Days 45-51: July 11-17, 2022
Ellen didn’t puke anymore after that one incident at the museum. No one else in the family got the pukes. While we didn’t get a stomach bug, we did get a nasty cold or something. Lillian had a sore throat, and then her nose got yucky, and she was feeling crummy. Ryan started getting a little achy. He had a low fever and a cough. And I was really congested in my chest, a little cough, and it moved up into my sinuses. The library here gives out covid tests. I’m not sure if every library does that, but we took advantage. The covid test was negative, so I am assuming we just have a nasty cold. Ryan and Ellen were the only ones to get fevers. This week was a boring one for everyone and we didn’t go to the library, the pool, and had extra screen time while we all rested and recovered. (So far Chris seems to be spared.)
This weekend we still wanted to get out and do something, especially after being cooped up all week. I was still under the weather, but figured I could feel crummy at home or on the boat, so I was up for an adventure still. We really wanted to go to Freshwater bay/Pavlof Harbor. When we talked to the people on Lituya, when we were in Ford’s Terror, they mentioned that would be a good weekend trip for us. One of my bucket list items is seeing the bears fishing/eating salmon, and Freshwater Bay is a place that may be possible. Throughout the week Chris would keep an eye on the wind to see if it would be OK for us to go, and sadly the wind just looked to be getting worse and worse the closer it got. We ended bailing on that idea. Luckily for us we can make it happen on our way home, and the salmon may be more likely to be running then so better chance to see the bears fishing.
When we check on the wind we check a few different places. We use Windy, an app and website that shows where the wind is blowing and how hard it is blowing and the direction of the wind. We use the general area tool, and the hyper localized view as well. We also check out the NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) forcast. Chris may use a few other tools, but these are the ones he used in consulting with me. NOAA was forecasting a bit more winds than windy was showing and it kept us debating until the day we were supposed to leave. Lunchtime on Friday (the day we were going to leave) Chris and I watched it pretty closely trying to decide if we would, or just bail. When we were looking at Windy we would move the day/time throughout the whole weekend and it was pretty clear that there was a storm that was just getting bigger and closer to us as the weekend went on. After seeing that and seeing that things were just building, building, building, we decided to sit it out. (A lot of times another tool we use is to go out and physically see what is happening. Since the windiest part of the trip would be when we were coming home we didn’t feel good about just seeing what would happen.)
For us we don’t mind a little chop. Ideally we would like to keep the waves at 3 feet or less (When it’s just wind waves, with swells we do go bigger). We also prefer to go into a forecast that is getting better, not worse. This forecast predicted 5 foot waves, and it was definitely getting worse as the weekend went on. We also have young kids so we do tend to be more cautious. We also were on a timeline, we had to be back by Monday so Chris could work. If we had a few days to wait out weather that would give us more flexibility. All those things are things we do everytime we go out in the boat. (We also look at tides/currents as well.)
Since we were sticking around this weekend we decided to rent a car. We lucked out and there was a deal on one. Renting cars here has been so expensive. I think $125.00 + tax was the cheapest we got one for. This time we saw a deal for $40.00 + tax for a week or two. We decided to get the car for a week. We also decided to buy a car seat. Renting a car seat through the rental car company is what we have been doing, but it’s been $10.00 a day. We would use one enough that it just made sense to buy one. Chris picked up the rental car on Saturday morning, got the carseat and picked up some boat tools. One of the biggest surprises of the trip is how hard it has been to get boat stuff, especially Yamaha stuff in Juneau. I guess Juneau’s biggest boat repair shop and the Yamaha dealer here randomly closed down not too long ago, and the town has been feeling the effects. There is a shop in Petersburg that has opened up a little shop here in Juneau. They fly in parts and sell them here. Luckily Chris found them and has been able to put in orders for the parts he needs. They are also well priced and have been really easy to work with. (I believe it is Rocky Marine.)
After Chris ran errands he came and picked us up and we went to the boat. The weather wasn’t terrible yet, so we went out and cruised around and dropped some fishing lines. Lillian and Chris caught some very very small cabazon and kelp greenlings. We just released them so no mess either. After fishing we got dinner at Chan’s Thai restaurant. Chris, Ellen, and I really enjoyed it, but the big kids weren’t feeling Thai. We drove around a bit and then headed home.
Sunday we thought about going on the boat, but the storm we were watching was coming in earlier than was predicted and it was pretty rough even right out of Auke Bay. We decided that it would be a land day instead. Chris wanted to check on the boat and we needed to get our rain gear off the boat. Chris moved the boat to a spot that would be easier for him to change the prop. He hasn’t loved the prop we have currently and ordered one from Prop Gods. The prop came in earlier than he thought so he is hoping to change that out soon and try it out ASAP.
After messing with the boat we went to Asiana Gardens for lunch. We ate there before and really enjoyed it. It was as good as we remembered and everyone was feeling happy and full. We drove to the end of Glacier Highway, then turned around and stopped at a car wreck memorial. In 2009 there was a fatal car crash due to drunk driving. The parents of the teenage boy who died set up a foundation to help prevent drunk driving especially in teens, and this is part of that foundation.
We then walked around Eagle Beach State Recreation Area. It was a really pretty area of beach, grasslands, and marshy areas. Ellen loved walking in the water with Chris, and the big kids liked seeing who could go deepest in the water with their boots. Since Lillian got new boots hers were taller, but Ryan decided to just go for it and flooded his boots to win. The wind picked up quite a bit and Ellen decided it was time for all of us to go. Ryan decided that he did in fact need a taller pair of boots.
We stopped at NAO (Nugget Alaska Outfitters) and found a pair of taller boots for Ryan. They are as tall as Lillians so hopefully no more flooding.
Chris’ parents are flying into Juneau and they will finish our time in Juneau with us. We are excited to show them some of the things we have loved here, and find new things with them! Eagle Beach is definitely some place we will take them.
Ryan’s Thoughts: We went on a drive, went hiking, and we were sick and we got no screens on Sunday.
Lillian’s Thoughts: Today (Monday) we thought we were able to go to the pool but we are still sick. Yesterday we had no tablets, then we went on a hike and a drive!
