Leaving Alaska

4

416rigby

New member
Well, the time has come...household goods are all packed up and on their way south. We're leaving Kodiak on the ferry the evening of Wednesday, June 7th. The hotel has internet access so we're able to get on and see what all the brats are up to. We'll be back online when we get moved in around the 23rd of June or so. The last three years have been great...fished our butts off...and had a blast. We'll miss the beauty...and the salmon and halibut!

Byrdman and Marc Grove from Wefings Marine offered to help us learn the ropes of southern boating and fishing...looking forward to some tuna...wahoo...and all the other cool stuff the Gulf of Mexico have to offer, as well as Lake Martin.

Thanks to all the Brats who helped us out with some stuff with our move and also in helping us jump on the purchase of our new boat...Seawolf, Sneaks, Rmatey, Starcrafttom, Tyboo...and anyone else who I may be forgetting at the moment...we're very excited and ready to hook up the Foggy Dew and pull her to her new home.

See ya later...and be safe!
Rick & Donna
 
Hey Rick, drive safe. I moved 16 times in my 22 year career, but never was lucky enough to be stationed up there in AK land. Try, if you can, to take a day off and launch at the Coast Guard station up at Lake Tahoe after you pick it up. Very much worth the effort, I understand. It's on my list of "things to do" when we can get back on the road ourselves.

See ya in 'Bama

Don
 
Hey with the new truck you may have to change your driving route thru nevada and take the 395 south instead of the way we talked about. Call me about it. Good luck in the south.
 
When you get down south there you can start crafting aligator holsters. Donna will skin the things for you.

Have a great trip and take enough time to enjoy it. Godspeed, friends.
 
Rick and Donna: Dude, I know you are going to miss the views and your time in the air. But...come on down. Send me emails as of your "kinda-sorta-travel plans..." Take it slow as you can and enjoy the trip. Not sure if you have made final housing yet or not... the deal you talked to me about I think did not work out. Got a house in the neighborhood here you may be able to rent for a year or three....if you prefer to just land somewhere and know you have a very nice place, and can poke about the area looking. Sherryl and I will be on the road 9Jun-18Jun, 29Jun thru 8 July, 21Jul thru 28 Jul, then 11Aug thru 21Aug. You have my cell phone number...call 24/7 if you have or need any help. Even if I aint in town, I can hook you up with folks that are ready to help. We may even just have to take our boats back down to the Gulf for a Pre-Fall Gulf Coast C-Dory Gathering RECON.... and... you might just be able to get back on a bird too.

Byrdman
 
Hey, Rick, you and Donna have a safe and fun trip. And when you get settled I'll send you a pic of my "new" banjo. It's a 4-string, although I play a 5-string, but I found it in an antique store for $12.50 and couldn't pass it up. The trouble is is had to spend $120 to replace all the missing parts! LOL But I've found others on the web for sale for $350-385. It's a Vega Fairbanks Style N from the early 1900s. They say they're popular for Irish music so I put Irish tenor strings on it. Maybe I'll have to learn a few chords and we can jam someday!
Al
 
MOOSE... come on down to the Gulf Coast Gathering... I know of at least one other , and if Rick plays... two other string freaks... and who knows who just might come down from that NE corner...
 
Thanks, guys. We're going to take it easy and enjoy the trip as much as possible. We're planning on camping in the boat at KOA's and save some money...which will go right back into the gas tank! :roll:

Yep, the fishng will be different, but fishing for anything is fun for us. Bring it on! :D

Tom, we're thnking we may just take the longer way...I-80 and enjoy some scenery and cooler weather (we hope) since we decided to camp in the boat. Besides, haven't been to Cabela's in quite a few years and we have to stop there!

You're funny, Mike...I just may have to get me one of them gators...it would make a good custom holster, eh? Now ya got me thinking.

Al, sounds like you scored a good deal on that banjo...gotta hear you pick a few tunes one of these days. I think it would be way cool if you and Myrna could make the Gulf gathering in Oct. And no, I don't pick the strings, Patrick...I play the bodhran, which is an Irish drum. Donna had been known to pick the guitar, though. Hey, thanks for the house offer, but we found a nice rental on 3.5 acres and that's what we're doing. All set up...with a place on site to park the boat.

We're ready to hit the road...screwed on a set of mudflaps this afternoon to help keep the rocks off the boat. We're going stir crazy waiting for the time to pass. Tomorrow is my last morning at work...then off on our grand adventure Wednesday evening.

Thanks again everyone,
Rick
 
Rick,

A stop at Cabelas. I don't know if my credit card could stand a trip in person.

Have a great trip to the south. You'll find winter boating there like summer in Alaska. You'll have the Tennessee River to yourself. Your new boat would make a good base camp for duck hunting. You might want to downsize your 416 for the whitetails. While they don't really care, my brother has found a TC is a great way to go and easy to carry.

Hope to see you back in AK with all the other retirees when the it's time to leave the Coast Guard.
 
Thanks for the kind offer, Mark, but we won't be going quite that far north. After picking up our boat in Lake Tahoe, we're going through Salt Lake City and then WY, NE and work our way to the SE. We lived in Michigan for a while...nice country around Cadillac. We hunted deer on a friend's property there.

We're off to catch the ferry in an hour...

Rick & Donna
 
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