My parents (Scott & Eileen Van Dalen) came to visit last weekend! 
They arrived late on Thursday night. Friday morning we were up bright and early for some fishing. Unfortunately we had some true Southeast Alaska weather - windy and rainy. . . but we headed out anyways! We packed up the kids and headed out Amalga Harbor for the other side of Shelter Island, hoped it would be calmer on the other side of the island. . . .. Well let's say it was calmer for a bit :) We saw a whole bunch of whales and then decided to pull the shrimp pots. There were shrimp! Then we tried our luck at King Salmon fishing. . . they just were not biting. Soon Mom and I were not feeling so well. . . let me tell you, sea sickness is not real fun! So we decided to go pull our dungee crab pots.
They arrived late on Thursday night. Friday morning we were up bright and early for some fishing. Unfortunately we had some true Southeast Alaska weather - windy and rainy. . . but we headed out anyways! We packed up the kids and headed out Amalga Harbor for the other side of Shelter Island, hoped it would be calmer on the other side of the island. . . .. Well let's say it was calmer for a bit :) We saw a whole bunch of whales and then decided to pull the shrimp pots. There were shrimp! Then we tried our luck at King Salmon fishing. . . they just were not biting. Soon Mom and I were not feeling so well. . . let me tell you, sea sickness is not real fun! So we decided to go pull our dungee crab pots. This meant crossing some big waves. As Dad (Scott) drove the boat across what I am calling 5 foot seas we sang the theme song to Gillian's Island - you know, "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port aboard this tiny trip. The mate was a mighty sailin man, the skipper brave and sure. Five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour, a three hour tour!" And we then quoted with great enthusiasm the lines from Forrest Gump -"Is this all you've got!?" All the while Mark sat at on the bow of the boat reminding us of the movie Titanic!
I think the best part was when the ferry crossed in front of us . . but most importantly we made it to the crab pots. As you might imagine pulling crab pots in winds and 15 to 30 foot water with a large sandy beach near by made things were quite interesting. We were blessed with 16 dungee crab.
By this time Mom and I were really ready to go. So off we headed with the kidos back to the house and Mark and Dad headed back out for more fishing.
Mom and I cooked and shelled up the crab!
That evening we relaxed and got ready for day two of fishing.Caitlin loved playing with her Papa!
Look at that tower it is taller than Caitlin!
She even managed to get Papa to wear some of her jewelry! The things a Papa will do for his only granddaughter!
Okay - for day two we thought we would try something a little closer to home but just as intense! Combat fishing at Fish Creek! If you don't know what this is, here is my best attempt at a good description - think of 20 or so boats with 2-6 fishing poles each in the water, a small area of the ocean maybe the size of two Wiser Lakes (for those of you from the Lynden area) but shallow silty/sandy areas surrounding one side and rocky shore on the other, all boats going in a different direction and pretty big wind gusts blowing you the other direction of where you are turning the boat!
Mom and Dad on the boat~
Caitlin hamming it up for us~
Andrew hanging with Grandma~
Mark manning the lines - checking bait. This was part of the view we had - in the background is the Mendenhall Glacier. The Mendenhall Glacier river dumps right into the ocean where we were fishing.
Andrew hanging out down in the bow of the boat - protected from wind and rain!
But once again the fish were not biting. So we headed home to rest up and make a plan for day three.
Caitlin read her new books with/to Grandma.
Andrew got some floor time - he is almost crawling but not quite there yet!
Day three I decided to stay home with the kids and get them rested up and back on schedule. Mark took Mom and Dad back out and it actually turned into a fairly decent day! The sun was peaking through the clouds!
Dad took his turn at pulling up the shrimp pots. Dad was thankful for the electric pot puller, previously we pulled them by hand or with a booyee (spelling??). Poor Dad got a work out last year (see last years blog!)
Hooray for more shrimps!
Then it was off to fish for Halibut. First they attempted to drift/fish but the wind was pushing them around too quickly. Then they anchored up off shore. Mark was ready with his harpoon :)
And . . . .
Okay - for day two we thought we would try something a little closer to home but just as intense! Combat fishing at Fish Creek! If you don't know what this is, here is my best attempt at a good description - think of 20 or so boats with 2-6 fishing poles each in the water, a small area of the ocean maybe the size of two Wiser Lakes (for those of you from the Lynden area) but shallow silty/sandy areas surrounding one side and rocky shore on the other, all boats going in a different direction and pretty big wind gusts blowing you the other direction of where you are turning the boat!Oh the excitement of keeping the boat going in the right direction and not crossing the fishing lines!
Mom and Dad on the boat~
Caitlin hamming it up for us~Andrew hanging with Grandma~Mark manning the lines - checking bait. This was part of the view we had - in the background is the Mendenhall Glacier. The Mendenhall Glacier river dumps right into the ocean where we were fishing.Andrew hanging out down in the bow of the boat - protected from wind and rain!But once again the fish were not biting. So we headed home to rest up and make a plan for day three.Caitlin read her new books with/to Grandma.
Andrew got some floor time - he is almost crawling but not quite there yet!
Day three I decided to stay home with the kids and get them rested up and back on schedule. Mark took Mom and Dad back out and it actually turned into a fairly decent day! The sun was peaking through the clouds!
Dad took his turn at pulling up the shrimp pots. Dad was thankful for the electric pot puller, previously we pulled them by hand or with a booyee (spelling??). Poor Dad got a work out last year (see last years blog!)
Hooray for more shrimps!
Then it was off to fish for Halibut. First they attempted to drift/fish but the wind was pushing them around too quickly. Then they anchored up off shore. Mark was ready with his harpoon :)
And . . . . Dad caught the jumbo halibut!
A 70+ lbs halibut!
A 70+ lbs halibut!According to Dad it put on quite a fight!
Too big to fit in the fish locker!
Not too long after - Mom caught her halibut!
Too big to fit in the fish locker!
Not too long after - Mom caught her halibut! According to her - it was a feisty one!
Look at that monster sized fish! It measured in at 53 inches long and 24 inches wide :) 
Mark got the fish all cleaned and packaged up.
And then BBQ'ed us a great dinner of fresh halibut!
We are so thankful that Dad and Mom were able to come and see us. We are extremely excited that we were able to catch some fish! Thank you for all of your help this weekend Mom and Dad - we hope to see you soon! Mark - thank you for all of the effort and hard work you put in!
Look at that monster sized fish! It measured in at 53 inches long and 24 inches wide :) Mark got the fish all cleaned and packaged up.
And then BBQ'ed us a great dinner of fresh halibut!
We are so thankful that Dad and Mom were able to come and see us. We are extremely excited that we were able to catch some fish! Thank you for all of your help this weekend Mom and Dad - we hope to see you soon! Mark - thank you for all of the effort and hard work you put in! 
4 comments:
You all cannot believe how hard Mark works at fishing, shrimping, and crabbing, not to forget keeping the boat ship-shape for all this fun. We really appreciated everything so much! It was total fun and the grand-kids were great- they never get tired:) Dad
OH MAN!!! What a wonderful time~~ " was had by all" I just giggled out loud:):) I could hear the laughter and smell the salt water, and feel the wind, as you describe your whirlwind weekend!!! It makes me want to go and see them again soon:):) such sweet memories~~ hugs Guela
Only in Alaska! Wow you got some amazing pictures! I love the very first one with mom and dad and the kids! and the one with dad all dressed up playing with caitlin cracks me up! WHat a good papa :) I could comment on every one but that would take so long lol Love them all!
WOW!! I just love reading about all your adventures!! You all are amazing! :) Debby
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