Hoonah Swan Song

Last night, I couldn't sleep very well. Maybe I had caffeine, but I don't remember. I went to the window of the Icy Straits Lodge in Hoonah, Room 13. After prying the ice-locked window open, I leaned out into the chilly air and looked out and up. The moon was a gibbous, 3/4 waxing with a halo of clouds. Off in the distance, the mountains textured with the giant spruce was a backdrop for the mast lights of the boats in the harbor. But directly in front of me, Orion was aiming his bow towards Georgia.

The last visit to Hoonah was more relaxing than previous trips. Although I was tired and didn't sleep well, I didn't get sick before or afterwards. This time of year, the teachers are really feeling pressure from many directions- upcoming testing, parent conferences, basketball absences, long darkness and cold, weather limiting mail and trips out and SAD. But, in spite of that, everyone greeted me warmly, did everything I asked and more and appeared open to new ideas. Good on ya' Hoonah. I hope I can come back.

The glazed ice on all the streets and sidewalks kept me inside more than usual. I decided that falling only a week before the BIG HIKE wasn't such a great idea. Walking to Donna's in Juneau between flights was perilous, but there was really no other food option. My planned walking trip to the outfitter at the nearby mall was cancelled.

In spite of the fact that Juneau is the state capital, the airport is very small with limited seating. The security gate only opens 45 minutes before each of the Alaska Airlines flights. Those of us with no where else to go distribute ourselves along the sling chairs, filling in the gaps, then floor spaces along the wall, waiting to be probed and inspected "for our own safety". The only restaurant, which takes up most of the gate floor admonishes us not to bring in any of our food- it must all be purchased within with high "inconvenience tax". A nice perk is wifi and right now, I am umbilicalled to the only plug in near a seat.


The plane left 2 hours late. Apparently the only mechanic at the Juneau airport was tied up de-icing planes, so the burned out landing light took about an hour on top of a late plane. When we arrived in Anchorage, the jetway to our flight to Fairbanks was still open, but the venerable Rebecca barred our way telling us that they had already calculated the weight and balance so we had to wait 2 more hours. In other words, the trip from Hoonah to Fairbanks took more than 12 hours- longer than a flight to Taiwan. Argggghhhh. At least I'm retired (and tired).

It was great to be back in Fairbanks today. We worked out at aquasize and then did some work at home. We listed a rental property on craigslist and I had coffee with Lesa and lunch with Sue. I've vowed to check email and use the computer twice a day until we leave instead of all day long, off and on. It just calls to me and I can't give in. Paul made some great halibut for dinner- dipped in Italian bread crumbs and lightly fried. Yum-yum.

We roughed in our taxes tonight. It'll be good to have that done before we leave. I think we'll take it to a bookkeeper in August though to see if we can file an amended return and reduce our taxes. We're just paying too much, unlike many "unnamed" Washington pundits, who aren't paying enough.

My brain is full. I'm going to bed early tonight. A shout-out to Brian- thanks for the wonderful note. I'm archiving it. Another shout-out to Leah. Thanks for fish-sitting. They won't want to come home.