We Finally Have a Home!

Hello everybody! Sorry it has been so long since we posted. We moved into our new house almost two weeks ago. I can't say how nice it is finally having a place to call home. We woke up Monday morning to find that a Moose had pooped in the front yard. haha It's funny knowing something so big was in the yard last night. No bears yet, but I have faith we'll see some around sooner or later. Our neighbors told us that they both killed a couple of black bears a few miles away this past summer. So they are certainly out there. The big hunter at work told me that you'd never believe how many times you pass as close as 6 feet or so from a bear, hiding in the brush until she stands up to get a better smell. I'd imagine that will be precisely the point that I need a fresh pair of underwear...

Today's the day...

Well, it's 6:59am here and revillie just played. The guys in my shop are all out at formation around the flagpole. Meanwhile, SweetPea and I are packing up the truck (really difficult after living here for nearly a month!). Then we'll check out of lodging and go move into the new house. We'll post more sometime later on. We aren't supposed to have internet until NEXT Friday so it might be quiet around here for a while. Until then...

Almost time for the new house...

We are both getting anxious! We move into the new house in two days and are both ready for it! We sign for the keys Friday morning and the movers will deliver our stuff later on that day. I think I've talked SweetPea into letting me have the basement as the man cave. Right now I'm planning on putting all my board games, guns, hunting and fishing stuff down there. Plus we have a nice garage, which will be a big change. I know she has plans for setting up the rest of the house and making it hers. Anyway, we'll post a lot of pics when we get the house and start setting up.

Nothing to report...

It has been several days since my last report. Work has kept me busy during the week and so far the weekends have been full of rain without fail. This 4th of July weekend has been dark, cold, windy, and rainy. So there hasn't been much of anything going on. We have realized that we need to go buy warm clothes sooner rather than later. I brought a small jacket up with me and SweetPea has been using a windbreaker. It's still shocking that it can get so cold in July! I'm sure this is considered warm to those that have acclimated but to the unitiated (especially when you are used to Alabama weather) that isn't the case.

We did see a Moose walking around base the other day. And on another note, right behind our soon-to-be house the woods start about 10 feet from the back fence. I noticed that about 100 yards down that woodline from our house is a sign posted that says, "Warning, Bear Activity". That should provide some photo ops!

The Lady of the Lake

Not a whole lot to report. Today was the first day where we actually had a little time to relax. After waking up we headed to Fairbanks for a little shopping. While there we hit Denny's for some old-fashioned breakfast. I had to have SweetPea grab a pic of me next to the sign:
After brunch we stopped at a nearby lake just to check things out. We didn't grab any pics but the water was crystal clear. We could easily see different trout and who knows what else swimming around. We also went to a nearby creek and just loved the scenery and fish swimming around. I can't wait to get out and fish.

After that we stopped off at one of the lakes on base to see the infamous Lady of the Lake. The "Lady" is a B-29 that was sunk here in order for crews to practice water egress. Eventually they stopped using it for training and just left it in place. It's actually quite cool and creepy looking: I'm hoping to get out and fish tomorrow. We bought our licenses and are technically legal. Alaska has tons of fishing rules based on the part of the state and specific stream you are fishing. Hopefully, I won't get arrested...

Yeah, we now have a home...sort of.

Finally, luck worked in our favor. The housing office sent us to check out another house on base today. It was a 2 bedroom, 2 story house with a mostly finished basement. There is also an attached, heated garage. It looks really nice. On Tuesday they are supposed to lock down a date that we can actually move in. YEAH! HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!

Also, we went to a local restaraunt tonight. I won't mention the name because it was HORRIBLE! Outside, the sign said 'Fine Dining' but they had a dirt parking lot and no door! I know, at this point we should have left. Anyway, I figured we'd give it a try. When we got inside and saw the menu they had things like spaghetti with meat sauce for $16. I ordered the Cordon Bleu for $22. Ouch! The lettuce from the salad bar had a weird bitter taste. The glasses were dirty, the waitress took FOREVER to bring refills, lost my straw, and on it goes. It SUCKED. I have had relatively few "never again" kind of meals but this was one.

At the new house there is a small back yard, maybe 15 by 15 feet (or less). And then a strip around the side of the house that is probably 10 by 40 feet. I figured it would be a waste to buy a big gas mower (even used) for such a short season and small yard. I've been told that during the summer, the 24 hours of daylight makes grass grow like wildfire. So SweetPea thought it might be a good idea to buy a push reel mower, you know, the old fashioned kind? Wow! Have you looked at the prices of old-fashioned non-powered mowers? Anyway, it still sounds ideal for such a small yard and only 3-ish months of mowing a year.

Boy, it must snow here...

Just been checking out the new shop, still waiting for a house. We've gotten several answers but not any closer. Now they say that a house on base might not be available until September. If that is the case we'll probably just move off base.

At work I noticed we have a nice big six-pack (That's what we call a big king cab truck capable of holding 6 passengers, hence a 6-pack). Anyway, sitting next to it is a big old snow plow blade. The guys said that during winter (which officially runs from 1 Sep to 1 Apr) each week someone will be assigned snow removal detail and that includes shoveling the sidewalks and plowing the parking lots of our buildings.

Also, because of the short warm months there is no AC. All the windows in people's offices are opened, which is just funny to me for some reason.