One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

A little late, I know. Excuse my lateness. It will never happen again, sir. Control freak.

So my week here was per usual, work. eat. sleep. repeat. But a night at the bar can change everything. I was with a fellow friend, Tor, and we were talking about fishing (REAL fishing, none of this one at a time, lets sit back and have a beer type of fishing) and it got me thinking. I have three weeks left here, I'm a sucker for taking chances, Clearly, and there was an opening on a weekend I happen to have off. My inner goddess is telling me to go. So, I took the bold step. I called up the skipper the next morning and asked to come along on their one day opening! And he said YES!! So less than a few hours later I end up on the boat with five guys with my book and ipod in hand, ready to see the world of commercial fishing. 

Let me begin to introduce the marvelous boat I was on, the Marathon. The skipper is Maya's uncle and her cousin, Allan, is one of the fisherman. Tor, who I mentioned earlier is also a fisherman on this boat. Now that I'm all done with introductions, let me move onto my 9 hour ride northwest of where we were. Basically, it was a road trip on an RV....but 10X better because you have Alaska out your window, not I-5. During the ride up to Chaik Bay (near Sitka) I listened to music and read a book. I hope people know what book I'm talking about, how embarrassing. I sat up with the skipper in the top deck most of the time, as it had a panoramic view of everything, including whales!! It took a few hours, but throughout my whole trip I saw at least 5-6 whales. Exhilarating. Guys called it a early night, and by 10 we were all out. Oh yes, I haven't mentioned the bunks. Excuse my less than descriptive image of this, but don't worry, there will be pictures. It's 4 bunks that are located at the bow of the boat, so they curve and have absolutely no room to move. I was placed on the top bunk, with three of the guys along with me. Not comfortable. 

The next morning I am woken by Tor shaking me, telling me they will this will be the best set of the day and I should get up if I want to see. Crap, I'm tired. I should have gone to bed when the guys did. I stumble out of bed and see Tor making everyone breakfast. What kind of universe did I just set foot in? I watch the skiff close in the net and the boys quickly get ready for the fish to arrive on deck. Don't worry, there will be video for all those who can't follow. That's everyone, Syd. The net is hooked on a skiff, and the seiner boat and skiff make a huge circle and after about 25 minutes meet back to make a full circle, finally closing in the fish. This repeats for as long as the skipper feels he can catch fish, or more specifically until the opening closes. This opening was from 7AM-7PM. Which is what we did. It was a sunny day so I moved around different parts of the boat all day, reading, listening to music, talking with everyone, and watching the guys repeat all this for 12 hours. Incredible. We come back with approximately 8,000 pounds of salmon and ride throughout the night back to PSG. Overall, it was an experience I do not know I'll ever have again. Truly once-in-a-lifetime type of adventure. 

So this is my reason for being late on my blog this weekend. Please forgive me. Oh no, I mean....

Please forgive me, sir. Control freak. 

Our bunks. Mine is top right!

Dining table

Kitchen

Hallway of boat

Wouldn't be a boat without one

Setting in the net

Deck view, skiff ready to launch

Beautiful

Here fishy fishy fishy...

Best reading spot ever?

Part of the circle from the net

View I had all day

Sparkling water

Skippers chair on the top deck

I could look at this all day. I did. 

Bye sun...

Camera shy, Mr. Whale?

Alaskan Sunset

My home for the past weekend

Fear of the unknown

Pixar gets me straight in the heart every. single. time. So as you may have guessed, I just came back from seeing Brave. Granted it wasn't the most original Pixar movie that they have such a reputation for producing, but with the curly red hair....how could I not like it? I suppose you can say I was attracted to this young woman's ability to trust her decisions and had the confidence to know who she is. According to Erkison's theory of development (Yes, PSY 432, I was actually listening) I'm dealing with identity issues! This whole graduating and becoming a real person? Getting a big kid job? I feel like college only taught me how to remember my SSN! Ugh, clearly this movie has sent me into a spiral of identity confusion....must be around here somewhere....

The fear of the unknown. Being afraid of new ideas. They are loaded with prejudices, not based upon anything in reality, but based on...if something is new, I reject it immediately because it's frightening to me. What they do instead is just stay with the familiar. You know, to me, the most beautiful things in all the universe, are the most mysterious.

Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for that statement, but seriously couldn't have said it better myself. I could have stayed home this summer, but instead I moved to Alaska. I had no idea what to expect when I came here, I only knew Maya. I moved 2,000 miles away from the familiar to be apart of the unknown. I only have 4 weeks left here and I'm not and will not take this opportunity for granted. Only I would take a Pixar movie to another level, I know, but this post-college thing is a lot harder than expected. I am proud of my accomplishment, I went to three colleges, went to summer school while having pneumonia, and still managed to graduate in a four year period. I embrace change, I enjoy change, I crave change. I wouldn't be sitting here in Alaska if it wasn't for change. 

If you had the chance to change your fate, would you?

Fishing License!

Petersburg Creek

Why hello pink salmon

I think he's mad, look at that eye 

Stoked for my catch!

So excited!!

Fishing further up the creek

Sexy ladies, as always

What happens in Juneau, stays in Juneau

Who would have thought I'd get so excited to see a stop light? Or McDonalds? Traffic? Or....dare I say....Walmart! Being on an island for a few months makes you forget there is an actual world out there. My friend Maria and I took the ferry Sunday night (7:30PM) and wandered around in awe--there was a movie theater, arcade room, restaurant, and a bar! Since our ferry was getting in at 3:45AM we went searching for a spot to sleep for the night. The best part about the ferry is the solarium, which is for us poor folk who can't afford cabins. People have tents or you can sleep on these lounge chairs under an overpass with heaters. It was beyond peaceful sleeping!

So we land in Juneau and just as expected, nothing was open. So Maria and I walked around downtown and found a cafe that was attached to a hotel--a front desk lady saw us in the rain and let us stay in the lobby until the cafe open. SO NICE! Then after waiting an hour and a half, we ate and then hopped from coffee shop to coffee shop and proceeded to fall asleep in one of the cafes (yikes!). So we checked into our hotel, power napped, and then went up this awesome tram to the top of the mountain. We had a quick lunch and then headed to the famous glacier for the rest of the day. Our night ended with a famous shot called "Duck Fart" at the Red Saloon, and well, I'm going to leave the story there....

And that was only 48 hours worth of my week! NOW onto the PSG controversy of the week...Magic Mike. This small town theater is held in the middle school gym and is christian family owned, so this movie brings big problems. On one hand you can make a lot of money with us young folk, but on the other hand you can upset a lot of people. As one mother said, "There's too much dick"--if that's her selling point to not see it, I don't think it's working. So after three months of waiting....I will be attending the 7pm showing tonight of MAGIC MIKE! And for all those who know me....next weeks movie is BRAVE (YAY)! Along with all of that, my good friend Maria left this week--so the whole Beachcomber crew went out to send her off with a proper goodbye, and again, I'm going to leave the story there...

Ready for the ferry

Goodbye PSG! 

Bar on the ferry

Solarium, how cool!

Juneau at 4AM

Walking around downtown 

Tram up the mountain

View from tram

downtown view from tram

1.5 mile walk to the glacier

So close!

Maria and I at the glacier and waterfall!

Famous Duck Fart, "chocolate milk with a kick"

Me, Maria, and Maya at Kito's!

Adventure is out there!

There's no other way to explain this week than spontaneous adventure time! First off, even with this terrible rain this week I've taken a float plane around glaciers (which I managed to do in between my two jobs that day) and booked a ferry trip to Juneau with my coworker at the restaurant, Maria! The plane I took around the glaciers held only 4 people, including the pilot. The thrill was amazing, and even though it was overcast it was actually better to see the glaciers because the blue came out more. We flew all throughout the mountains for about an hour with my coworkers from the Beachcomber (pictures below!) As for my trip to Juneau, I still can't believe I am going (tonight, eek!). I keep hearing that the ferry is an adventure of itself, and something to definitely do while you are here. So being the young ladies we are, our ferry leaves at 7:30PM-->get into Juneau at 3:45AM-->spend the whole day exploring the downtown ("the big city"haha)-->Leave Juneau at 8AM the next morning to then get back to PSG by 12PM.....to then go to work by 3PM. This is adventure people!

On top of all that fun, I started serving this week at the Beachcomber! Aside from your newbie hiccup here and there, I think I have done very well this week! The tips have increased also....which has helped me fund part of my adventures this week. Maya's grandmother, Roxie, is a staple in this town and the wait staff becomes nervous when she dines at the restaurant. I was lucky enough to serve her as she dined with some friends. Everything went over well and even made good conversation with one of her friends at the table! So stoked I did so well with the "VIP", I later find out this gentleman I made good conversation with was the former Govern of Alaska! Ummmm.....WHAT! Everyone is so worked up over Roxie...did they fail to mention Alaskan royalty in the house!? Another added token to my week of adventure. Now I'm packing for my trip to Juneau, so until next week....

Ryan, Maria, and I getting ready for flight!

Getting on the plane

Aerial view of Petersburg

ahhhhhhh

Glacier!!!!

So peaceful

Pretty blue

Other side of the glacier

Icebergs

Co-pilot!