My trip to Alaska

Wednesday evening I was packed and ready for Alaska. I tried to turn in early but that never really goes as planned. I was at the airport in plenty of time to catch my 6:50 flight to Seattle. I had a very long layover in Seattle so I was pleased to watch a few movies that Darcy downloaded onto my iPod. My coworker Edith landed in Seattle in time to have a quick lunch with me before we boarded for Juneau, Alaska. Luckily the flight was emptier than expected and we were able to sit together. I was a quiet flight, we caught up because we haven't seen each other since March and I had a few cat naps along the way.

When we arrived in Juneau we met Garth and shortly after were met and picked up by Lisa, Sastry and Skip. Shawnda followed on a later flight. We took a quick drive up to the glacier and snapped some photos. It was a fantastic sight, it was amazingly blue. We observed the salmon in the creek fighting the current to go upstream and a few were nabbed by a little brown bear that we photographed from the glacier walk way. He didn't seem to notice the people really, he was only interested in catching fish.

After a chaotic grocery shopping trip we were on our way to Tee Harbour for the night. I fought a headache most of the day and evening. After supper I lasted about an hour and then turned in. I spent the night on a bunk bed which was kind of fun but a bit of a pain when I had to pee in the middle of the night.

For breakfast we had fantastic waffles and the best Chai Latte I have ever had. We took a drive through downtown Juneau and eventually rode in a float plane to our destination, the Hobbit Hole. You know you are going somewhere remote when the only way in is to fly. The trip was a mystery to us, our boss Skip, only told us the area, he gave us no detail about what the trip would include. From the float plane we boarded a small boat (skiff) and were transported to a floating doc on the ocean. We could see nothing but water, rock and trees. Eventually our gear was unloaded into the skiff and taken beyond where we could see.

We had to seriously wonder at this point if we were part of some kind of reality show. When the skiff returned for us we were pleasantly surprised as we arrived in the cove to see Hobbit Hole. The property included 3 buildings, the main house, a garage and the guest house. The hostess, Jane, has a beautiful yard, with a garden, a creek and a bridge.

We unloaded our gear and worked our way up the pier to find the cutest guest house. We settled in and check out the yard. We kept busy playing horseshoes, badminton and volleyball. In the evening Skip took a few groups out for a boat ride and then we had a steak dinner...it may have been remote but we sure didn't rough it. This place had all the comforts of home.

Saturday we took a fishing trip. I spent the morning on the Cove Cat and midday, mid-ocean jumped ship onto the Olivia. On the Cove Cat we spent some time watching the Sea Lions and then came across some whales. I have been on a few whale watching tours and have never seen any this close. I had my telescopic lens on at times and they were too close to photograph. At one point one dove right under our boat and we were amazing to find that it didn't rock the boat at all.

On the Olivia we had pretty good luck catching fish. I caught 2 halibut, 1 ling cod, 2 black bass and a pink salmon. I had hoped to catch some coho but no luck. We had an excellent day on the water. It didn't rain much and my group was a lot of fun. On our way home we stopped by once again to visit the sea lions before returning to shore with halibut for dinner.

We relaxed for out last night there and packed up. Sunday morning we were socked in. Our flight out was delayed and so I started to worry. I didn't want to miss my connecting flight in Seattle and be stuck there for the night. Whe our float plane finally arrived to pick us up we rushed to get to the Juneau airport. We arrived just in time to check in and catch our flight. The only reason we caught it was because as the plane arrived it could not land due to weather and had to take a second approach. Not sure I felt all that safe taking off but I was just relieved to have made it. The flight was packed, not a single open seat.

Several of us had a few hours in Seattle so we had dinner together before parting ways. It was a very nice trip. I don't get to meet my coworkers all that often so I really enjoyed making some very good new friends and as always I love spending time with Edie!