This is my third visit to Alaska, and each time I visit, Caroline takes me on a trip of some sort. This time, she and her friend Trish took me to Kodiak Island for a four-day visit. It was incredibly cool. We left on Monday from Fairbanks and took two quick flights to get there: From Fairbanks to Anchorage, and then from Anchorage to Kodiak. It was rainy and very dreary on Monday, so we really didn't get to see much that day. But we stayed at the cutest B&B, called Annie's By the Sea, and it was truly by the sea. We saw the shore from our living room window, 20 yards away at most.
Tuesday morning, we discovered two things about our B&B: (1) that we had no hot water; and (2) that we were really in a "bed and make-your-own-darn-breakfast" B&B (i.e., they didn't fix breakfast for us, but instead, had eggs and cereal and muffins and fruit for us to eat in our room). We (or I should properly say Trish) waited around all morning for repairs to our hot water while Caroline and I slept in. When we finally left our room, it was noon. We'd planned to drive around, but didn't have the time since the water repairs took our morning away, so instead, we went shopping at the Kodiak gift shops. That afternoon, though, we went for a sealife-viewing boat ride, which was very cool. The guide took us all around the bays, and we saw lots of animals: horned and tufted puffins, bald eagles, humpback whales, orcas (killer whales)!, sea lions, seals, and otters. It was incredibly cool. And Kodiak island itself is beautiful: the mountain is completely green, but more like a grassy, tundra-green, rather than covered with evergreen trees like in the lower 48. And seeing that green rising out of the clear blue water was amazing.
The next day, though, was the best. Trish had arranged for a float plane (BTW, try saying that 5 times fast) to take us inland, to one of the rivers in the island. We then had a guide who took us rafting down the river to look at wildlife. Kodiak is famous for its bears, called appropriately Kodiak Bears, which are unique from grizzly bears, and they're the most famous inhabitants of the island. But they weren't too interested in showing their faces that day: we only saw 3 of them, and none of them were standing on the riverbed fishing. Apparently, the river was unusually high due to all of the recent rain, and so they weren't able to stand in the water and fish. Instead, they were wandering through the grasses, grazing on whatever they could find. But they were incredibly cute to watch.
We also got to do a little unofficial fishing. I say "unofficial" because we didn't have fishing licenses, and we weren't on a fishing trip. So we had to release everything we caught. But I caught several different types of salmon and a few dolly varden. I wasn't too good at it, but it was fun, for sure.
But the most colorful part of the day for me, and possibly the second most embarassing moment of my life, occurred around lunchtime. It happened like this: we paddled the raft towards a sand bar for a lunch stop. Apparently, the guide told us not to get out of the raft, but I (with my recently-ruptured left ear drum) didn't hear him. Instead, I saw that he was out of the raft. So I, trying to be a team player, tried to get out quickly and help pull the raft to shore. I got one leg out of the raft and into the water, which was thigh-high -- and then the raft started to move, because the guide was pulling it toward the sand bar. At which point, I had a choice: either move the one leg back into the raft, or move the other leg into the water. Apparently, I chose too slowly, because I did a slow-motion splits as the raft continued to move, and then I fell into the water. Caroline and Trish both saw it happening -- and they couldn't speak, they were laughing so hard.
Let me say, for the record, that the water in Kodiak is COLD, and so we were wearing waders. Which was great, until I fell in, and mine filled up with water.
So, when we got to the sand bar, I took off the waders, took off my socks, took off my blue jeans, and tied two jackets around my waist like a kilt so that I could eat lunch. The guide was so embarrassed by my stripping out of my clothes that he ate out of sight distance. Which I thought was pretty funny....I looked like an idiot, but I was fully covered, so he didn't need to be so worried about my privacy.
Anyway, we took a long lunch break while my clothes dried. Eventually, they were semi-dry, and I was able to put them back on, and we continued on our way. The rest of the day was pretty great, even though I was a little cold with my wet jeans and socks.
On our final day in Kodiak, we drove to the south part of the island to see Pasagshak Bay. On our way down, we drove past the Coast Guard base, which interestingly, is the largest Coast Guard installation anywhere in the USA -- about 1200 Coast Guard employees live there. Who knew that the largest Coast Guard base in the USA would be located on Kodiak Island! -- after all, the largest city has only about 4500 residents. If someone had asked me where the largest base was, I'd have guessed somewhere in California, maybe? Or Maine? Anyway, I'm pretty sure that I'd never have guessed Kodiak.
But the most colorful part of the day for me, and possibly the second most embarassing moment of my life, occurred around lunchtime. It happened like this: we paddled the raft towards a sand bar for a lunch stop. Apparently, the guide told us not to get out of the raft, but I (with my recently-ruptured left ear drum) didn't hear him. Instead, I saw that he was out of the raft. So I, trying to be a team player, tried to get out quickly and help pull the raft to shore. I got one leg out of the raft and into the water, which was thigh-high -- and then the raft started to move, because the guide was pulling it toward the sand bar. At which point, I had a choice: either move the one leg back into the raft, or move the other leg into the water. Apparently, I chose too slowly, because I did a slow-motion splits as the raft continued to move, and then I fell into the water. Caroline and Trish both saw it happening -- and they couldn't speak, they were laughing so hard.
Let me say, for the record, that the water in Kodiak is COLD, and so we were wearing waders. Which was great, until I fell in, and mine filled up with water.
So, when we got to the sand bar, I took off the waders, took off my socks, took off my blue jeans, and tied two jackets around my waist like a kilt so that I could eat lunch. The guide was so embarrassed by my stripping out of my clothes that he ate out of sight distance. Which I thought was pretty funny....I looked like an idiot, but I was fully covered, so he didn't need to be so worried about my privacy.
Anyway, we took a long lunch break while my clothes dried. Eventually, they were semi-dry, and I was able to put them back on, and we continued on our way. The rest of the day was pretty great, even though I was a little cold with my wet jeans and socks.
On our final day in Kodiak, we drove to the south part of the island to see Pasagshak Bay. On our way down, we drove past the Coast Guard base, which interestingly, is the largest Coast Guard installation anywhere in the USA -- about 1200 Coast Guard employees live there. Who knew that the largest Coast Guard base in the USA would be located on Kodiak Island! -- after all, the largest city has only about 4500 residents. If someone had asked me where the largest base was, I'd have guessed somewhere in California, maybe? Or Maine? Anyway, I'm pretty sure that I'd never have guessed Kodiak.
Out Pasagshak way, there were two beaches there which were really nice: Surfer Beach, which has nice long waves, although we didn't see anyone actually surfing them (just one person who looked like he was waiting to get in, but never actually did while we were there), and Fossil Beach, which is calm, with cliffs on both sides of the beach, and apparently has lots of fossils for beachcombing, had we had more time to stay and look around.
That afternoon, we went to a cute coffee shop in Kodiak for a late lunch, and then later that evening, we flew back to Fairbanks. It was a great trip, but quick. I have to say, that I really liked Kodiak. It's very beautiful there, and the people who live there are very devoted to the island. They seem, I don't know, authentic in a way. Lots of the residents are former Coast Guard folks -- they came on assignment, fell in love with the place, and just never left. I dunno what to say, really, except that it grew on me the longer I was there.
PS -- For the record, my FIRST most embarrassing moment? I'll spare the details, but feel free to ask me about the lavender prom dress. It's makes me nauseated, just thinking about it...
That afternoon, we went to a cute coffee shop in Kodiak for a late lunch, and then later that evening, we flew back to Fairbanks. It was a great trip, but quick. I have to say, that I really liked Kodiak. It's very beautiful there, and the people who live there are very devoted to the island. They seem, I don't know, authentic in a way. Lots of the residents are former Coast Guard folks -- they came on assignment, fell in love with the place, and just never left. I dunno what to say, really, except that it grew on me the longer I was there.
PS -- For the record, my FIRST most embarrassing moment? I'll spare the details, but feel free to ask me about the lavender prom dress. It's makes me nauseated, just thinking about it...
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