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!
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!
