It always surprises me how, despite the summer season only lasting 5 short months, coworkers and friends in the tourism industry very quickly become our own little family. And that's exactly what I've found this summer. For example, Captain Liz has become a surrogate auntie for all of us - hosting dinners, being there to answer questions, and also there with a hug whenever you need one. My friends are people that I know I could call at 3am if I needed them or to go for a hike on a day off. It's truly remarkable actually!
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| Right to Left: Sarah, me, Amanda, Liz, Katy, TJ, and Wyatt |
On that note, Liz left to head to Maui (she whale watches there in the winter - lucky duck!) on the 16th and so we all went fishing the Friday before she left. The family outing included Liz, Katy, Amanda, Wyatt, TJ, Sarah, and myself. It was a beautiful day despite being overcast and having a slight bump to the water. Our plan was to go out to Icy Strait where we would fish for halibut, stop by the dead whale south of Funter Bay on Admiralty Island where we would look for hungry bears, and then troll for some salmon before heading back home.
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| My roomie, Amanda |
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| You'll never lose me in that coat! |
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| The other Katy |
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| Sarah |
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| Sarah and Amanda caught each other and Wyatt had to untangle them |
Sadly, halibut fishing was a bust (despite Sarah and Amanda catching each other) but it was a blast. My arms were so tired though! When fishing for halibut (since they're a bottom fish) your line has to "bounce" along the bottom. Now that bottom is pretty darn deep, like 300-400' deep. And your line? It has a weight on the bottom. And in order to make it bounce merrily along the bottom, you lift it up and out it down continuously. And when your captain decides he wants to move the boat, you have to reel all 300-400' of line and your lead weight all the way back up. Fun but exhausting!
After we solidified the notion that my presence on board is a repellant to all fish ever, we decided to drive on over to check out the dead whale. Now, I shared photos of the dead whale in my "Playing Catch-Up" post and those photos were from back in July when it had only been onshore for about two weeks. At this point, it has been gnawed on by bears and exposed to the elements for about 2 months or so. The shape of the whale itself is still generally there, but there are now some ribs visible and the pelvis is now completely bare. It's pretty darn cool! And the best part.... THERE WAS A BEAR ON IT!!!!!!! Liz got some amazing pictures of the bear; he had whale blubber all over his face!
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| Isn't he just the cutest??? |
The bear and the camaraderie made up for the lack of bites and it was still an amazing day out on the water!
Have a great weekend everybody! And go Ducks!!!
WOW - those bear pictures are INCREDIBLE!!! I'd love to have copies. They'd be rely cool to add to our Alaska digital frame. What an excellent day you all had. And it's wonderful that you all have become such good friends and fam this summer. That's very special. Love, Mom
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