Howdy from Alaska!!!

Thought I'd let everyone know that we have made it here safely. We are all unpacked and happy to be here. Just have to let Jeri know that I have not forgotten about posting. I promised at least once a week. We are so happy to have a place to call our own again! So I thought that I would start off---catching-up--with pictures of our new home. We are living in town...not at the base. There is no way we would have quite as good a view or the space if we had gone into military housing.

If you ever wondered what people were talking about when they refer to the long days in Alaska...well...this picture of the lake was taken at almost midnight without any type of flash. It is amazing. The lake is Mission Lake and if you can see the snow capped peaks...those are in the ocean. Off to the rigtht, out of the picture is Mission Beach. When I was up here visiting Randy we were scuba diving there. I asked the guys if they had ever heard of whales being in the bay and they said no...the front page of the news paper the next day showed a picture of two Orcas in the very bay that we were diving in. Glad as a diver you don't look like a giant seal or anything.

All around the house there are tree carvings. We have an orca, a bald eagle, two bear cubs, a howling wolf, and some type of an imp. Randy says that it looks like Gismo from Gremlins. Sometimes I think that it looks like Dobby from Harry Potter...or at least a chubby cousin.

From the deck we can see the fishing boats, the ferry, and sea planes. We have ducks, geese, and bald eagles that hang out around the lake. Every once in a while a someone will row out into the lake. Kodi loves taking a swim in the water.

We are living in a tsunami zone so every Wednesday at two o'clock we hear the tsunami alarm test. Every place has its own hazards.

Life is great. When we got off the ferry I asked Randy if he felt like he was coming home and he said that he was. I have felt more at home here than I ever did in San Diego. A.J. and I take walks up and down Spruce Cape or Mission Beach. It is so nice to get out, look at the ocean, the rough pine strewn streets, breath the fresh air and stretch.