Late night for Bob's Birthday so everyone slept in. I'm up at 9:00AM so the clock says. Need coffee before 10AM or the bear in me will fight and win against a polar bear. Let's figure out this coffee machine. Fiddled with it. Looked right to me. Bill must have sensed I was about to blow up the coffee machine so he re-routed the water I'd put in the wrong spot and viola - coffee consumption forthcoming.
Had coffee by myself for a few hours. Listening to music with one ear bud on - always on the lookout for beasts of nature and low flying planes. Strange how the sky looks the same this morning as it did at 5AM. I'm so confused so I make another pot of coffee just to make sure it is indeed morning. And this is what I find upon re-entry. A Troll sighting and the Northern Exposure Coffee Mug!!!!
Before we headed in for Bob's Birthday Cheesecake, we cruised the neighborhood across the road from this neighborhood. This is around 11:00PM. Amazing how asphalt changes housing prices. We looked at million dollar homes with airplanes for modes of transport. Bill spotted a bear crossing the road but we were busy trying to see within the homes through curtains and missed it.
Before we headed in for Bob's Birthday Cheesecake, we cruised the neighborhood across the road from this neighborhood. This is around 11:00PM. Amazing how asphalt changes housing prices. We looked at million dollar homes with airplanes for modes of transport. Bill spotted a bear crossing the road but we were busy trying to see within the homes through curtains and missed it.
Something is blowing in the air today. It bodes indifference. What is it really? One of those sleep in kind of days. But I'm not gonna.
We get the boys up, those who wanted to come with us can. Joseph and Travis sleep in. What teens do best in summer. Shane and Danny tag along with Michelle, Bill, Bob, Ittik, Vyolette and myself. We head to downtown Anchorage to Ship Creek where you can fish in the heart of downtown. When the season is right and the water is high, salmon are thick in the water below. Fishermen and visitors crowd the area, tangle their lines fishing from opposite banks but have a good time. On our visit it's dreary, water is low and fish were low in numbers. The best we saw was a deceased gull which Ittik replies, "Oh My Gaaaad, the salmon must have won that aaagument!" Danny, Shane and I conspired about the dead bird - should we move it, leave it or take photos of it. Photos.
Bob was intently searching for the Silver and Pink Salmon. They had a great few minutes of hide and seek. When I was here three summers ago, the fish were jumping and the skies were clearer. Oh well. Another time. We head through downtown seeking another adventure.
We get the boys up, those who wanted to come with us can. Joseph and Travis sleep in. What teens do best in summer. Shane and Danny tag along with Michelle, Bill, Bob, Ittik, Vyolette and myself. We head to downtown Anchorage to Ship Creek where you can fish in the heart of downtown. When the season is right and the water is high, salmon are thick in the water below. Fishermen and visitors crowd the area, tangle their lines fishing from opposite banks but have a good time. On our visit it's dreary, water is low and fish were low in numbers. The best we saw was a deceased gull which Ittik replies, "Oh My Gaaaad, the salmon must have won that aaagument!" Danny, Shane and I conspired about the dead bird - should we move it, leave it or take photos of it. Photos.
Bob was intently searching for the Silver and Pink Salmon. They had a great few minutes of hide and seek. When I was here three summers ago, the fish were jumping and the skies were clearer. Oh well. Another time. We head through downtown seeking another adventure.
Bill leads us to airplanes taking off on Lake Hood. We watch two float planes skim the lake as they take off and see another land. Held our attention for a little while. Headed towards the airfield. I'm cracking up at the trucks with no backside. They are used to push/pull planes from their hangers.
Michelle is sleepy in the back. Should we head back? Nah, we'll go to the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum up the road while she and Shane nap out. The rest of us spend some quality time in this fascinating building. The lady operating the cash register as having a hard time getting the admission prices correct for the family of nine ahead of us. She's been breathing in invisible fuel fumes, having a bad day or having a serious blonde over sixty moment. When it was our turn, she sighed with relief. She could count to four with minimal effort.
Planes, one car and loads of memorabilia on display from 1928 through 1981. I love the history of these planes. Signs warn us do not touch, though Danny and I broke the rule on one plane - his Aunt Catz is kinda wicked. Danny hung out with me cuz I'm fun like that. Tried to get the late teen dusting everything to smile. He was having an off day as well. Say it for me Ittik..."What's yer praaaa-blem?"
http://alaskaairmuseum.org/planes-museum/
Planes, one car and loads of memorabilia on display from 1928 through 1981. I love the history of these planes. Signs warn us do not touch, though Danny and I broke the rule on one plane - his Aunt Catz is kinda wicked. Danny hung out with me cuz I'm fun like that. Tried to get the late teen dusting everything to smile. He was having an off day as well. Say it for me Ittik..."What's yer praaaa-blem?"
http://alaskaairmuseum.org/planes-museum/
Got to this headline: ROGERS AND POST KILLED IN CRASH. This freaked me out. I kept asking, "THE Will Rogers?' Will Rogers?" I know of this man. To read that he died in Barrow, Alaska - Point Barrow, actually, struck a nerve. I wasn't aware how he died. Bill and Michelle lived in Barrow and Bill has flown over the crash site where Rogers and the famous pilot Wiley Post, the first man to fly solo around the world in 7 days, 18 hours, 49 minutes (1933), and creator of the pressure suit met their end. Famous Quote: When I die, my epitaph, or whatever you call those signs on gravestones, is going to read: "I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn't like." I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved. Will Rogers William Penn Adair "Will" Rogers was an American cowboy, vaudeville performer, humorist, social commentator and motion picture actor. He was one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s. (Wikipedia) Wiley Hardeman Post lost his left eye in an oil field accident October 1926, when struck by a piece of metal. This did not deter him from flying. |
Planes in Pretty Colors. Danny thought them as just 'Eh." I got him to thinking of how these vivid color would be seen in case of a crash or how the Flight Towers distinguished planes by their colors and markings. Then we started with survival skills of these guys if they unfortunately crashed - did they carry food supplies, water, comic books, underwear? How cold is it in those tiny planes and what do they use to blow their nose? Do they have heaters? Radios? What do you do if you have to go Number Two at twenty thousand feet? We got into a serious question fest - ridiculous to ridiculous-er.
The parka shown above belonged to a friend of Bill's - Ellen Paneok. In the Jones family room hangs a beautiful ink art piece that Ellen created. Shortly after her death in March of 2008, Paneok was honored by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Congressional Record.
A little history:
Ellen Paneok was the first Alaska Native woman pilot. She worked as a commercial pilot in Alaska for 17 years and ferried everything from dynamite to live wolverines, the U.S. mail, passengers and medical patients. Paneok accumulated more than 15, 000 miles of flight time during her life. The elders called her
“Owl Eyes” because she could see and fly in any type of weather. To her knowledge, she was the only Native American (Eskimo) woman pilot.
A little history:
Ellen Paneok was the first Alaska Native woman pilot. She worked as a commercial pilot in Alaska for 17 years and ferried everything from dynamite to live wolverines, the U.S. mail, passengers and medical patients. Paneok accumulated more than 15, 000 miles of flight time during her life. The elders called her
“Owl Eyes” because she could see and fly in any type of weather. To her knowledge, she was the only Native American (Eskimo) woman pilot.
Michelle and Shane slept through the afternoon in the truck. Rain tapping gently on the roof, windows cracked for fresh air. Glad they woke up refreshed.
Off for home and an evening of family time.
Off for home and an evening of family time.