Halibut Charter

South end of the Turnagain Arm

 Brendan has the fortune to work for a company that pays for an annual halibut charter out of Seward, AK. This was not only Abby's first deep sea fishing charter, but also her first time to Seward. Needless to say, we were both excited and anxious to spend 12 hours in a boat on the ocean.

Upper Trail Lake

Since check-in is at 6:30am and the drive is about 2.5 hours, we decided to drive down the night before and get a hotel room. This would also give us a chance to see a little of the town. With a population of about 3,000, a little is all you get!

Train Bridge on Snow River

It's always a pleasant surprise when the weather along the Turnagain Arm is clear. We had plenty of time, and great weather, so we got to stop along the way and take some pics.

By the time we got into town and checked into our hotel, it was time for dinner, so we stopped into Thorn's Showcase Lounge. For decades people have enjoyed this place and literally been able to say "this place hasn't changed one bit!" The wheeled pleather love seats, the infinite display of vintage liquor bottles, and the haze of cigarette smoke make this Seward hot spot a real blast from the past.

Thorn's Showcase Lounge

I've been there a handful of times, and I know there are a number of items on their menu, but I always wind up with the "Basket of But." Hali-but that is. The basket of but is always fresh, perfectly fried, and sure to please even the pickiest seafood eaters.

Thorn's Basket of But

After dinner and a beer at Thorn's we headed across the street to the Seward Alehouse. Its a Seward staple for beer drinkers, and is also frequently headlined by one of our friends who DJ's. Due to our early departure time, and being worried that the ocean may not agree with Abby, we had one quick beer there and decided to retire.

Too Early

Despite a reasonable amount of sleep, 6 am always comes early on a Sunday. The pouring rain did not help motivate us to get out of bed. Nevertheless, we slogged our gear down the dock and boarded the M/V Sea Quest.

Halibut Experts

Being an early season charter, the chance of catching salmon is significantly less. This does, however, leave more time to go after larger halibut. So, we spent the first 2-3 hours motoring all the way out to Montague Island, the largest island in Prince William Sound. This gave us all a chance to catch a nice nap inside the comfortable cabin, and then enjoy some coffee as we watched the weather go from absolutely awful to exceptionally nice for the area. By the time we got to our first fishing spot, the sky was mostly blue and the swells were almost non existant. It really doesnt get any better than that in this area.

The heavy weight halibut reels

 We stayed at the first spot for a couple of hours. Bob Bell, the company owner, caught an unlikely king salmon on the very first cast of the trip. Several of the more experienced fisherman on the boat were able to land a few of the days largest halibut. Abby and I unfortunately did not catch any fish at the first spot, but we did enjoy the scenery and the fact that the rain had stopped. We also enjoyed getting the feel for halibut fishing equipment and technique in the shallow (40-50ft) waters where the larger halibut feed. 

 

Harvest from the first spot

After fishing for larger catch at a couple more spots, we did not have nearly our limit and time was ticking. So, we pulled up anchor and got underway for some more certain waters. These "chicken holes" as they are called are closer to 200ft in depth. The smaller, younger halibut live here until they are large enough to head into shallower waters and face competition from predatory fish such as king salmon and ling cod.

Abby working her halibut charm

As expected, this spot proved reliable for landing fish. Almost as soon as we dropped our lines, people started pulling in halibut with near constant regularity. It was mid afternoon, and the sun was out in burning force - yes you can get a sunburn in Seward! By this time, Abby had plenty of confidence that she was not allergic to the motion of the ocean, so we doubled our fish catching chances by having a couple of lucky beers. After about an hour or so, Abby and I had both landed a decent size halibut. 

Picture perfect day for fishin in AK

Abby's first halibut!

As it neared time to head home, I got caught in a massive tangle with numerous other people and had to cut the line. I decided to call it quits and let other people fish, since the boat was near its limit of fish. Shortly thereafter, Abby hands me her pole and says "Hold this I gotta go to the bathroom. And oh yeah, I think I have a fish on there." I didn't give her too much grief since her first halibut took a while to land, and as such I knew her arms were probably tired. So, I took her pole (and her beer) and started reeling in. I knew right away that even if she didn't need a potty break, she would have needed help. This fish was fighting. And so were the other fisherman who thought they had it.

Loving it

Reeling in Abby's monster

You have to understand that with 20 or so people fishing off the side of the boat, when one big fish gets hooked and starts frantically swimming, there can be a lot of tangled lines. Each tangled fisherman feels the tug on his or her 200 feet of line and starts reeling with all their might.

Even as the fish came up, and one-by-one, lines were removed from the tangle, the fish continued to fight. By this time, we had reached our limit, so most of my coworkers were standing around watching the commotion and continuing to remind me that as hard as I was reeling, there had better be a big fish on the line or I would never hear the end of it.

Abby's Cod

Well, to all of our surprise, Abby's fish turned out to be a pretty good sized ling cod. Since they weren't in season, we had to throw it back. I did however take the time for a photo opportunity....with Abby's fish
 

Captain stopped to take pics

We headed back to Seward with a full limit of halibut and plenty of great pictures. Everyone was happy. The captain even went out of his way to stop and watch some sea lions playing on the rocks. It was a perfect day on the ocean!

Bob Bell enjoying the scenery. Thanks Bob!

Home Inspection

The home inspection went incredibly well. The inspector said the house is "very solid."

We should have the report in a couple days and can expect a handful of minor, mostly negotiable fixes.

4130 Horizon

Garage - tools belong to carpenter installing a new handrail on the staircase

The front door

Downstairs - kitchen, dining area, and living room. Lots of custom woodwork

Living room - sunny southern exposure 

Patio door with built in doggie access

Kitchen

Standing in Living Room looking back. Abby in front door.

Custom antiquing on cabinets glass

Kitchen window to backyard

Half bath on first floor

Burl wood posts

Second bedroom. Inspector checking attic crawlspace.

Top of staircase as viewed from upstairs bathroom.  Hand rail being installed today.

Upstairs bathroom.

House as seen from backyard.

Crawlspace

Doors in master bedroom

Backyard view from patio

One Year Already!

The view from our room at hotel Alyeska

May 28th, 2011 was the first time Abby and I met. We were instantly attracted to each other, but had no way of knowing that a girl living in NYC and a guy living in Alaska would wind up together. We certainly had no idea what the first twelve months together would bring!!

So, to celebrate the one year anniversary of our first meeting, we decided to spend an evening in the resort town of Girdwood.

The small town is located at the base of Alaska's largest ski resort, Mt Alyeska and the hotel we stayed at shares the same name. For dinner, we took the aerial tram to the Seven Glaciers restaurant, perched near the top of the ski slopes.

The tram ride to Seven Glaciers Restaurant

Wine and cheese to start

Wagyu Filet

Alaskan King Crab

Dinner was truly an experience. The weather cleared up just before we rode up, giving us a truly amazing view. Abby's filet amazed her. The king crab was perfect. The food, the service and the scenery was all incredible. We will certainly be back!

Delighted

Blue Skies 

Hawaii - Day 2

On our second day in Hawaii, we woke to the undeniable reality that we were burned. Being faired skinned and a veteran of many sunburns, I wasn't in the least bit surprised. Abby, however, who is fairly dark complected, was astonished at the degree of burn she received. During the course of the week, she would mention many times how surprised she was that she got that burned.

Having a car at our disposal, we had initially planned to spend a day or two touring the island. Given the condition of our skin, we decided that day 2 would make a perfect day to spend in the car. Destination - South Pointe.

The southern tip of the big island is the southern most point in the United States. There isn't a whole lot down there, it's just one of those places to go to say "I've been there."

The drive from Waikoloa to Kona is largely a barren, lava desert. The only exception are small, itermittent sections of palm tree lined beaches, visible from the main road. Several of these beaches are the center point of resorts such as Waikoloa. Many others are a mile or so from the road and marked only by the cars of a few local surfers die hard enough to hike out.

Once through Kona, the scenery takes a noticeable change. The southern half of the western coast is much greener than the northern half. Thick vegetation covers the landscape in between a sprinkling of small communities. Windy roads, low speed limits, and interesting sights make this a perfect lazy day drive. If we had more time, we would have liked to explore some of the little store fronts scattered along this section of the highway. Restaurants, thrift stores, and coffee shops nestled in a cool, jungly part of the island made this seem like a perfect retreat for some sun burnt vacationers. But alas, time was limited.

As we passed one of many small rural properties advertising authentic Kona coffee, Abby and I both did a double take as we spotted what we believed to be.....a zebra? We both looked at each other in astonished confusion right before I swerved off the road, made a quick u-turn and headed back to confirm that we did in fact see a critter that one would only expect to see in a zoo. Or Africa.

By the time we got back to where the zebra was, there was another couple of cars doing the same thing. We all kind of exchanged a "yeah, we had to see it too," and then we took some pictures. Zebra - yes, but in Hawaii? Weird.

Another 45 minutes and we arrived at the turn off for south pointe. A twelve mile gravel road winds through mostly pastures with unbelievably green grass. Pictures can't describe the color. We stopped and said hi to some horses and cows.

The actual bottom tip of the united states is mostly lava beaches. There is a large stretch of cliffs that are probably 30-50 feet above some very blue water. Fish nets are scattered near the bottom of the cliff and several decrepit platforms are present, presumably for hoisting fish nets.

The wind at south pointe was incredible. So strong and constant, that we left our hats and sunglasses in the car to prevent them from blowing off our heads. So strong that even tightly squinted eyes were constantly infiltrated by blowing sand. There were a couple of women selling beaded jewelry and a handful of people sport-fishing from the cliffs. We walked around for an hour or so and then decided to get out of the wind.

Based on the recommendation of a coworker, we decided to make the 2.5 mile hike from south pointe to the green sand beach. The beach is a very isolated stretch of olivine sand. Rumor has that it is one of three in the world. It was a good day for a walk, so we figured why not.

The hike is fairly flat, winding along old jeep trails through grass and light brown, hard packed dirt. Despite the relative ease of the hike, we were both eager to get the beach. The sun burn had really zapped our energy. That, and also, we were hiking in pants and long sleeves to limit any further exposure.

The green sand beach is probably only 100 feet in length. It sits about 60-70 feet below the surrounding area, requiring descent along a steep trail so heavily used that foot steps have been worn in the rock.

There seems to be a constant crowd mix of tourists and locals. A handful enjoying beers and playing in the waves, while others taxi tourists back and forth the 2.5 mile trail for a small fee. We stayed on the beach about 45 mintues, enjoying the bittersweet experience of crystal blue waters that we were too burned to enjoy and knowing that we had a hot, dusty walk back. Overall, the place was as cool as we were told. Just make sure you are able to enjoy the water!!