I'm getting ready for another trip to the Eastern Aleutians...this time to Oonalashka (Unalaska) / Dutch Harbor. I just got back from a road trip to the Copper River Basin and Valdez and have a few pictures/stories to post about that trip, but I thought I would slip a little ditty in here about my last days in Sand Point a few weeks ago. (I wrote it while I was still there but I'm not still there now. Just so there's no confusion.)
Dateline Sand Point, AK April 11, 2012
"PenAir bumped regular passengers yesterday for a Trident charter (according to the folks over at the cafe...airline people said it was because of "mechanical difficulties,") and concerns with the weather grounded the flight today. We were sent home after waiting around for hours at the terminal, advised to call tomorrow morning at 9 and they would let us know whether there will be an additional plane sent down for us. Two cancelled flights add up to 50 displaced passengers. The next open flight is April 25.
Standby for any of the once-daily flights coming up, are of course, first come first served. I'm rooting for an extra plane.
In the meantime...
Glad things about this trip:
- Thirteen
new participants, very happy and appreciative
- Face-to-face
connections with clinic people and community people
- Went
visiting Monday evening and came away with some Russian Easter cake,
home-smoked salmon and a big slice of homemade salmon-berry pie. Oh and a
cute little "elder" hug! Actually, she hugged me twice when she
gave me some extra salmon.
- Safe,
warm and comfortable accommodations
- Very
friendly/helpful people for rides and advice, etc.
- Some
service on my new phone, internet access once in a while
- This is an island, yo
 |
| "Kulich" |
 |
| The woman said something about 40 cakes in 40 days! |
Challenging
things about this trip:
- Can't
order things for people until I get back
- I
haven't done my taxes yet and didn't bring them with me and what if I
don't get home in the next several days?
- Kind
of not a lot to do around here
- Weather
is very messy
- It
may be homey, but it ain't home
- A
little travel-weary with the luggage thing up and down the icy stairs and
in and out of vehicles and terminals
- Things
are not cheap around here. On the way home from the terminal, the
driver asked if l would like to stop at the store to get food and I
politely declined. Actually, what I said was, "No,
thanks. I'd like to keep my remaining arm and leg!"
- No
crystal balls anywhere in sight!
Uh-oh, did I have more in the challenging column? Ummm...let's see, one more glad thing...how about...I'm in Alaska and I LOVE MY JOB!"
Here are is a bit of King Cove and Sand Point miscellany:
 |
| B&B with treacherous slope |
The Salmon Berry Bed and Breakfast. See that treacherous slope there? That's what I traversed in my simple O&M shoes with my luggage. We couldn't get vehicles down to the driveway. On my last day, trucking up that hill, here's how our conversation went.
"Be careful, Penny."
OK
"I hope you can get out." (referring to the car I had parked on top of the hill there)
Me, too
"Don't get stuck."
OK
"Don't slow down."
OK
"Don't go over the edge!"
Ooohh..Kaayyee...You can quit TAAALLLKING now...Good Bye!
These are eyes illuminated by the flash in my camera out my bedroom window.
This is who those beady little green eyes belong to: Eating canned salmon the B&B host threw out with some bacon for our furry little friends. For Karen's sake (and anybody else's if it applies,) I won't post pictures of the fox pelts lying across the backs of chairs inside. I just thought the whole thing ironic.
 |
| Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome home |
 |
| Baggage claim |
 |
| My front seat view |
I just kept remembering advice I got before I came to Alaska that I should only fly in these little airplanes if the pilots are old...or at least older than this little boy, I'm sure. You already know the older pilots have survived.
 |
| Too young to be an Alaska Bush Pilot? |
No comments:
Post a Comment