We hung out in Hoonah today. It started off with a nice long walk to breakfast at the Icy Bay Lodge. And a great breakfast it was. I had the local Huevos Rancheros. We are a long way from the Mexican border, but these were really good! I splurged and added a blueberry scone too. Urrp! But they didn't have DECAF! so now I am overly caffeinated. Buzzz Buzzz Buzzz...
The view of the upper harbor area from our table is beautiful, even in the rain. The marina is just to the right in this picture.
We met a local family at the restaurant and chatted about Hoonah. We had noticed some deer wandering the streets as we were standing in the lodge entrance. The gentleman said that would have been a very unusual sight just 25 years ago as any deer would have been in the back of a truck and bound for the kitchen. The people were near starving back then. According to him, today Hoonah is a relatively wealthy Tlingit community due to the summer cruise ships. Each cruise ship carries about 2,000-4,000 passengers and generates $250 per passenger to the community. He didn't specify, but I presume that the $250/person is in goods & services. Anyway, conservatively that's $500k/ship/visit and they get 2-3 ships per week over their short (10-15 week) Summer. That probably works out to about $10+M all-in. Today, as we wandered around town, we saw a new school, new buildings, stocked stores, and a number of people.
The general state of disrepair I mentioned yesterday is actually the state of pending repair. Cool. I'm heartened to hear that, and I hope to see progress when we return next year.
We stopped in at a woodworker's shop where they are carving totems and making dugout canoes. The sawdust and wood chips give off an intoxicating wonderful smell (at least to a lumber sniffer like me). I don't know what variety of pine wood they are using (probably fir or spruce), but the tree rings are super tight to the point where you almost can't see them. That makes these trees very old and very dense, probably just the properties the carver was looking for.
We hiked to the opposite end of town to the local hardware store. It wasn't large, but their selection was remarkable. Just about everything you would need, without the stuff you didn't really need. Management is paying attention.
I was able to find all the supplies I needed for some basic maintenance.
Back to the boat to clean the sea strainers (this time with a tarp to cover the engine and electrical stuff and my shop vac to suck out the water before it gets too high). A much tidier job than last time, but still way too complex for something I need to do weekly. Hmmm.
I also cleaned out and changed the strainer and filters on the watermaker. The ocean water around here is just loaded with sediments and growth which clogs the strainers in short order.
There is a beautiful Nordhavn 62 across from us. This was my dream boat until Karen decided she preferred the Selene that we now own. There is just something so purposeful about the lines on the Nordhavn that makes it a beautiful boat to my eye. She looks like a right proper ship to me.
Now, we can play "Where's Waldo" or in this case "Where's Blue Redd". Lost in a sea of working boats she is hidden in this picture. Really...
Tonight is Mexican night. I'm bookending this day from Huevos Rancheros for breakfast to Pasilla Pepper Pork Enchiladas for dinner. I am truly blessed!
Tomorrow at the butt-crack of dawn, we are off to Glacier Bay for our 4-day visit. We can hardly wait! This has been Karen's dream go-to location and we are doing it!!!
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