I slept for 18 hours last night.
That’s what you get after two weeks in the “Land of the Midnight Sun.” And yes, we bought sleeping masks.
That’s right, Spanky and I made our second (of four) trips to Alaska this year and our first return-trip to Chickenstock since our 2017 initiation into the “Flock.” This year, we brought Cousin Jared (not to be confused with amped-up, bluegrass genius Cousin Curtiss, who is a Chickenstock staple). Spank and I arrived a few days early to get the roost ready for 1,300 visitors. We hit the ground clucking with Spank helping on the stage set up while I folded a couple hundred sweatshirts. The rest is a feathered blur, though I vaguely remember rhinestones and fake eyelashes…
After a week in Chicken, we drove 7 hours back to Anchorage for the night before continuing on to Seward the next morning (might I add that Spank has driven more than 4,000 miles in the last week!!) Spank and I and six of our friends—three of which are regulars that accompany us for the silver salmon run every year—took our first crack at the red, or “sockeye,” salmon run. There wasn’t a massive river of fish as in years past with the silvers, but we got our fair share and hit a few good pockets. The interesting dynamic of fishing in the summer is having 20 hours of sunlight (and four hours of dusk, so it’s still basically light). We found ourselves thinking it was a good idea to get up at 4 a.m. and hit the early-morning tides, and on another night were tossing our lines until 11 p.m.—hence the 18 hours of sleep I needed when we got home!
Another milestone on our Alaska trip was Spanky and my 15th anniversary, though we didn’t really get to celebrate together. I tested out a sea sickness patch for the first time and it left me feeling like I was on the high seas before I even set foot on the boat. Needless to say, I skipped the halibut charter this year. Spank and I still enjoyed a bottle of our favorite Lodi Zin at dinner and are heading to Winthrop for a night next week to make up for our lost-da- at-sea anniversary.
In other news, I received the final color draft of my children’s book, “Light Up the World: When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a Lineman” while we were in Alaska. I’m working on a few more final edits, then it’s off to the printer! Stay tuned for the PRE-SALE!