Sweet!

The sweet treats of being home.


Sorting out the mess and debris of our return. Everything is ok at the house. I think the cats were spoiled by lots of great people.

- Joanna

Location:Kailua

Anchorage

There is nothing like a train ride to make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. We had a great night at the Millenium hotel. The bed was delicious. And Didn't want to get out of it. At the airport now standing in line at security:



- Joanna

Leaving on the train

We shut everything down, packed up and now we are on the train leaving Seward and headed to Anchorage. Looking forward to this train ride, then a Hotel room with a KING SIZE BED! Tomorrow direct flight to Honolulu.

Here is a photo of the crew yesterday when the boys left:



What a great summer!

- Joanna

The boys are leaving...

We have been wrapping up this week, which basically involves cleaning absolutely everything. We aren't finished yet, but there is still some time for Jeff and I. The boys, as I call them, Ty and Bryce, are leaving today and I'm sad to see them go. Like the galley Mom I have become this summer, I keep making all their favorite foods from the summer. We have had the full chicken fried steak dinner, smoothies, French toast, more smoothies, burritos and lastly today, chile cornbread casserole from Ma's recipes. I will make sure they have sandwiches for the train tonight.

I knew the season would end, but I didn't realize it would happen so fast. They are such good guys and they have taught me so much. There's Ty, our engineer, who makes us laugh with his razor sharp wit. Even when he's in a good mood, he sounds grumpy. Bryce, our deckhand, balances our crew out with his easy going manner and willingness to touch (and sometimes eat) almost anything that came out of the salmon pump. All of us led by our Captain and my wonderful husband, who kept us on track and had fun right along with us. Quick to laugh and infinitely patient is how I would begin to describe our Skipper and leader. We all know that none of this was possible without Jeff.

I have more stories to share, and lots of photos and videos. Please keep checking in and as I finish writing, I will post them. I can't sum up all that these men have taught me in this little blog. I have said before that I'm blessed to have had this opportunity. That remains true as I think of my crew mates, Ty and Bryce. Thank you boys.

Well shit, I realize how sappy this sounds, and I'm actually getting all choked up just thinking about saying goodbye. But the season is over and everyone has to move on to what is next for them. Before they go, I will try to let them know how grateful I am and that I wish them all the best this year. Hopefully we can do this again next year. It would be my pleasure.

- Joanna

All finished

Just like that, the season is over. We are offloading our equipment, and I'm cooking all the perishables as fast as possible. Ironically, Jeff and I can't go home yet because our house is rented out. We will stay on the boat a few extra days and get home soon enough. I'm looking forward to being on shore power. At that time, the guys will shut the generator off and this constant hum will go away. I will wait and see if I miss the noise.



More later. I'm working on a hearty beef stew for this cold, rainy day.
- Joanna

Little, comforting things

There is no doubt that this summer has been a blast and an amazing experience. Jeff and I are enjoying being together instead of apart for months. Don't know when the season will end, but we are going to keep working until the last possible day!

Occasionally, I get homesick and miss being able to be in touch with friends and family. This usually happens when I'm tired and grumpy. So, I watch a few videos to make me laugh and remind me of what we have waiting for us at home. Here is one of those videos... Maybe it will make you all laugh too.

Funny sign

They say everything is big in Alaska. That certainly applies to this sign - a car on top of a dead tree. Absolutely cracked me up. Talk about using your resources! I wonder how they got it up there and secured...



- Joanna

Making breakfast

We are back in Seward and we have pancakes and sausage with fresh fruit for breakfast. This is the view out the galley window:



- Joanna

More goofin' around

We are off again! More to come!


- Joanna

Mama and her cubs

The cub spent a long time straddling that pipe. He finally got on top of it and promptly stuck his tongue out. Mama said it was time to go, and they followed shortly after. I have never seen brown bears like this before. I could have sat in the skiff and watched all day.








- Joanna

Location:Kitoi Bay

Arriving!

Good morning! Doing good, working hard and having fun.

- Joanna

Diggin' In!

I was happy I got this shot of this bear going for it. We have all had days like this, when you just got to get your head down in there, get wet, and get it done. What you may not realize while your busy doing this, is that your butt is hanging out for the world to see!


There will be more brown bear photos and videos. NOT TO WORRY - we are on a skiff, nice and safe. Besides, the bears are not interested in us at all. As you can see, their focus is on that yummy salmon that keeps swimming upstream into their waiting paws. It's the food chain in action.

- Joanna

Location:Kitoi Bay

Bears

Testing. Testing. Testing. Will video go thru? Let's find out.
This is bears at the fish ladder at the hatchery in Kitoi Bay

- Joanna

Location:Kitoi Bay

Whew!

Off we go again! I don't have a lot of photos of me, but a nice lady asked if she could take a picture for me. Here it is:


Hopefully we will be working until the end of August. It depends on the fishing, but we are doing good. A little tired, but that's ok. We will get some sleep eventually!
- Joanna

Sunset/sunrise

Life is good! This is the sunset on our way to Saw Mill Bay:




This is the sunrise this morning on our way back:



The season will be coming to an end soon, so we are enjoying every minute we have left. Little tired and worn out, but happy to be here with my husband / Captain and our great crew, Ty and Bryce. It's good when you can be thankful for what you have at the moment you have it, don't you think?

- Joanna

Birdhouse and wildflowers

This post was written on saturday, but lost service before it posted.

We were only in town for 8 hours. All is well. Running out of cooking ideas... Need more ways to cook fish! I have tons of salmon and 2 ways to cook it - that is just wrong on so many levels, as Mom would say.

This photo is for Ma. Ma, I think of you every time I cook and I love you! Sent another postcard in the mail today just for you and Pa.



- Joanna

Back on land

Hello all. We have been going full blast this week and I have great photos and videos to share. This week was brown bear week without a doubt!

We were back in Kitoi Bay and had a great time. Brown bears everywhere! Made me really happy to be on the water and not on land with these guys roaming around. Jeff counted as many as 15 at the fish ladder! The hatchery folks tell us they have seen as many as 35.



We may be headed right back out. Don't know yet, but I will be in touch when I can.

- Joanna

Leaving...

I only posted once, I think. We were in town less than 10 hours. Little worn out, but it's still beautiful!




- Joanna

Net full of fish

We have been out of range for 5 days, so I'm getting caught up on uploading photos and videos.



Hope you can watch the clip of the work we just finished in Kitoi Bay on Afognak Island (near Kodiak). We worked with the hatchery and a seiner, the Natalia, to catch 442,000 pounds of fish. Great day, mild weather and friendly people, with the exception of one, but he cheered up after a while. The sun peaked thru for a bit too.

Videos are on youtube under my full name, lower case, no spaces...

More to come... My love to everyone.

- Joanna

Location:Kitoi Bay

Net full of fish

Hello all!

We have been out of range for 5 days, so I'm getting caught up on uploading photos and videos. 

Hope you can watch the clip of the work we just finished in Kitoi Bay on Afognak Island (near Kodiak). We worked with the hatchery and a seiner, the Natalia, to catch 442,000 pounds of fish. Great day, mild weather and friendly people, with the exception of one, but he cheered up after a while. The sun peaked thru for a bit too.

All is well. The only problem is trying to get photos and videos off of my various devices and on to the blog! You tube might have them, not sure what got thru...

Take care,

Joanna

12 year old Scotch with 10,000 year old ice

Jeff announced to me that he is going to have 12 year old Scotch with 10,000 year old ice. I busted out laughing because it just sounded so good. Made me smile. And he will be able to because Bryce went into the river for a piece, wrapped it up, loaded it in the van and carried it back to the boat. I picked the scotch up at the grocery store, which isn't that exciting, but required nonetheless.

Here is a photo of me, standing in melted glacial ice. The glacier outwash is the name of the river of melted ice. It's beyond freezing cold. Felt great.




Today was a busy day in the galley. I cut and packaged up brownies, went to the grocery store, put beef stew on, made nachos with taco meat and this awesome guacamole by Keysa. The guys rented a carpet cleaner and did all of the upholstery and carpets. Excellent work and such an improvement on the boat. There is no fishing the next day or 2, so we are working on the boat at the dock. It's nice to be in town.

- Joanna

Location:Seward, Alaska

Too cool

A day out and off the boat. Excellent!


- Joanna

Location:Exit Glacier

Sunset

It looked just like this:


- Joanna

Location:Prince William sound

Getting my feet wet in glacier water

Couldn't stand next to the out wash with out getting in! Damn it was cold!


- Joanna

Location:Exit Glacier

Joanna Shoveling Fish

Dinner

I did the whole chicken fried steak and all the fixins' all by myself! Boys loved it. It was quite an ordeal to cook, but it was worth it.

Glaciers

Prospect, Spoon and Porcupine Glaciers, from left to right. Just 30 minutes out of Seward.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sunrise

Well, we are turning and burning as they say here in the tendering world. Drove 14 hours to town, offloaded about 400,000 lbs of salmon and left again. Didn't get to make any calls and still have trouble loading a 51 second video to YouTube or Facebook. I have to sit in the cannery and use their wifi and it just isn't very effective. There wasn't time to troubleshoot. Got some photos up, went to the grocery store and found a store that sells yoga mats. I think there is enough room in the wheelhouse and I'm going to give it a try.
My best to all.
Joanna


- photo by Ty. Sunrise over PWS

Location:Prince William Sound

Sitting on the bow of the boat

Gorgeous day!
Finished all of my chores. Cooked enough food for the next 24 hours of work. So, I'm taking a break and sitting on the bow in the sunshine finishing and excellent book, the Poisonwood Bible.

But wanted to stop and say hi for the short time I have 3g. My dear sister and friend Kurstin always takes pictures of her toes in the sand. Thought of her today with my toes in a different place entirely. The hum of the boat is powerful as we travel at about 10 knots. I can feel the hum of the engine on every surface and right into my bones. I can hear the waves against the bow. The sun is shining.

We are driving and hauling fish constantly. In my varied career, this is one of the best jobs ever!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Valdez

On the way to Exit Glacier

(see full image)

Driving around Seward yesterday. Came across this view. 

Joanna

Oops

Technical difficulties with Internet connection. Sorry


- Joanna

Down in the tank...

Check out my video on you tube. It has to do with this story:

We were transferring fish the other night.  They pumped out as much fish as possible, then Bryce our deckhand, went down into the tank to spray water into the corners (best way to put it) to keep the fish moving and going out thru the hose. At some point it gets so low, that we have to push the fish closer and then eventually toss them into totes. So, I bundled up and went down into the tank when it was low enough not to get inside my boots. Ty kept saying no, no, you don’t have to go down there. He thought he should be down there helping, but he would immediately have to come back up to deal with something else. I reminded him that he is the chief engineer now and I am the deckhand, so hold the ladder and tell my husband to get the camera. As Mom would say - "cut the chatter, I am going in." And down I went. It is a weird sensation stepping on and around dead fish. But I had my shovel and pushed them toward the pump as fast as I could. Then tossed the rest in a tote with Bryce. We were done in no time. I certainly wasn’t going to stand on deck and watch him work down there alone. 

So, all is well. Still having fun and learning a ton. We are only in town for 4 hours tonight and racing back out to the fishing grounds- where exactly, I do not know.

Thanks to all who have checked out my blog. One disclaimer - nothing I say in here is fact-checked or  necessarily accurate. My purpose here is to keep my friends and family updated on this crazy job I have this summer. That's all. Please don't take it seriously. Just having a little fun.

Joanna

Fishing in Valdez today

It's raining. And raining. And raining harder. The boats are all lined up ready to go. We are watching the show and waiting. Going to be a long day and even longer night.

My ship has come in

Now I have a personal understanding of what that phrase means. I will write more later. Got to run.

We are pulling out now. Weather is supposed to clear up and we may see the sun again soon.

Eat this!

I didn't have to ask twice. Rainy day cooking was fun and fattening!

We have fish debris!

Up until last night, I've been able to stay fairly clean. Meaning, I haven't had to climb down into the tank and shovel fish, or stand at the sorting table throwing fish into the proper bins, and I've stayed pretty dry too. Well, that came to an end last night. Granted I didn't get as soaked as my crew mates, but I had to stand next to the weight box and pull these levers for about 5 hours. During this arduous process, I got splattered with fish foam, fish juice, and fish guts. The hot shower and nap felt great before my wheel watch.

We are on our way back to Seward to deliver fish. I've got to go grocery shopping for about 7 days of food. We do not know yet where we are headed, but the best guess is down to Southeast Alaska, to possibly go in and out of Petersburg. So, our Prince William Sound trips are probably over, but we will see a whole different part of Alaska. Will try to post videos to you tube if we are in port long enough. Here's today's photo:



Driving to Seward just off of Cape Puget.

-Joanna

Butter and Bacon Make it Better (BBMB)

Hello all! We have had a great couple of days. The boat was in port for 36 hours while we waited to unload over 400,000 lbs at the processor. The opener brought in over 1.7 million lbs for this cannery from what I heard.

Breakfast is a challenge. I'm not much of a morning person, especially on rainy cloudy days like today. My breakfast skills are improving, but I end up making scrambled eggs too frequently. A returned to a favorite - my mother's quiche. It was a hit again. This time I sautéed the mushrooms with butter and a little garlic, then let cool before putting it in with turkey, spinach and bacon bits. Pour the eggs and milk on top and then layer with cheese. Yum. It's just time consuming to make. Jeff gets impatient and won't wait for it to set.

That was just the beginning of my rainy day cooking adventures because after that, I baked a cake! Granted, it was out of a box, and for the purists and real bakers out there you may turn your nose up at my achievement. But I don't care. It was quiet an adventure for me. Most notably, when I turned on the mixer, I immediately felt like a little kid. It was as if I was transported back to my grandmother's kitchen and she was showing me how to use a mixer without spraying the batter everywhere. Great memories that the sounds and smells brought back to me in a flash. I may not have taken up cooking until someone hired me to do it, but what the women in my life taught me is percolating to the top now. I am grateful.

We left Saw Mill and headed back up to Valdez for tomorrow's 6 am to 8 pm opener. All of the best to you all. Here's tonight's photo:



This is actually in Dutch Harbor at the beginning of our trip.

Posted from my iPad

Location:Crab Bay in Saw Mill Bay, Prince William Sound, Alaska

On our way

I tried to post a longer note with photos but I don't think it went thru. On our way but don't know where to

Saw Mill Bay

We may be headed back here, but don't know yet.

Leaving for places as yet unknown

We had a night off tied to the dock and had a good time in town. Seward is a nice town, reminds me of Creede in some ways, but it's bigger.
Check out my YouTube videos. It's under my full name.


More later,
Joanna

Location:Seward

On our way again...

The photo below is of a waterfall at the Valdez Narrows. We are leaving here for Cog Hill Bay which is near College Fiord. This is very cool because there are a dozen or more huge glaciers up there, all named after colleges. We were near there the other day, but had to leave before we could explore. We are also going to avoid some bad weather coming tomorrow. But, it means driving through the night again.

We will not have cell or Internet up there, so it will be a few days before we can get in touch. 
Hope everyone had a happy 4th of July!

Joanna

Happy 4th of July

Hope everyone has a great day. We are cruising around Valdez, waiting for salmon. Here is a view from the wheelhouse... Rainy and cold today but still beautiful!

Throwing the monkey ball

Well, it's actually called a monkey fist and it's a round knot thing on the end of a lighter line that you throw to the dock that is used to pull the heavier 4" line. I accidentally called it a monkey ball when I asked the guys to teach me how to throw it. Of course, they thought this was funny and now chuckle every time I call it a monkey ball for obvious reasons. This is part of living on a boat, laughing at things a nine year old boy would find funny. That's good though, I need to laugh more.

So anyway, we pulled into Seward this morning, and I'm on the bow ready to throw the monkey ball and all the guys are watching me. The guys on the dock and our crew. I threw that monkey ball as hard as I could and the guy on the dock caught it! This without any lessons (the guys never did help me practice during our down time). There is a lot of on the job training...

We are on charter now, so we are driving constantly. The hours are challenging but its still beautiful and we are having a good time...


The guys loved my quiche. Thanks Mom for the recipe!
- Joanna

Blue sky all day!!!

Its really very simple. I am so happy.


Days like today remind me of what Nana and Cap Peterson wrote in the card they gave us on our wedding day:

"Be so happy."

Well, I am. We are. Thank you Nana and Cap.

- Joanna

The Skipper

Waiting for instructions...

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

Dutch Harbor Dump

Beautiful day!

The view from the head (we don't call it a bathroom). More important lingo!

Walking around the harbor

We are still in Seward, waiting for the electricians to fix the salmon pump. No idea how long it will take. Trying to figure out the blogging thing.... Unable to post picture here so far, but hopefully soon!

Firsts!

It has been days of firsts right from the beginning. First time to Anchorage and Dutch Harbor. First time cooking on a boat. I made 3 meals: handheld breakfast burritos, sandwiches and the pork crock pot dish. The guys liked it and no one got sick, so I am counting this as a victory! first time helping to tie and untie the boat! First wheel watch! First time trying on a survival suit. It was about 10 times too big for me, but I managed to get in it. Note to the ladies - put your hair up before getting into suit. There is some serious velcro on that thing! My hair got all caught up and jeff had to get me out. Lost an earring in the process, but it turned up in the bottom of the suit. Such a relief because the earrings were a gift from Jeff for our second anniversary. Not to mention, first time setting up and writing a blog. Thanks Mary for your help...

More firsts...

Sunday June 24 Location:  Somewhere in the Gulf of Alaska           My first wheel watch! After Jeff and Ty got us through the more complicated areas, it was time for me to take a turn at a straight away. I started at about 2:30 am and drove until about 5:00 am. Jeff was just around the corner, ready to help and checking on me.  Keep in mind it doesn’t get dark here until about midnight, then it is only dark for a few hours and starts to brighten up about 4 ish. I learned how to rely on our radar, maintain our course and make corrections; how to slow the boat down, put it into neutral, and even reverse if necessary.  So, I sat there, staring at the instruments and out into the blackness hoping that nobody was out there. There were a few boats, so I learned how to track them, determine their direction and speed and so on. Pretty cool. I felt much better when the sun started to peak out again. This part of our trip was a bit rocky, as Jeff says, we were in the ditch, so the boat rolls from side to side. It is an unsettling feeling, but ½ a patch helps, and just refusing to give into the quesy feeling gets me through. When we approached our way point, I woke Jeff up and he took over. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, I went to bed and slept for hours. Then, I made pancakes for the first time ever. Granted they were Krusteaz, but still!