A couple of full days in Alaska under my belt and things are rolling along nicely. The focus has really been on prepping for the big garden party that the lodge hosts at the beginning of every season. People from the community come to help plant the garden and get things ready for the upcoming season. They get to stay in the cabins like guests and get fed but they work while they’re here. So, in preparation for the 25 guest/workers coming tomorrow, we went on an epic shopping trip in homer today. Three grocery stores and a nursery (the plant kind). Grocery shopping here is as difficult as it is in New York. You take a 20 min boat ride to homer and then you go to every grocery store in town because the wholesale place that has cheap dried beans won’t have fresh bokchoy and the sav-u-more is almost always out of organic celery. And once you’ve gathered the ingredients you need to cook 3 meals a day for 25 people you have to unload it from your truck and get it down to the dock, which, depending on the tide, is either a nice stroll along a slight incline or a treacherous descent down a slippery ramp. After everything is loaded you get a nice relaxing boat ride back to halibut cove, maybe with a tasty black IPA, and then it’s unloading everything into golf carts and four wheelers to bring it up to the lodge. It is quite an endeavor and not for the easily discouraged.
Luckily, there’s also lots of fun playtime. Last night we had a bonfire with staff from the Saltry (halibut cove’s only restaurant/bar). It was potluck style and the staff brought out an array of amazing delights. We had chili-both bear and vegan, seafood risotto, butterscotch cookies and mixed nut brittle made by your truly. The food was great but the real highlight of the evening, for me, was watching the tide come up and slowly engulf our fire. It was a battle. Nature vs. Nature, and Nature won. As usual. Pictures of the water overtaking the fire coming soon. I also achieved a new personal best at rock skipping - 4 skips. Considering I skipped my first rock only 5 months ago, I believe this is pretty impressive. I’ll be honing my skills all summer and plan to include rock skipping on my resume come September.
Well, that’s enough of an update for now. I’m taking summer reading suggestions in the comments. So, if you’ve got a good one, please let me know.
