It's Friday, but Monday's Comin'

I am so sick and tired of packing. At this point, as long as the Ramen noodles arrive, I will not starve, and I am bringing a week's worth of clothes in my carry on.

I feel like I spent my whole summer getting ready for this trip, and now I am ready to just GO!

I still have to resign my old position. I finished all my physical appointments. Still have to send Alaska certificate paperwork in and finish up financial estate issues.

Monday evening I will be on a plane to Seattle to spend a few days with my cousin, Eileen, and her family. Then on the 5th of August I will be headed for Anchorage. I did meet with Derek Luke, and I will have his apartment when I get up there. We agreed to share costs on produce boxes, and I agreed to teach him how to cook. That reminds me...pack the cook book!

Procrastination

Today I sent two more bins to Alaska. They told us we could start mailing them on July 1st, but my first one went out on the 11th. Yes, I am a procrastinator. The more bins I send, the lower my anxiety. I sent two more bins today. The important thing is to drill a hole on each side of the lid and then put strapping through to lock it.

Then, just to be sure, I put duck tape all the way around the lid and the bottom. I never knew the post office would mail these things!

Monster Fish

Here is a link to view a video of the Lake Iliamna Monster...

http://animal.discovery.com/videos/river-monsters-massive-white-sturgeon.html

This one was only 9 feet, but maybe I will catch the 20 foot one!

NRA Certified: First Steps Pistol Orientation

Today I took a 6 hour class at Anthony's Arms in West Mifflin about The Basics of Pistol Shooting. It covered the parts of a gun, safety, proper shooting, cleaning, storage, etc. To pass the test you had to hit one set of 5 shots within 9 inches of each other out of 20 total shots. All of my shots were within the 9 inches! (All but one was within 5 inches.) I earned a certificate and *Basic Practical* patch. I shot a .357 Magnum revolver, and everyone else had a .22. I had no trouble at all and it was way easier than I thought it would be.

My only disappointment is that I did not get to shoot the .500 Smith & Wesson because it had been sent to the gunsmith, and they only had one. That is one the smallest caliber handguns that will kill a brown bear, and I'm sure it is one the highest caliber revolvers they make.

So now I don't know whether to buy one or not? The gun range guy said he didn't think I'd have any trouble at all with it. However, I will not buy one until I am sure I can shoot it. There is only one other range where you can shoot a .500, but it is about 1 1/2 hours away in Greensburg. :(

Lake Ilaimna

This is a picture of the lake I will be living near.

Ilamna in Real Time

I added a link to the right that will show you a view of Iliamna in real time.

If you want to see the weather, click on the link and hit the button that says "Iliamna METAR Information."

Katmai National Park and Preserve

Katmai National Park is where we will be staying after we check in and fill out paperwork at the District Office in King Salmon.