sick bags for you. You throw up on lap.” He literally said this!! We took off and flew about level with the bottoms of the clouds. Throughout the hour long flight, the Russian proceeded to look in the “rearview mirror” and give me a thumbs up about every 5 minutes. I kept thinking “Shouldn’t you be watching the sky or something?” There were a few times I thought I was going to die because I think the Russian wasn’t paying attention and we did some dips and dives. It’s very loud on the plane too. Everyone had ear plugs but me so by the time we landed, my ears were ringing.

We landed in the village on a tiny runway next to the ocean. I mean really next to the ocean, if the pilot overshoots at all, you are going to take a swim. And it’s not really a runway but dirt/gravel road. No airport building or anything, just a gravel road. It’s a big deal when the plane lands so there were about 4 people with vehicles waiting to give us rides. I quickly found out that you don’t ask who they are, you just get in the car or you will be walking the 2 miles into town. The village consists of about 20 houses that look like 1950’s pre-fab military style housing. They all look the same, white house, blue roof. There was a little church there and a school. That was it. No grocery store, no nothing. The groceries have to be shipped by ferry or plane. I met all of the school staff, all very nice, and some of the kids. The first day I stayed there was graduation so I helped out with cooking (I learned how to make a mean salmon dip) and decorating. The townspeople don’t like outsiders at all so no one spoke to us during the ceremony or after. It was the other teachers/school staff who chatted with us.

Day 2

Today was the day we were going to head out so we packed up our suitcases and prepared for departure when we found out we were “weathered in”. I then found out that one could be weathered in for a week at a time if it’s bad enough. So we unpacked and I played with the kiddos. We played a lot of group games and they really liked the games I learned from my internship. They kept saying “Miss Jessica, please bring more games when you come back.” Today was the day that the boat comes in that brings their supplies, groceries, etc. We headed out with our new friends to help them unload the boat. The other counselor and I entertained the kids while the townspeople unloaded the crates. Anything you buy is not secret either. They were saying things like “Ooh look at that new washer, how did they manage that?” Nothing is secret in this town. After helping to unload, we drove back to the school. I was getting ready for bed when I heard a knocking at the school door which was locked. I was freaked out but found out it was the preist. (There is only one church in town and it’s a tiny Russian Orthodox Church). I let the Father in and chatted with him for a bit. He led a very interesting life and originally wanted to be a counselor so we “talked shop”. He came to the school to use the internet since he lives in a very tiny house (shack really) next to the church with no running water, heat, or electricity. He said that he uses the internet to shop on Ebay and check his bank balance. I wondered “What on earth does this guy order?” but didn’t get up the nerve to ask. Maybe the next trip.

Day 3

Today we packed again getting ready to head out. The weather actually looked worse today than yesterday so I was sure we would be weathered in again. We did some fun activities with the kids and they had a cookout since it was their last day of school. Then we were told that the plane was here. I’m actually not sure how anyone knows the plane is on it’s way without calling but they know! So we caught a ride with another stranger and got onboard. The Russian pilot’s plane was full (thank God!) so we had a different pilot. Apparently he was the best one the airline had and he was a good one! He didn’t turn around once and actually looked at the view in front! The flight was great and I didn’t get sick at all. We got back to Kodiak on time and I headed home to find that our furniture was here and ready to be unloaded! Now we have our couches, bed, everything! It’s so nice to not have to sleep on the floor! Our apartment has really started to come together and look really nice. Tomorrow we are headed out fishing so hopefully the weather is good. Hope you all are doing well!
Love,

Jessica, Jonathan & kitties

PS- Sorry I didn’t get any pictures. I wasn’t exactly blending in to begin with being a white redhead so I didn’t think the townspeople would like me taking pictures of the town just yet after just meeting me. Hopefully next time!

Here is a link of a picture of Ahkiok. Not very good clarity but helps you get the idea.
http://www.kodiak.org/explore-kodiak/kodiak-villages/akhiok.html

First week...and then some!

Well, today is Friday and the last day of my first week of work. I had a day of orientation which went over the basics like HIPPA, history of the hospital, etc and the rest of the week I spent in the schools. I also met all of the teachers, counselors, students, etc who I will be working with. Next week I have my trip into the bush (Akhiok) where I will spend the night and meet the students and teachers there. Each therapist has a village that they are assigned to and visit once a month during the school year. Pretty exciting! I volunteered myself to re-do the play therapy room and am going to focus my efforts on ordering and organizing toys, cleaning it out, etc this summer while school is out. I also took my first call today. The counselors here are on call one week a month and I volunteered myself to shadow the on call therapist so I can see some scenarios, figure out the paperwork, etc. It actually was really interesting. I learned how to do suicide assessments and the assessments for chemical dependency and mental health.

Jonathan found out he starts his job June 2nd. He's pretty excited to have an official date and all of the preliminary paperwork completed. He found a gym to work out in and has met alot of the people in the department and in the community. He volunteered us to do the Alaska Law Enforcement Torch Run tomorrow so we and other officers and their families will be participating in the run. Should be fun if we don't get rained out!

That's all that has been going on up here. We still don't have our furniture and are waiting on that but now we finally have a table and chairs. We were eating on the living room floor and finally broke down and bought a cheap table and chairs (Thank God for Walmart). Also, it stays light here for a long time! It's been light (bright too!) till about 11 most nights. At 8:00 at night it looks like it is 3 in the afternoon. It's SO weird! It's hard to get used to but we slowly are adjusting. Also, Jonathan and I learned that the fashionable footwear of Kodiak are Extra Toughs, these waterproof boots that are called the "Alaskan tennis shoe". We will be getting some suitable rain gear soon. I will put up pictures of the run and various other pics this weekend. Write more soon!

Love,
Jessica, Jonathan, & kitties

Tidepooling and Dragons

Today was a great day. Started off with a wonderful time at church. We went to the Berean Baptist church here in Kodiak and it was great! The sermon was wonderful and I loved the music! They sing contemporary worship music and the church had about 150 people in attendance for the service. The guy we went with laughed at us when we said there were alot of people there. We met the pastor who was very nice and chatted with us for a bit. Then off to coffee and breakfast with friends. We got introduced to a wonderful little bakery with an amazing french chef. I am very excited to try the crepes.

After breakfast, we decided to drive around Kodiak and try to go tidepooling. We did not have a tidepooling book but got lucky and found out it was low tide. I think people get that I am a tourist because I was walking around in my North Face down jacket because the wind just rips through you here. No one wears down jackets here for obvious reasons that the down will get ruined in the rain. Thankfully though, no rain today. It was SO much fun checking out the tidepools. I found out I still had some knowledge of sea life from my growing up in CA because we found sea anenomes and a hermit crab. Jonathan touched the sea anenome and said "It tickled my finger!" He thought they were really cool. I told him he should pick up the hermit crab but I failed to mention that he should pick it up by the shell. He didn't get pinched but wasn't pleased that I did not mention that important fact about hermit crabs. We found the best beach to go tidepooling in so we think that beach will be a favorite spot when we have visitors.










After tidepooling, we drove around and checked out some more beaches. Then came dinner. Our neighbor works at the restaurant in the Best Western tending bar so we deicded to check it out. I had the best crab I have ever eaten! It puts Louie's Down Under in Bozeman to shame! The crab legs were humongous! (And Delicious!)




After dinner, we met a friend and his roomate down at the local movie theater to watch "How to Train Your Dragon." The movies here are SO cheap! I was shocked that the rate was $5.50 per person!!! Everyone laughed at me but I kept telling them that it was $9.00 per person in Bozeman and that doesn't include the popcorn! The movie theater shows one movie and cycles the movies every two weeks. We were told that going to movies are a highlight in winter when the town dies down.

Tomorrow we are going to get our car registered. Jonathan is very excited about this because apparently the registration price is alot cheaper than MT. It's funny what gets us excited: movie prices and car registration. I also included a picture of the police station that they are building here in Kodiak. It should be finished soon and is state of the art. Hope you all are doing well!

Hello Kodiak!

We made it to Kodiak! Sorry for the lapse in blogging but we did not have internet access for a while when we got into Alaska and then into Kodiak. We had a wonderful visit with friends in Homer Alaska for a couple days and then took the ferry over to Kodiak. We thought we would get the smaller ferry known as the "Tustumena" or the one that everyone throws up on. We ended up getting lucky and getting to ride on the "Kennicott" ferry because the Tustumena was getting repairs. The Kennicott was like a yacht! It had multiple levels and a car docking station in the bottom of the ship. It also had a cafeteria, restaurant, movie theater, cocktail lounge, solarium, and gift shop. We boarded the ferry at about 9 pm and then got into Kodiak the next day at 9 am. We slept most of the time, although almost got seasick at about 3 am with higher seas.

We arrived in Kodiak and met the real estate agent to get the keys to our new apartment. After I saw the island from the ferry, I realized it was nothing like I had imagined. It was HUGE! Plus the mountains came right up out of the ocean. It looked incredible. We moved some stuff into our apartment and got the basics taken care of like setting up power, getting cell phones, etc. The cats were VERY happy to explore the apartment since they had to stay in the car for the 12 hour ferry ride and were not happy about that.

Today, we unpacked and cleaned all of our apartment. The people who previously lived here did not clean it at all when they left so we had to really bleach everything. It was disgusting! Now it is more livable. We got some essentials at Walmart and went to a flea market at the Coast Guard base here. I didn't find anything that I needed because we got there late and alot of the good stuff was gone already. After, we explored the island a bit. We drove around to the Alaska Maritime Museum where they had World War II relics and cannons. We also drove to several beaches. We tried to go tide-pooling but couldn't find the actual place that teaches you about this.

Tomorrow we are headed to church with another officer in Kodiak PD. I am attaching some pictures that we took on the ferry and here in Kodiak. We have this next week off and then I start my new job May 10th. We will keep you all updated. We love you and miss you!

Love,

Jessica, Jonathan, & Kitties

PS Our new address is 3601 Sharatin Rd #B
Kodiak, AK 99615

Our new cell phone numbers are Jessica: 907-539-9010
Jonathan: 907-539-9011