Went Ha, Ha, Ha....All the Way to Bethel

As I begin my Year 2 in Alaska, I was wondering, would there still be adventures? Would there be anything new to post on my blog? Would life still be exciting enough to warrant writing about it? Hmmmmm...

I knew I wouldn't get many responses from my last post. I think posts of a personal nature make people uncomfortable. My reason for writing about it, was that it was an experience that I would grow from. Not a fun or exciting adventure, but an adventure for me nonetheless. At the end of my journey, I wanted to have a fair representation of all that shaped me, including some things that would make people uncomfortable....and trust me, if you were uncomfortable reading it, it was no walk in the park living it!

So I finally got internet installed in my house....which is how I am able to write this in my living room instead of having to walk to the school. Yay for me!

I was suposed to be working in my classroom, but one day they were putting up SmartBoards and all the boxes kinda defeated the purpose of cleaning up. And then I decided to soak up as much laziness as I could in my last remaining days of my vacation! And then I was asked if I would like to go to Bethel on a boat with Captain J to pick up my friend MM. There would be time for a little shopping and then we'd come back. I thought "Sure!"

We were going to leave at 6 p.m. yesterday, but it was so windy Captain J moved the time to 5:30. No worries. I walked down to the river and stopped.....

Boy, did that river seem angry....

The water was very choppy and there were actual swells. I guess a couple of teachers loading the boat were concerned about my ice road trip where I got so sick, and wondering if I could make it during this one. (If you aren't familiar with my ice road adventure, please click here.) I knew I would be fine....because I was going to be on a boat, not inclosed in a vehicle. True, the boat was a covered boat, but I wasn't worried.

And I was wondering if I would still have adventures! Oh my!

I swear we hit wave after wave! We would ride up on the top of the swell, stay there for a couple more then come slamming back down! And the water would hit the metal boat with a ginormous SMACK sound. And there were many times we would hit HARD. Captain J would have to slow down to 1.8 miles an hour, she tried taking the waves sideways....waves of water would splash onto the front of the boat (we were inclosed) and the boat would smack down....we were rolling with the waves....but man, it was rough! We were going against the wind almost the whole time.

And for some reason, I found this whole ride hilarious! Not only was I having the time of my life, I thought it was so funny. I laughed the whole way. I wasn't scared....I mean I braced myself for many hits and I held on to dear life, but I didn't feel like I was in any danger. It was just funny to me.

We made it to Bethel and I had just enough time to shop for some groceries before MM met us at the boat. We warned her about the conditions on the river. We knew it wouldn't be anything like the ride to Bethel because going back we'd be going with the wind. But MM was prepared for the ride.

It was like boating on a different river. For most of the trip, the river was calm & oh so peaceful. There were a couple of bumps and MM was groaning on a couple of them, but I was telling her, "What? This is nothing!" I felt so hardcore. The way back was like sailing for babies.....I experienced the hard stuff.

But then we hit one patch of choppy water. And I started laughing again. Then everyone else was laughing (probably laughing at me but whatever) and we were having a good old time.

Once we got back to Akiak, MM invited me over to her house for dinner and since she had brought back pizza, you know I was there! We watched a movie and MM & I played with a baby she was babysitting.

I woke up today and I am sore! My back, shoulders, & neck are sore from the bouncing in the boat....and my sides are sore too...but I think that's from all the laughing....

In answer to my earlier questions, oh yes, there will be plenty more adventures to come. Life up here is far from boring!!