Northeast 30 to 40

I'm safe and sound back at the Pruitt house on Island Lake in Kodiak, Alaska. It'll be hard to put into words what a great experience going out on the boat was in the space available here, but I'll give it a go. The ride out to the Captain Kidd took fourteen hours. It was supposed to take five, but we ended up extemporaneously circumnavigating the island (Sitkalidak, not Kodiak) before heading back north to the spot where Dale was working aboard the Captain Kidd.

By the time we arrived, it was past midnight and Dale and the rest of the crew of the Captain Kidd were happily sleeping aboard their boat after a long day of salmon seining. We pulled up alongside the 58 foot seiner in our 107 foot vessel with lights and engines blaring, and not one of them woke up. So I grabbed the giant duffel bag that Mindy packed for me and jumped aboard in the night. Entering the cabin, I didn't want to wake any cranky, tired fisherman. So I curled up on a bench and slept until Dale tripped over me on his way to the head at 2 in the morning. He showed me the way to my stateroom (that's right, they saved the stateroom for me!) which was exactly two feet away from where I was sleeping away on my bench.

I slept three more hours (total of about four) before the crew woke up to start fishing. I wiped my crusty eyes and got up to join them. What a day it was for me! They might disagree since the fishing wasn't great, but I got what I was after; a firsthand view of salmon seining. Luckily, the weather was beautiful and calm seas prevailed. I've included some pictures and one video so I hope you enjoy them.

Surely, the weather here will make many of my desert friends envious right now. It is 55 degrees and raining. Yesterday morning, a beautifully eerie fog rolled in over Island Lake as I was sitting in front of the window drinking my coffee. Perfect conditions for writing, so I pecked out two or three new pages of the book. The ending is all I have left in terms of the first draft so I'm getting there. The trip has been beyond all of my expectations in terms of research and fun. I have fallen in love with this area and am fascinated by the salmon fishing that they do here.

Early tomorrow morning Dale will head back out to sea aboard the Captain Kidd so we'll say our goodbyes for another year tonight. I will then spend the day with the Pruitt girls. The highlight of the day will be watching Calista lead cheers for the Kodiak Bears at their football game. Home games are a big deal in this small community. Visiting teams either fly or take a 13 hour ferry ride to get here. It should be fun.

Well I have to sign off since we're getting ready to head out for more adventure. I hope to make one more post before I jump back on the plane on Sunday. It's been a trip to remember, but I miss Traci, Calvin, Natalie, and Sarah back home so I'll be ready. Thanks for taking the time to read the blog. I hope you enjoyed it.