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: A Public Defender's Life in Alaska

So, I needed a few days to clear my head. I got lucky and a friend asked me to help move his commercial fishing boat from Homer to Seward. The best part? The trip was free. He needed the help and would pay the expenses. Hell yeah. Not only is he is a super cool guy but I love being on the boat. Besides it is a part of Alaska that I had never seen before. Unless you have the right boat, you will never see it. The trip took about 24 hours. We stopped a fished a little and I caught my first halibut of the year. I saw puffins, sea lions, whales (including a new calf) and amazing scenery. Whenever I go out with the guys I am always camp cook. It is just my thing. Just as it was time to cook we hit rough seas. I had never cooked in a galley with everything rocking and rolling. But it was fun. I would laugh everytime the food would go up and down and up. The Captain enjoyed the food. That night we anchored in Chugach Bay and I fell asleep to the hum of the diesel engine and the ocean. Of course the Crown Royal in my belly helped too. Unfortunately we ran out of time. We were going to run up Nuka Bay so I could get my spring bear. Oh well. I've been invited back to do subsistence salmon fishing. Dipnetting looks like it will be closed down in the next 2 years. You heard it hear first folks. There is a case pending in federal court that will shut it down. So I will need to find my 30 reds some other way. Tonight I cooked fresh halibut and yellow eye. Got a little taste of summer. Thank God because "April" won't go away. On Wednesday my well crapped out. Only $386 to fix. Last night the pipes in the butcher shop/brewery finally thawed (yay!) but as they did so, some of them burst. I got Kadee's bill for the emergency room. Only $404. I had to get the snow tires off the cars. Sigh. The last thirty days have cost me about $3000 more than I brought home. At least it is just not me. Everyone in my office is broke. We are scavenging for expired lunches and bumming coffees. Lord please give me one month without this crap. Just one month where nothing breaks. Seriously. 8 months of winter shatters and breaks. Just one month Lord. But at least I got out on the boat.

Full post as published by A Public Defender's Life in Alaska on May 07, 2010 (boomark / email).