Wednesday, A Little Behind, and Life on Prince of Wales Island

It’s Wednesday, August 03, 2011, another beautiful, warm day in Klawock, Alaska.  That is very strange to type, Alaska, Alaska, Alaska!  Maybe it won't completely sink in until we have our own place.  If you have been reading my blog, you might be getting tired of reading about our lack of permanent housing.  Who moves anywhere, let alone 2500 miles away, without having permanent housing arranged?  In our defense, someone who gets an excellent job offer, one that will do wonders for their new career; one who is asked to start that job in just one month; two who, apparently, think positively and have faith that things will all work out in good time. 

Here’s what you have that we don’t that you should appreciate a lot more! 

                An address – I can’t apply for Alaska license plates, an AK driver’s license, even unemployment, or employment, for that matter!  I can't tell the movers where to deliver our furniture!  I can’t order anything from Amazon, or REi either!

                A reliable cell phone connection – despite opening an account with a local provider, coverage is still spotty, the connection uneven, and even worse for using the Internet. 

                Internet access!!!! -  I know, multiple exclamation points are bad form, but this case

merits an exception to the rule.  Not only is it a pain, being in a new city and wanting local information at my fingertips, I’m much more addicted to Facebook, my email, Wikipedia, CNN, even SignOnSanDiego, than I knew.  I need help!

A refrigerator and microwave – most places we’ve stayed have these, but not our current

home.  I’m starving for the time when we have our own refrigerator, fully stocked; I'm longing to get  back into my normal breakfast routine.  L

I slept much better last night.  I did something to my right shoulder about a week ago, woke up in pain as if I’d slept on it wrong, and it’s never that way since.  It gets a little better during the day, then, I wake up in the morning and it’s killing me.  I’ve tried Ben-Gay, naproxen, aspirin, some of which works a little.  I need to get the health insurance up ASAP and get this thing checked out. 

I took Kathy to work, came home, and walked the dogs.  They were a little reluctant, not liking the leashes much:  Kathy lets them off the leash, but they don’t respond to me as well as they do her, and I don't want them getting into trouble, or getting lost. 

I went to Kim’s Diner and had some breakfast.  Kathy had told me the bathroom light wasn’t working.  What she didn’t realize was that the power was out, not only in Klawock but Craig, too, six miles away.  I still got a good breakfast.  The power came back on before I finished my breakfast, didn’t hear what the problem was, or if this is a common occurrence.

Next, off to Craig.  I left the dogs in the room.  Yesterday I took them with me, and they ended up staying in the car on a warm day, not good.  My bet was solid:  the Craig Public Library does have free wi-fi, and the speed is decent, too. 

Ah, wonderful!  Back on Facebook, able to update my blog finally, and back on email, nice!  I see that a nephew and his family are in Yosemite, so have to tell them I am jealous, even though I was just there in June.  I update my blog, feel bad for not being able to do it daily.

Things are different here, and that’s good, even if inconvenient some times.  I don’t want everyplace to be the same.  How boring would that be?  There is no McDonald’s or Burger King or Wal-Mart, Safeway or Ralph’s, or Target,anywhere on the entire island.  There is no 7/11, or Chevron or Shell or Arco service station; there is no Barnes and Noble or Starbucks, which is good, but not what we are used to is all.  Traveling from place to place, even state to province, country to country, one can often fine the same stores.  Now, for us, it means taking a three hour ferry ride to Ketchikan, than a three hour ride back, to shop at any of these stores we are used to using.      

Picture thick forests of evergreens everywhere; picture mountains rising in all directions, all with dark green blankets of evergreens, too, with patches of snow even now, in August.  Picture bays and passages and rivers everywhere, along roads, deep blue on cloudless skies.  Picture little islands in the bays, or arms of islands, all covered with forest, nearly down to the waterline.  Picture patches of fireweed five and six feet tall, scattered up and down the road.  Picture people waving to you as you drive, people walking, people driving, people who have no idea who you are, with your new Subaru with the paper plates and license frames proclaiming Kearny Mesa Subaru, whereever that is!  This is Prince of Wales island, and the twin towns of Klawock and Craig. 

Picture bald eagles flying, common, screaming their half-cry.  Picture ravens, and hear their hoarse caws and other non-musical calls and communications.  They fly together here, unlike their solitary or paired meanderings in San Diego.  There are very, very few crows around, again unlike San Diego. 

Picture speed limits of 25 mph, on all city main streets, and 15 mph on side streets; picture 50 mph speed limit signs on all major roads, including that from east side to west side, 38 miles distance. 

Picture a grocery store with cases and cases of jars piled chest high on a pallet, ready for canning. J Picture a grocery store with a drive-up covered lobby area, much as you might find at a good hotel, but for loading groceries safely out of the rain. This is life on Prince of Wales Island.  J 

Kathy had a good day at work today.  She saw her first client, so a new milestone.