Bragg-ing

Went to Fort Bragg a few weekends ago with Jessie Rae and Reid, my Olympic team. Little did we know that the town was in the middle of a full on manhunt for a 2x murderer. We did not get murdered and had a fantastic time. Pretended we were an earth conscious bicycle gang during coastal clean-up day. I was very grateful for Reid's ick stick when I found a sleeve, ripped off and abandoned in a private cove. I once dated an oyster farmer who joked about being stuck out on the flats at low tide with no TP. The ripped off sleeve was his favorite solution.Ran from a snake while picking berries. Reid may or may not have seen it and failed to give notice. He was just jealous that I picked twice as many berries as he and the missus put together.

Visited the North Coast Brewery. I felt their beer selection was one of the best I've seen at any brewery. And they have heavenly waffle fries with garlic sauce. Their abbey style Belgian, "Brother Thelonius" is delicious and Old Rasputin, Old Stock, Red Seal Ale, Pranqster and Scrimshaw are also very tasty. I got the sampler, ok. They're mini glasses, don't judge.

Ate a ton of delicious food raised and cooked by the members of Portuguese communities between Rio Vista and Fort Bragg. The gathering was for a festa and to celebrate my friends' engagement. Someday I'll actually make it to one of the festas but this time I just lazed around the campfire, ate goat, drank homemade wine and wished I spoke Portuguese. I do know "dê-me dois beijos" which means "Give me two kisses." Jessie taught me to say it to an old man at an SF restaurant. And I got two kisses.

Home Sweet Home

Joined a hiking club. Met some good, fun people from the club and from work. I like where I live, alot. Like my students and my coworkers. Still love being a speech therapist but feeling the need for some inspiration. Hopefully I'll get that at our annual conference next month in San Diego. Work has been taxing, tiring and trying but really I just need to kick it in gear.
Here are the long ago promised photos of my cute little cottage. Decorations, curtains, basically everything you see by Older sister.
Love my Wedgewood stove and vintage sink. Still love my Alaskan brewery pint glass collection.
Love my bargain living room. Love my couch and extra storage coffee table. Everything bought second hand for $145. Top that.
Love my Formica table and the pink chairs Sister just happened to have sitting at her house. Don't love the ladder but getting used to it. Love the butcher block with drawers in the kitchen.
Love all the windows. Love that my dresser from my SF apartment makes a nice entry with more storage. And that it was free. Love Hieronymus Bosch painting in my old art book.
Love my Ball Jars as a solution for food storage. Love my tobacco tin as spice storage. Love my antique yellow fruit bowl. Love how my handmade by The Sister curtains let the light in. Love the view from that window. Deer, ravens, blue jays and squirrels like to hang out there. LOVE the stackable washer and dryer on the back porch.Love my split personality home. My pink alarm clock and my "side table." Don't really love the air mattress but a rug under and a memory foam topper were a big help.Love that my down comforter was retired and has been camping all through Alaska but made the perfect comeback in my tiny bedroom.
Love the view out the back row of windows. Love thinking that I'll have a fire with family around it at some point. But most of all, love that the beach is two blocks away and the sibs are two hours away.

But, don't go getting any ideas. I'm here for a good time, not a long time.

Transformer

Problem...

Solved.A whole wall of closet space easily accessed and hidden. Perfect. Yes, that's my fishing pole and bear mace up top. Girl's gotta be prepared.

Beach Hut

Here's another reason, in my long list of fantastic finds, that I think I have fabulous Craigslist luck. Never saw this place, signed an agreement by fax, wired the deposit money and then wondered if my head would clear the sleeping loft. Turns out it does, but not the shower head. What's new.
I love my new tiny cottage. It's a very short walk to Asilomar beach and a little bit of a longer walk to downtown Pacific Grove. I've spent the last two afternoons laying in the sun on soft, soft sand, reading my nerd book to my heart's content. Soon I'll post interior pictures.

Slacker

Ok, there are many things I didn't post on in the past month and to be honest, the future of this blog is hanging by a thread. But, I'll try to give it some attention for now. Where did we leave off? The brother came to AK, the parents came to AK, everyone had a great time and caught some fish. I had a magical summer and then it was time to say goodbye to AK and AK friends. That was rough.
Then I drove about 3,500 miles by myself in only 5 driving days. My ass may never recover. Here are the only photos I took. Next post: 100 reasons why my new place is awesome.

My friend, Blackbear. Somewhere in British Columbia.

Cousin dubbed this the "Rape Inn" when he saw the photo. Slept in my car and just used the shower house. No locking door and a black widow on the pipe. That's lodging in The Yukon.

Pioneer Plaza in Portland. Apparently, I could've driven to Times Square instead.

Juneau Falls

Pretty purple Lupine in bloom.

A glimpse of a lake below.

An eagle's nest high above.

Marty and I set out on this hike with the misinformation that Juneau Falls was a 5.5 mile round trip hike. Turns out it's actually 4.5 miles one way but, it was an easy walk with little elevation gain and some nice views. Nothing spectacular but definitely enjoyable. Juneau Falls is on the 38 mile Resurrection Pass Trail which travels between Cooper Landing and Hope. Like many hikes here, it was hard to tell when we'd hit the destination. "Juneau Falls" was not the waterfall I was expecting and we actually kept going for a while to make sure. Saw a great bear paw print past the falls but forgot to take a picture. The dogs loved the trail and we felt awesome when we learned we'd actually done 9 miles instead of 5. I would have liked to have taken backpacking gear and done the whole thing but the Moose Pass Solstice Festival awaited and time is of the essence this summer.

Happy 4th!

Click on the map to plot our travels and see how much driving you do in AK to get anywhere fun. Don't forget to notice the picture of the entire state in the lower right and note how big the Peninsula is comparatively.

We're headed to Girdwood today for their annual North Forest Fair and hopefully to hike the Winner Creek trail. I read an article that mentions a hand cart which traverses a gorge. Have to do it! Also picking up the brother from the airport in Anchorage tonight (!!) so I think I'll try to hold out until we pick him up and are headed back South. That way we can add extra weight to the cart and really test it.
The big 4th of July celebration and Mount Marathon Race are in Seward the next day so we're prepared to camp out somewhere near Moose Pass and head out in the morning. If all goes well, we'll get The Harding Ice Field Trail and some Independence Day celebrating in before heading back home on Monday or Tuesday. Wonder if brother is going to like the idea of sleeping on the ground for his first 2 nights of vacation?