The Alaskan Way

A few things that Rick has said, that I thought were cool: Live in the moment to be in the moment. Don’t have high expectations and welcome what nature brings you. “Always getting ready” native saying for the next season.

Lots of things are big here: tomatoes, berries, and fish. They just grow rapidly with all the daylight. People have their own planes to get around and land on lakes to fish. Prices seem expensive to us Mainland people, but there is oil money to be had; some people get paid well to live here. Residents get $1,500 from the oil companies.

Dorle has been teaching me how to make homemade bread. She also makes ”better butter” (half of soft butter and ¼ olive oil and ¼ canola oil); so darn tasty. We collect sea lettuce, then air dry it before dehydrating them in an oven for a few hours. Crush it up and it’s great for soups and even on popcorn. It sounds easy, but you got to find the good pieces on slippery, pointed rocks and stand in the 50 deg water to rinse with salt water.

It’s been neat hearing how Dorle traveled all over the states 30 yrs ago and ended up in AK b/c South America was in turmoil at the time. Her and Rick have been friends for over a decade but after their divorces (six years apart), they ended up getting married three years ago. It’s been refreshing hanging out with such a loving couple. They kid around a lot and laugh things off.

The first few days I was so tired, though sleeping about 7 hrs a night. Just need a night eye mask; no pills. Even after I drank Green Tea, I took a quick nap. Maybe my mind and body has been over stimulated and I was just excited to be here. I’ve been in Alaska for a week now and I felt at ease by day 3. It’s just so tranquil here. The water is calm and quiet, at this time and the air is fresh and crisp. You don’t need a lot to get by here; you live simpler sans TV, electronics and all that other modern distractions) and you get to appreciate nature. Take time with your family, chill time. People also reuse and trade with each other a lot to save money, which also conserves waste. When you work hard for things like carrying in your own water, propane, cutting wood, you become more aware of what it takes to get it and automatically conserve your consumption. Definitely something we are missing in these modern times, a folly in our society that has evolved too far away from nature.

Homer is a small, friendly town, where everyone knows everyone and it’s easy to run into friends. Something I slightly experienced in PDX, but never experienced it as this small scale as an adult. There’s a lot of small business owners and they barter with each other. People keep telling me how they ended up here unintentionally and Rick & Dorle tell everyone how they adopted me. It's all just so cute. No photo album for this posting.