Happy New Year!

It's been about a year since we last posted anything, but what a year it's been!

In the past 12 months we have had to make a big move from Kodiak, Alaska to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. As if moving across the country isn't enough of a change, we added pregnancy to the mix.... Yup, about 2 months before we moved we found out we were pregnant!!

So, by the time we packed up our stuff, drove from Alaska to New Hampshire, found a place to live, received our HHG's, unpacked our stuff, set up the house, found an OB, etc . . . . almost a year has passed. But now, thankfully, we are settled in to our new place, Matt is settled into his new job as XPO of Station Portsmouth Harbor, and Mattalyn Claire has arrived!

Life is good!

~jtd

Long Time No Blog

Well, it's been a while since we've posted anything on here, but we are going to try and stay on top of it now.
Matt and I have enjoyed our time up here in Kodiak, Alaska, but our 3 year billet is about to come to an end. This summer we are going to be transferring to Portsmouth, New Hampshire!
It's bittersweet, really. It's always fun and exciting to be heading to a new place, but it's also always sad to have to leave people and places behind.
Kodiak has treated us well, and we've made life-long friendships here. But we are looking forward to our new adventure back on the east coast, and to be close to our families again.

~jtd

On Top of the World!

Summer 2008... our last summer in Kodiak, Alaska. We have been trying to take advantage of everything that Kodiak has to offer; it is now sinking in that this is our final summer here.

We have done a lot of hiking this summer. This is a picture of Bucky at the top of Old Woman's mountain. It is not a very difficult climb, but is a nice one that all 3 of us can easily enjoy.

And the view? Well, see for yourself!

~jtd

Our Ski Trip to Alyeska!

<-- i look like such a dork! this was before i got contacts so i had the type of ski goggles that fit over your glasses; they totally pushed the glasses high up on my nose and right up against my eyes. oh so pretty.

We were lucky enough to catch a "Space A" flight up to Anchorage for a 3-day weekend. "Space A" is short for "space available;" they are C-130 flights that have seating available for active duty members and/or their dependants. There are quite a few throughout the year, and it varies on where they fly to.

This was my first time flying on a C-130. I've been on commercial airliners before; planes of all sizes. But this was my first experience as "cargo." The seats are like those you would find on a normal airplane, except that they are bolted to pallets, and the pallets are, in turn, strapped down in the belly of the plane using what is essentially just ratchet straps.

This particular weekend, Master Chief Capozzi had put together a ski trip for those interested, up to Girdwood, Alaska. This was just about a forty-five minute drive from Anchorage.

It was so nice to get off this rock for a little while! The skiing was fun, and the views were absolutely gorgeous. Well, at first perhaps the skiing was more terrifying than fun, but then once I got on the wimpier "green circle" slopes, I was fine. (Oh, and the Irish Cocoa helped too).

Matt, of course, was able to accomplish much more than green circles - he was up there on the black diamond runs with a couple of our friends. Matt has been skiing since he was 8 years old and is quite good at it. Look at him go!

~jtd

A Long Day!

After a long day of pillaging the neighborhood, it's time for a good night's rest.

Yargh! Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz
~jtd

Watch Out! Tis the Feared Buckyneer!

Yargh! Ahoy me maties! Tis the most feared Buckyneer ever to sail the high seas of Chiniak Bay. And with him, none other than the skalliwag herself - Momma.

The two had been spotted up in Aviation Hill on All Hallow's Eve. Hundreds witnessed the plunder that was enacted by the pair.

None were spared as the duo forced the carb-infested manifestations upon their unsuspecting visitors. For those who dared to come to the door, an extra helping was dealt.

Children and adults screamed in horror at the sights that were before them. Some cried and ran away, never to be seen again.

All in all, a very productive Halloween - we were voted "scariest house" (even though you can't really tell it from the pictures). It was much more effective when it was darker and the fog machine was going with the strobe light bouncing off the fog, and the cd with horror movie tracks/screams/songs/etc. was playing.

~jtd

First Snow!!

We got our first snow in the mountains last night. This is the view from outside our front door; the picture doesn't do it justice.

Same mountain (Barometer Mtn) from a different angle down the road.

Pyramid Mountain, behind Buskin Lake.

No picnic baskets here.

Sea Otter chowing down before dawn.

~mcd

Cold Bay Trip

Well, I just got back from my 2 week trip to Cold Bay. First pic is the Helo that flew us around during our first week and a half; it is in front of Frosty Peak volcano. If any of you watch Deadliest Catch on Discovery, keep an eye out for JayHawk 6005. While we were getting lunch in Dutch Harbor one day, we hooked up with a cameraman for Discovery, and he followed us around that afternoon (in a helo). So if you see CG Helo 6005 preparing for the Crab season, I'm in there. They also put a cameraman in the Helo 6005 for a few days; you may see my foot. We also flew around in Helo 6023, but only a couple of times.

Second pic - a Red Fox that kept an eye on us while we worked on a light.

Third - Walruses on the beach behind the fox, down a 200 foot cliff.

Fourth - Sea Lions on Sea Lion Rock in the Bering sea.

Finally, just in case you think all I do is fish.... I also hunt; here are 6 Willow Ptarmigan that I shot one morning. In all, I got 1 Tavernor Canada Goose, 2 Pintail ducks and 13 Ptarmigan on my time off in Cold Bay. Not bad.

~mcd