I found some bears

Hello again everyone,

Alaska continues to amaze me with its beautiful scenery every corner I turn. I don't think I will ever live in a place that is this beautiful. I still can't believe I live in a state thats total population is less than the city I just moved from.

I tried to take some pictures of the fish spawning but, the water level was a little high to get a good picture. Tomorrow (friday) is supposed to be a gorgeous day and it hasn't rained in several days so I will try to get some shots. Plus, I got a new camera (more about that below) that has a much larger zoom on it.

Sunday night Lisa (friend from ATL) treated ourselves to halibut burgers and cocktails at Rendevous, which is near the base. While we were dining outside and basking in the sun we chatted up with some locals. During our conversation we found out a few interesting facts about Kodiak. 25 percent of power here on the island is wind power and 25 percent is hydro power and the power company is a co op (owned by the people on the island) Pretty cool. I think Coast Guard Housing is it's own deal.

The one fellow we were talking to is a Marine Surveyor, which means he appraises boats. So if anyone is in the market, just let me know. We also found out that wind gusts of 100 mph is not uncommon, yes you read that right, 100 mph. This week we had wind gusts up to 40 but, at times it felt like 100 mph, especially when I was up on higher ground.

So the bear stories.

Sunday, Hogan and I were running on our usual road. On our 6th mile, a truck pulled up beside us and rolled down their window and told us that they had just seen a bear run right behind me and Hogan and "he thought we would like to know." My response was "b.s., really?" and all 4 people in the car agreed and one even offered a picture. He did not offer us a ride, which we wouldn't have taken, but, we did finish our last mile alot faster than the other 6.

Tuesday I decided to take the dogs for the usual hike up Old Womans' Mountain. I wanted to get a really cool picture of one of the planes taking off the runway right over the ocean. But, our camera wouldn't turn on. Darn camera. All of the sudden on the "landing" down below I saw our chocolate lab Brandy playing with another choc lab. THEN I realized that Brandy was right beside me. YOU GOT IT FOLKS, it was 2 bear cubs playing around. AND the DAMN camera wouldn't turn out, flat ass broken.

So I didn't stay around to find out where mama bear was but, I was SOOOO mad that the camera wouldn't turn on. So I emailed Andy on the boat and asked him if I could buy a new camera. Well he said yes, and I bought a better camera. Funny, I told Andy the whole story and he emailed me back and said "was Brandy playing with the bears?" I really could have had a good time with that one but, I made sure I clarified what happened.

It is a beautiful night in Kodiak and the skies are so clear I can actually see the moon and the stars.

Andy is still underway but it is going to a really cool place that few sailors/coasties get to go to. As soon as he gets back, I will spill the beans.

Much love

Nancy, Andy, Hogan and Brandy