The pipe with our drinking water in it, head down to Metlakatla.
Jason.
We made it to the top!
Joe & Rachel looking down at Metlakatla.
Rachel and I on our hike.
A beautiful beach stop.
Exploring on the beach with our new teacher friends.
A huge log.
Veiw from the new road.
A van full of teachers. . .
Headed "Out the Road."
The Mayor and his Wife on the left, with the new crew & family too!
Jason & I with Metlakatla in the background.
The Long House, next to the boat dock where we went fishing.
Our catch for the night. . . I'm not excited to be holding them.
The boat dock.It’s a gift to be able to do what you love, and earn a living in the process. “Finding the right work is like discovering your own soul in the world” ~ Thomas Moore. There aren’t words for how grateful we are for this experience and opportunity to do what we love. We feel so incredibly lucky to have landed jobs that we love in such a magnificent place. This quote really sums it up. We are constantly reminded by the islands beauty how lucky we are right now ~ it feeds your soul.
Annette Island really is a magical place. Not only are the people unique with their culture and generous spirits, but the surroundings are just spectacular. We have been having a great time exploring.
Last weekend was sunny and we took full advantage of it. Starting with Friday after school we went on another fishing trip with our friends Rob, Jen, and Beth. Following fishing was brown butter spaghetti at our house and games. Saturday we were invited to go “out the road” with the mayor and superintendent. This turned out to be quite the treat.
There is a new road that will eventually lead out of town to a new ferry terminal, which will make Ketchikan a much shorter trip than it is now. The road is still under construction and closed to people. However, the mayor invited new teachers to join him in a tour so we took the school’s 15 passenger van and loaded up! It was a perfect day for a drive and we stopped at many different viewpoints, beach rest stops and waterfalls. It was fun to spend time with our co-workers and see more of the island that many people have never seen before!
Saturday night we were invited to a dinner at Darcee & Frank’s. Darcee teaches at the elementary and Frank works at the weather station on the island. They made some AMAZING halibut. If I remember correctly it was baked, with a general seasoning (lawrey’s?), 1 cup of sour cream and 1 cup mayo mixed together on top with cheddar cheese sprinkled all over. Delicious!!!
Then Sunday we hiked up to the lake where we get our drinking water. It was fun, but a difficult hike. It was more beautiful than I could possibly describe. . .see the pictures.
Then Monday was back to work. I administered the ASVAB at the high school for the first time. And by administered, I mean that I picked up the recruiters from the float plane at 7:45 am and brought them to the school to give the test. It went really well.
As soon as the ASVAB was done I was off to Anchorage for my District Test Coordinator Training. I didn’t realize what a trip I was in for! There are no direct flights from Ketchikan to Anchorage. This was news to me. So. . . . I took my 1 ½ hour ferry ride to Ketchikan then there is a 5 minute ferry taxi to the airport, got on my flight – which luckily was an actual 747 jet – and stopped in Sitka & Juneau & finally Anchorage. It was a long day. But it was also my first trip to Anchorage!
While I was there I met up with our friend Alisa who is working at the VA hospital and Jason’s aunt & uncle Chris & Rod and their family. It was nice to see civilization, starbucks, & familiar faces for a few days.
While I was in Anchorage Jason was busy working at home. This week he trained to become a volley ball referee and started playing pickle ball. What is pickle ball you might ask? Well, the best way I can describe it, is to compare it to racket ball I think. You may need to google it. This weekend is going to be jam packed full of volley ball for Jason while I get settled back into the swing of things.
I spent 2 days in Anchorage, and while I enjoyed exploring a new place and drinking nonfat white chocolate peppermint mochas – I realized that there is just something special about our new home. It’s a little more beautiful than anywhere else. I see all the cars and busy streets and coffee shops in Ketchikan & Anchorage and I missed the streets of Metlakatla, with no street signs and people smiling & waving at you every time you pass them. It’s a different life for sure, but there is something very cool about it – it speaks to your soul. Which believe it or not, we enjoy even more than our mochas.
Annette Island really is a magical place. Not only are the people unique with their culture and generous spirits, but the surroundings are just spectacular. We have been having a great time exploring.
Last weekend was sunny and we took full advantage of it. Starting with Friday after school we went on another fishing trip with our friends Rob, Jen, and Beth. Following fishing was brown butter spaghetti at our house and games. Saturday we were invited to go “out the road” with the mayor and superintendent. This turned out to be quite the treat.
There is a new road that will eventually lead out of town to a new ferry terminal, which will make Ketchikan a much shorter trip than it is now. The road is still under construction and closed to people. However, the mayor invited new teachers to join him in a tour so we took the school’s 15 passenger van and loaded up! It was a perfect day for a drive and we stopped at many different viewpoints, beach rest stops and waterfalls. It was fun to spend time with our co-workers and see more of the island that many people have never seen before!
Saturday night we were invited to a dinner at Darcee & Frank’s. Darcee teaches at the elementary and Frank works at the weather station on the island. They made some AMAZING halibut. If I remember correctly it was baked, with a general seasoning (lawrey’s?), 1 cup of sour cream and 1 cup mayo mixed together on top with cheddar cheese sprinkled all over. Delicious!!!
Then Sunday we hiked up to the lake where we get our drinking water. It was fun, but a difficult hike. It was more beautiful than I could possibly describe. . .see the pictures.
Then Monday was back to work. I administered the ASVAB at the high school for the first time. And by administered, I mean that I picked up the recruiters from the float plane at 7:45 am and brought them to the school to give the test. It went really well.
As soon as the ASVAB was done I was off to Anchorage for my District Test Coordinator Training. I didn’t realize what a trip I was in for! There are no direct flights from Ketchikan to Anchorage. This was news to me. So. . . . I took my 1 ½ hour ferry ride to Ketchikan then there is a 5 minute ferry taxi to the airport, got on my flight – which luckily was an actual 747 jet – and stopped in Sitka & Juneau & finally Anchorage. It was a long day. But it was also my first trip to Anchorage!
While I was there I met up with our friend Alisa who is working at the VA hospital and Jason’s aunt & uncle Chris & Rod and their family. It was nice to see civilization, starbucks, & familiar faces for a few days.
While I was in Anchorage Jason was busy working at home. This week he trained to become a volley ball referee and started playing pickle ball. What is pickle ball you might ask? Well, the best way I can describe it, is to compare it to racket ball I think. You may need to google it. This weekend is going to be jam packed full of volley ball for Jason while I get settled back into the swing of things.
I spent 2 days in Anchorage, and while I enjoyed exploring a new place and drinking nonfat white chocolate peppermint mochas – I realized that there is just something special about our new home. It’s a little more beautiful than anywhere else. I see all the cars and busy streets and coffee shops in Ketchikan & Anchorage and I missed the streets of Metlakatla, with no street signs and people smiling & waving at you every time you pass them. It’s a different life for sure, but there is something very cool about it – it speaks to your soul. Which believe it or not, we enjoy even more than our mochas.
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