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 75th 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 29th birthday. Our friends took care of that for me
though. Our friend Rita’s birthday is the same day as Jason’s – May 3rd.
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 7th 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!
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