Here Fishy Fishy Fishy!

I never thought I'd actually enjoy fishing. I mean, seriously. Who likes sitting on a boat for hours, with a piece of string in the water, waiting for the CHANCE to actually catch a fish? Why would anyone do this when there are mountains to climb or planes to jump out of, hikes to go on, people to meet for coffee? I don't get it. Let me rephrase that...I didn't get it.

Then I went fishing for the first time in my life in the wide open ocean on Sunday! No, it wasn't "Deadliest Catch" style, but it was crazy. I actually have a licence and everything! So Amy and I get on the boat with Dick (captain) and wait for the rest of his family to get there. We start up the boat to get it warmed up. Pretty soon, there is white smoke/steam coming from the back of the boat. Dick looks at the boat, the engine, etc, and can't find anything wrong, but decides to turn off the boat until his family gets there. And we wait...And wait...And I'm thinking, "The waiting has begun even before we get in the ocean!"

So the family gets to the boat after some time waiting. Dick goes to turn on the boat and it doesn't start. No good. All the lights and radio and GPS things work, but the engine won't start. (Sound familiar? I think this problem follows me...) After dinking around with a few things in the engine compartment, there is still no engine starting. So, they decide to use the little engine that goes on the back of the boat - the reserve engine - instead. That one works just fine, but it can't make the boat go fast and it's much more difficult to steer. But hey, we're going fishing, and nothing can stop us!

We leave the harbor, and immediately cast the lines. I've never done that, and it was quite entertaining to learn the "fishing jargon". They baited the hooks (I wasn't about to get smelly right away...) and we were off...at about 2mph. We trolled our way towards a few islands around Juneau with not one fish biting. This was going to be a LONG day...

Then, we started to see some eagles flying around and diving down toward the water. It was very cool! Then Nicole (one of the family) yelled, "WHALES!!!!" Way off in the distance, there were lots of spouts going off, and we could see the backs and tails of many Humpbacks. Very cool. Immediately, Nicole and I became much more interested in the whales way off in the distance than the fishing going on right below us. Nicole begged her dad to get closer to the whales (at 2 mph, mind you). So we trolled toward the whales. We realized that they were feeding - I have yet to see bubble feeding up close, but from far away, it looked very cool! We followed the whales (at 2 mph) for a while, and then they left. But in their place was a small pod of porpoises! They were pretty cool to see too. Nothing like what they have at Sea World, but very cool to see in their natural environment.

Still no fish. It's been about four hours, and we've seen some beautiful islands, whales, eagles, fish, and are just enjoying the sea breeze. I'm up top of the boat when Dick yells, "Laurie! You've got one!" I tell him that he can reel it in, but he says I have to do it. So I hurry down the ladder, grab the reel, and start reeling. I have no idea what I'm doing and have about four different people trying to explain to me what I should be doing. Pretty funny. The fish gets so close we can almost net him, and his gills rip and he gets away. It was fine - it was only a pink - and I can say I've reeled a fish! It was pretty intense! I then began to think that fishing is kinda like working in an emergency room: it's hours of nothing to do followed by minutes of intense, fast-work to do! Pretty fun.

So we continue to troll around islands (I learned a lot about the islands and the ocean on this trip!) and saw a few seals, more eagles and whales, and just enjoyed the time on the water. About three hours after my near-catch, Dick yells out, "Amy, you better get down here!" So Amy, being the experienced fisherman she is, goes down and proceeds to reel and net a pink salmon! It was very cool to see the entire process all together.

All in all, it was a very fun day! I think I enjoy fishing! At least, I enjoy going out on the boat and relaxing on the water...

Hope you are all doing well! Love you and miss you!

4th of July Pics - Scroll Down for the Blog...

Life in a Northern Town...

Yes, another song. While this is probably not the best song to give a glimpse of life in a small town, it's one I like. So bear with me...

The 4th of July. At home, it's not really that big of a deal. You may barbeque, may swim, probably will get a sunburn, and maybe watch Rubidoux burn. You may even wear red, white, and blue. But it's certainly not as big as, say, Christmas or Easter or Thanksgiving. At least not in my family. There's nothing wrong with that! Everyone who knows me well knows how much I don't like fireworks. I don't like the heat or the sun, so staying inside is just fine with me! But we forget, don't we. We forget the reasoning behind the 4th. On facebook, some friends put quotes about the 4th and freedom up. I was blown away:

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism." ~Erma Bombeck

"Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood." ~ John Adams 1765 Thank you to all our troops who sacrifice all of the above to ensure freedom. Happy 4th of July! Let freedom ring!

The 4th of July is the biggest holiday here in Juneau. Maybe it's because it's the only holiday that has a CHANCE of decent weather - no snow or rain...Well, the no snow is a guarentee...People go all out. Cars are decorated, families match in their red, white, and blue outfits that they can only wear this time of year, and barbecues are going everywhere!!!

The festivities started July 3. In Juneau around this time of year, it doesn't get completely dark. So, to set off fireworks, they wait until midnight on the 3rd (I guess that's technically the 4th...). So we went to Amy's aunt and uncle's house for hotdogs and to hang out until it was time for the fireworks. We had a great time. Then the fireworks. They shoot off the fireworks off a barge in the middle of the channel here in Juneau. There's mountains all around, so the boom echos through the mountains. The fireworks weren't anything to write home about, but the way cool part of it was the echo. I wish you were here to experience that with me!

Then, we had the 4th of July parade. It was similar to the one last year, with the floats and the bands. They had one alum high school band that was so fun. They were all playing, trying to keep in step, and taped a piece of yellow duct tape to their skirt/shorts/pants so they were all "matching". And, there were bagpipers! That was my favorite! It was great. Again, people in the parade stopped along the route to say hi to people along the sidelines. Welcome to small town! Everyone comes to this parade. There's serious street closure downtown and families come out early in the morning for a prime spot. It's very fun. As we walked back to the car, we walked through the old graveyard downtown. It was very interesting, and VERY old. We found the graves of Joseph Juneau and Richard Harris - two of the founders of Juneau! I put the pictures in the blog above this one, so hopefully this isn't too confusing...

Amy and I then went to her house and made shish-kabobs. We make mean shish-kabobs, let me tell you! We both got sunburned (yes, we get sunburned in Alaska too...) and were so tired. We watched a movie and then went to bed. Getting up for church the next day was tough, but even that was good.

I'm so glad for freedom. We are so blessed, and we don't even think about it! I truly hope your 4th was safe, enjoyable, and memorable. You are loved and missed!

Blessings!