I applied for a job as the coordinator of a new Prince of Wales Watershed organization. It’s a startup, so most of my part time will be getting it up to speed, 501(c)(3) status, etc.
I keep a morning appointment to look over a small one-bedroom house for rent. It’s in a good part of town, up a small hill with a view to the water. It’s a converted garage, with a carport, but small, no closets, no washer/dryer, and comes complete with two cars and a trailer on the property, ugh. I call Kathy to report, and she agrees it won’t work. I go to the store for some groceries, and lunch at the deli counter. I stop by the Whale Tale Pharmacy looking for the owners, who have a house for rent, but haven’t returned my voice mail. A staffer says they are out of town, and offers to send them an email. We have met so many nice people.
I head home to eat lunch, and continue the lodging search. I call one lead, but she says she won’t allow pets. It seems like a really good place, and she seems to soften about the dogs as we talk. She gives me the address and directions, and so we will stop by when I pick up Kathy after work.
I am working on the bed in our room when I see a bald eagle flying by through the sliding glass door, and watch him/her perch on a piling of the dock. I go out on the deck to get a closer look, and see a perfect picture just waiting, so go to the car to get my camera. When I come back and start setting up the shot, I notice a sea otter on the dock! He’s rolling around scratching his back. Wow, a bald eagle AND a sea otter, in the same shot! Am I in a Disney movie?! No, this is really happening! I take several good shots of them both, hoping one of them comes out. I packed the camera cables with the stuff we had moved, unfortunately, so won’t be able to download these for a while, darn it. Maybe I can borrow someone’s cable.
The afternoon passes by, and it’s time to go get Kathy. We are going out to dinner: this place only has a small microwave, and we ate for free last night, so pizza is in order. I pick up Kathy and tell her about the place. She’s intrigued: we find it, and are immediately impressed. It looks really nice from the outside, and the location is great. It’s not in the much bigger town of Craig, but it is within an easy walk to the Klawock Post Office, the grocery store, and only about a mile to the clinic where Kathy works! We see a car pull into the driveway, and boldly approach the driver. It’s the owner, and we introduce ourselves, and tell her a little about us. We hit it off, so I get the dogs out of the car, and they are an instant hit with the owner! A little more conversation, and we’ve got a deal! Ha, we have a home, finally! Downside, we can’t move in until October 5, but it is so nice, and such a relief to have found a place, we barely think about it. Oh my gosh, we can hardly believe it!
Wednesday, August 17
I work on finding a place, making phone calls, leaving voice mail, checking CraigsList. Kathy calls with a lead, in Hollis, 30 miles to the south, at the ferry landing. It’s a very, very small town. Kathy is really testing my limits, or getting more desperate, or both. I pick her up early, at 4, and we head down. It’s a beautiful drive, really: most of drives on the Island are!
We get down to the turnoff, get lost, get lost again, ask directions, finally locate the house, not so far off the road, but still in deep dark woods. The owner greets us, and gives us a tour. It’s an interesting but rustic place, and my back starts to stiffen. It’s one thing to romanticize about living deep in the woods, and another to actually do it; it’s one thing to have a vacation cabin, for the good weather months, and another to live in a place year round. I’m also discovering I’m more of a people person than I knew. As much as I like to hike and enjoy the outdoors, often alone but not always. I still feel the need to enjoy the company and conversation of others.
I feel like I’ve been very open to new things and flexible with this grand move, and condensed into a very short amount of time, too. I’m also trying hard to keep being flexible and open. But this place is just too far outside my comfort zone, at least for right now. With our first house possibility, we were in agreement, but it was much more remote (by the way, to a person, each one we tell about that South Thorne Bay house, and how we felt a little bad about the last minute decision not to take it, they all say not to feel bad, we absolutely made the right decision. The six mile road off the pavement is one of the most neglected on the island in the winter. This is very reassuring.). This one, Kathy seems to be leaning toward. Between the rustic nature, the rough appearance, the depth into the woods, and the distance from even the few city amenities offered by Craig and Klawock, and despite the wonderful forest and water, I have to call No Deal. Kathy is slightly disappointed, but doesn’t protest much.
We arrive back in Klawock just in time for dinner at Baxter’s A Place to Stay. They put on a dinner twoce a month, for former and current guests and friends, nd have invited us. It’s a feast, with grilled salmon, halibut, and all the fixings, delicious. We meet Norma and Bill, longtime residents. Donna Baxter owns souvenir shop, and Norma runs it for her. They have just returned from one of their twice-annual buying trip to Seattle. Bill is retired, from Nebraska, having worked for Union-Pacific Railroad. He grew up in Seattle, worked at Boeing on the 737. We share our housing plight, as we do with everyone we meet, and they commiserate, and promise to keep their ears open. We say goodnight to all, and head for home, and a good night’s sleep. We don’t have to move tomorrow, a luxury these days. J
I'm so glad you found a place!
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