Our Tsunami Scare

It all started out as a regular Saturday night. Jason and I were in for the evening and were watching a movie. We just finished dinner and I was about ½ way through mixing up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Ironically we were watching “Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World.”

I didn’t feel a thing, but Jason noticed our house was shaking. This happens sometimes when we do laundry . . . so I was still not convinced. Then he pointed out the car keys swaying on the key rack. He looked online at the weather report which stated that there was a 7.7 earthquake in Western Canada and that we needed to evacuate.

We didn’t hear the warning siren yet, and weren’t sure if we actually needed to evacuate but we decided better safe than sorry and started packing the car with food, water, blankets and warm clothes. We were out the door in the car in about 5 minutes. 

We stopped at the neighbor’s house. They were outside talking with others about what to do. They have lived here much longer and didn’t seem to be as worried. They said it had been 20 years since the last Tsunami warning here in Met and unless we heard the siren, we should just stay put.

We decided to join some friends at the housing behind the school because it’s much higher ground than our house – which is RIGHT on the water. As we were driving there the siren went off. And I think that is when both of our stomachs sank a bit. 

We drove to Yellow Hill, which is the Tsunami Evacuation Area for our Island. We beat the Fire Department, Police, and most of the town there. Parked the car and waited. Soon the whole town was there. Some people were taking about hiking up the hill while others just sat in their cars and stayed warm. We decided to hike up with our friends.

At the top, people were making bon fires and hanging out. It was a beautiful night with a full moon. Thankfully there was no rain – but a few snow flurries. We stayed at the top for about an hour or so. Yellow Hill has a beautiful view of the town and the ocean. We kept waiting to see the town get swept out to sea. Thankfully that never happened. We joked that this was the first “survival club” meeting.

It was interesting the tid bits of information that people were getting via text messages and smart phones. Luckily the top of yellow hill is one of the few places we get 3G on our island. If only the phone lines weren’t tied up from EVERYONE trying to use them. It was also interesting what people brought up the mountain with them. Lots of teachers brought their pets, some people packed water and food, and a few people packed their rifles on their back.

After an hour or so we headed back down and waited in the warm car for a while longer until we were aloud to head back into town. On the way back down the hill people were all in good spirits, but tired. Jason was his normal optimistic self and was rewarded by finding $10 on the trail back down to the car. I think it was God’s way of saying good job for taking care of your pregnant wife, although I think he deserved a lot more than $10 – he did a great job.

We got home, finished our movie, had a bowl of ice cream and thanked God before we went to bed. And then again when we woke up in the morning and hadn’t been washed out to sea. Alaska sure has many ways of making you reflect on life . . . 

Here we are on top yellow hill keeping warm. 

Exciting News From the Pipkin’s!

It’s been well over 3 months since our last blog, my apologies to those of you who look forward to reading about our exciting adventures in Alaska. We have a good excuse though – which I’ll get to shortly.

July was filled with family visits from Jason’s Aunt Sheri and his Cousin Sami as well as my Grandparents and My Mom. Jason took a trip to Florida for training in the flight simulator program, which he is teaching this year in the middle and high school. Meanwhile I took a trip to Seattle to see my friend Katie and do some major shopping. In August Jason’s Mom came for a visit and right after that school started up again!

Summer came and went with what seemed to be a blink of an eye. School got off to a quick start and it seemed time was just flying by. I have loved my new position as the K-8 counselor and Jason is having a great time teaching Computers, Health, and Science this year.

We have 3 new couples and 2 new male teachers this year. All of them are around our age, which is really fun. We’ve had bon fires on the beach and lots of dinner parties. We’ve been blessed to see the northern lights what seems to be a bazillion times so far this year! In fact, 3 times just this week! One night this week a ton of us hiked up Yellow Hill to watch the lights and take pictures. Here are a few pictures:

So now for our big exciting news! This isn’t all we’ve been up to. . . if you know anything about us by now it’s that we like to keep life busy and exciting. And what’s more busy and exciting than a baby? That’s right, we said it – BABY! We will be expecting Baby Pipkin April 23^rd and couldn’t be more excited.

Stay tuned in for more on this new exciting chapter in our life!

Summer Fun

Since school has been out, we've had lots of time to play. Jason has been brining home crab, shrimp, and halibut. I've become an expert at canning and we both have been enjoying the beauty of Southeast Alaska. We did put in a little extra work. The month of June both Jason and I worked the summer school program. Jason worked with middle schoolers, introducing them to the flight simulator program that he will be teaching next year and I taught a 4th and 5th grade split class. Because both of us had been at the high school last school year, we had a great time getting to know some of our younger students. Now that summer school is over, we have our first set of visitors here - Jason's Grandparents and his Dad. It's been so nice to see family and very fun to show them our amazing home. Anyways here are some pictures of what we've been up to!

Last month we started having whale sightings right outside our living room. This has been a lot of fun. We've seen numerous whales now, but still we never get tired of it. They are such miraculous creatures. It's weird to see something so large (that's not a boat) in the water. They always catch us by surprise. Usually we hear their spray first and then see their backs or fins come out of the water. So cool.

Preparing not only for our guests, but for this next school year - we made a Costco order and had it shipped to us via Northland. It was interesting figuring out how to do this but so very well worth it. Luckily I had found my list of what we brought up, took into consideration what we went through quicker than expected and what we had plenty of extra of (liked stewed tomatoes :P). We spent $1,300 at Costco for 800 pounds of supplies, then another $250 for shipping. This may sound expensive, but I assure you - it is well worth it when you live on an island.

The only problem, was where to put it all??? Our second bedroom has been primarily storage since we've lived here, but this summer we were preparing for guests! So we got creative and put a mattress on top of canned goods! So far our first guests say it's pretty comfortable!

Jason's new big thing is crabbing. We are babysitting the Erbelding's boat for the summer while they are home in New York. It's been a lot of fun to have a boat to fish, crab, and take a quick trip to Ketchikan once in a while. Jason has been out crabbing about 2-3 times now and each time he comes home with about 30 crab. We usually have a big feast and then jar the rest. I'm getting to be an expert at the pressure cooker!

While in Ketchikan a few weekends ago getting supplies for our visitors we stopped by and saw 3 bear! If you look close enough you can see them in the picture - there is a Momma and her 2 cubs. This was the first time we've seen bear in Ketchikan, very cool!

Our first visitors are Jason's Grandparents and his Dad Raymond. The day that summer school got out we took the boat over to Ketchikan and picked them up. They were out crabbing that night! And since have been fishing, shrimping, or crabbing almost every day! Above on the left is a picture of Jason & Raymond at the Fish Hatchery. On the right is Raymond, Jason, and his Grandpa Jim at Point D where we drove out and had lunch one day.

Jason and his Grandparents at a lake near the Hatchery. . . I don't remember the name of it.

Our shrimp dinner! We stuffed them with butter and BBQ'd them. It was sooooo delicious. 

Another delicious meal - homemade halibut fish and chips. We ran into my friend Darcy, whose husband and son are both fishermen and she gave us some huge pieces of halibut and some seaweed for Jason's family to try. Raymond wasn't too hot on the seaweed - but the rest of us LOVED it!

We had some excitement in town earlier this week. Not sure exactly what happened, but word on the street was that kids were playing with fireworks on the dock unsupervised and the old shed started on fire. We were on a walk at the time near the cemetery and could see the smoke from there. Luckily no one was hurt and the Metlakatla Fire Department did a fantastic job responding. 

Despite the fire earlier in the week, no one's spirits were down on the 4th of July! The day started with a parade. Fire trucks, police cars, and decorated vehicles carried lots of children who threw candy and waved as they went all through town. They were followed by the Killer Whale Dance Group who sang and played the drums. Very cool, and very impressive for a small town parade!

Metlakatla knows how to do the 4th of July! There are plenty of firework stands and fireworks have been going off for the past month or so. . . but boy oh boy. This was Disney Land quality stuff! And the best part was that we could watch it all from our back deck! We didn't know which way to look - they were too our left, our right and on boats in front of us! 

I've seen some amazing firework shows, and I expected being on a reservation that we would get to see some good stuff - but never did I imagine that it would have been a non-stop 3-4 hour show. . . it was great! And the best part was getting to share it with family! Locals have been telling me "just wait, August 7th is going to be even better!" August 7th is their Founder's Day Celebration - and after this show, I am VERY excited to see what is in store next month! 

We Did It!

Well, we’ve officially completed our first school year in Alaska! What an adventure it has been. New friends, new jobs, great adventures.

The last week of school seems like a blur. It was action packed with a whole-school trip to the Misty Fjords, a pig roast, sunny weather, and kids jumping off the dock into the cold Alaskan waters!

As we close up this year we’ve been reflecting a lot. Last week I attended a dance put on by a couple of the local dance groups here in town. They hosted the event for teachers to end the year celebrating. It was bitter sweet. Some of our teachers are not returning for various reasons. One of the local teachers who is also in one of the dance groups gave a speech and thanked teachers for being here. She said although teachers come and go we will always be apart of their hearts. This was really touching. She finished her speech, despite some tears, and started the performance. As I looked around I realized how much this place has touched our hearts.

I watched as our students, their parents, our co-workers, neighbors, and friends all sang and danced for us. Remembering the first dance last fall, when everything and everyone was so foreign to us. They were strangers and now they are all apart of our life.

Obviously we are excited about another year here. But before we get started on next year there are some adventures to be had. First we have summer school. Jason will be working with middle school students and I’ll have a 4^th/5^th grade class for the month of June. Then we have lots of family coming to visit. Jason is not entirely sure what he’ll be teaching next year but I am excited that we have a secondary counselor signed on, which means that I will get to focus on Kindergarten through 8^th grade. Which is my dream job!

Anyways, besides that we’ve been busy hiking with friends and Jason has been fishing like crazy. He caught a couple of white salmon for the first time last week. It is delicious! We’ve had to say goodbye to a few families and teachers that won’t be returning, but are looking forward to meeting the new friends that come in August. Most teachers are clearing out of town for the summer, so we are really looking forward to all our visitors that will be on their way before we know it!

Hope this finds everyone happy and healthy and ready for summer!

 Jason's First White Salmon

 Fixin' Dinner :)

We put the fish guts on the back deck and woke up to this guy peeping in our window the next morning! Guess he was looking for more fish!

 A whale on our Misty Fjords trip!

Misty Fjords National Monument.

Alaskan Hiking Adventures!

Japan Bay with Matti & Beth

On our way to Japan Bay

Made it!

Relaxing after a long day of hiking with a bonfire and good friends on the beach. 

Hot dogs and smores for dinner!

The Last Month. . .Or Two. . .

Well here it is the beginning of May and I haven’t been keeping up on the blog! School has been very busy and we have been having lots of fun. The weather has been getting better and better. The sun comes up around 5:00 AM and doesn’t go down until 9:00 PM now, which leaves lots of time for a hike or walk after school.

Honestly, since our St. Patty’s day house crawl things seem to be a big blur, but I will do my best to recall the last month. . . or has it been two?

In early April Herring season began. Our friends, Rob & Jenn Erbelding, took us out in their boat to see what all the hoopla was about. For those of you who don’t know (like me), Herring season marks the beginning of fishing season – and the beginning of making big bucks for many people here. It was really neat to take the boat to the other side of the island and see all the fishing boats.

We saw lots of seals (which is what this is a picture of), seagulls, bald eagles, and other wild life. . .  no whales though. . .  

 This is all the fishing boats and seagulls. 

Jenn, Rachel, & I on the boat. 

We did get a chance to get off the island for Easter weekend, where we went with friends over the Ketchikan and stayed at the New York Hotel-right on creek street. We were celebrating not only Easter, but our friend Matti’s birthday. This was the first trip where we got to really explore Ketchikan. Most of our trips have been day trips which consisted of Walmart, Safeway, Starbucks, and Ocean View (the Mexican-Italian restaurant). After you hit all those places it is usually about time to head back to the ferry.

We were lucky too because the weather really cooperated Easter weekend. It was a beautiful spring weekend and all the shops were opening up, preparing for the cruise ships that are about to start coming in. We had a great time shopping, exploring, and being with good friends.

 Jason and I on Creek Street

 Our room at the New York Hotel

 Creek Street

 Joe, Matti, Beth, & Jason on the Erbelding's Boat.

 Jenn, Me, Rita, & Chelsea on the other side of the boat.

Easter Evening from our back deck. 

In April Jason went to another science workshop in Craig. He had a great time taking a float plane from our island, straight to the floatel where he was staying.

Jason's Homecoming.

I also got to do some traveling, and this time is wasn’t work related! At the end of April I met up with my Mom in Seattle and we surprised my Grandma in Tucson, Arizona for her 75^th birthday. This trip was special for a couple of reasons. First of all it was my Granny’s birthday, but secondly because my Mom is now cancer free. We’ve known this since Christmas, however this is the first time that we have all been together when Mom has felt good enough to celebrate. It was really special to be able to celebrate together and I think we all realized how blessed we were to be able to spend this time together. It also gave me a chance to get some “big city” cravings in. I made it to Red Robin for a chocolate milkshake, Costco, Dunkin’ Doughnuts, and even had a delicious lunch with my Grandpa at Burger King. It’s funny what you miss when you live on an island.

The only bad part about my trip was that I missed being here for Jason’s 29^th birthday. Our friends took care of that for me though. Our friend Rita’s birthday is the same day as Jason’s – May 3^rd. So they all got together for a BBQ at Joe & Rachel’s and played games. It sounds like it was a fantastic time. While I was gone Jason also discovered a new recipe – Salmon Cakes – which is a new favorite in the Pipkin house.

Now that I’m home we have committed to working summer school for the month of June. Jason will be working with upper elementary and middle school students in a flight simulator and robotics program and I will be teaching the elementary summer school program. We are having fun planning for all of our visitors this summer. Jason’s Grandparents, his cousin Sami, and his Dad Ramond, are all coming. Then my Mom and Grandparents will be visiting for the big August 7^th celebration/pot-latch, followed directly by Jason’s Mom! It will be a busy summer but we are really excited to show everyone this little island that we have come to love.

A few extra pictures:

 Jason & Rob headed out for a scuba adventure. Rob picked Jason up in the boat, right from our backyard. I took this photo from our back deck!

 There they go!

 Our ferry, the Lituya, making a run right in front of our house - which is out of the norm.

If you look close, you can see a big cruise ship right in the middle of the picture, in front of the mountains. It passed right by our house!

Cruise ships are starting to make appearances outside our living room window. School is out in less than 3 weeks, and while we will be working summer school, I am hoping to have a lighter work load and have more time to document our adventures! And there will be lots of adventures!!!

Miss & Love you all!