Foggy London Town!

Ok, it's not really jolly old London town. But it was foggy and dreary just like London (or so I imagine) and I saw a clock tower. I then proceeded to talk in a British accent whenever I was alone in my bus and I also slipped into it a few times when I had people. Whoops! I'm sure they enjoyed it. Regardless, toady was a good day! It turned sunny around noon and all of my people were super cool. I had one group of people in stitches for twenty minutes and to be honest... I have no idea what I talked about. I remember at one time saying something about Russia and Sarah Palin but after that it all gets kinda fuzzy. I guess that's just the way it goes. Kick-a-pow!

Papa Barry

So this week my father decided to pop in to say hello and he brought his buddy Gary along with him. I don't really think they came to see me as much as they both just wanted to come to Alaska and I was just the excuse they needed. They had all sorts of fun, grabbing salmon with their hands, jumping off of some rocks into the ocean with the cousins, and even a helicopter ride! They hung out with me some too, but they had a grand adventure of their own and the entire time I let them have my camera. Which, thank baby Jesus, they only dropped the lens cap in to the ocean and not the entire camera.

Even though it was only a short visit I had a great time, laughs were contagious and continuous in the evenings and the days were full of wonder. Good times.

Free Food!

I was just finishing up with work yesterday when one of my coworkers asked me if I would like some sausages. Now, you must understand that one of my hobo life rules is that you never pass up free food. Not wanting to break my own rule and thinking about how for the last few days I had been on my usual rice and pasta diet, I happily said "yes." Well, was I in for a surprise! We went to his car and he handed me a huge bag of spicy sausages! Seeing my face light up like a kid on Christmas morning he asked if I wanted some hamburgers and deep fried halibut. I told him, "I never say no to free food." He then produced another large bag of halibut and a pan full of assembled hamburgers. By great grandma's spatula! This was truly a glorious day! A little confused, I asked him where all of this food came from. He said that he and his wife tried to give it to the homeless shelter but they didn't want it so I was the next best option. Now I'm not sure if this is a compliment or if he felt bad for me... but to hell with it! I got food to last me for weeks! Delicious foods.

Bugs: A Rant.

The Mosquito Hawk: also known as the Mosquito Eater, the Skeeter Eater, the Wolf Mosquito. All of these names would lead one to believe that this splendid creature was sent to earth by a divine being to control the vast populations of mosquitoes that frequent the gorgeous Alaskan coastline. If so, you would be sorely mistaken! These misleading creepies are only good for flying directly in front of your tv and making tourist say, "Oh my, you have such large mosquitoes here!" To which I respond, "I know right? Some of them are big enough to kill small dogs." They laugh, some look at me with sideways glances, but most of the time I go on to rant about the name. Mosquito Eater! A creature that eats mosquitoes! But you know what they do? Nothing of the sort, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if these liars were in cahoots with the mosquitoes themselves. Plotting how to ruin a perfectly good evening of summer frivolity. Of all the creepy crawlies out there, this one has easily made my "most hated" list based purely on it's deceptive name.

Playing Catch-up!

So last week my mother came to town and we had a blast. While I was off at work she was out doing motherly things. Such as, but not limited to: going to the store for me and buying me all sorts of delicious treats to eat because she was worried about my eating habits, cleaning my room, rearranging all of my stuff, washing my clothes, making my bed, and being an all around fantastic mother! But when I got home from work it was all about playing.

This is mama Eichelberger in a Tlingit clan house at Totem Bight State Park. I told her do something so that I could take a picture of her and this was the pose she chose. The "oh gee, I'm not really sure what I'm doing here" pose. Classic mom...

And I wondered where I got my weird posing tendencies... I think we all know now.

 So basically I have a fantastic mother that came all the way to Alaska not just to see me, but to take care of me for at least a few days as well. Whether that was because her motherly instincts were kicking in and she was worried that her favorite child (that's right, I know I'm the favorite) was dying of malnutrition because I refuse to take care of myself like a normal human. But overall the trip was a huge success, she now understands why I like to come up here in the summer time and I am fairly certain she

doesn't worry about me nearly as much as she used to. But perhaps now she will worry more because she knows how awesome it is here. Either way, she is a one of a kind mom that encourages me to be me. Which must be hard for her to do because I don't think I am always a "normal" son. But despite my quirks she says she loves me anyways and I am happy to say that I love her back. So thank you mom for the visit and for the yummy foods!

When work doesn't feel like work.

So this morning I had to be at work at 5:15. But when your job is something that you really like it makes it a lot easier to wake up. I didn't think that the sunshine would last another day, but boy was I wrong.

Not only did I get to drive around on a beautiful day, but I had an entire family (20 people, Grandparents, parents, children.) Who just let me have their camera for the entire tour (about 2 hours) and just told me to take pictures of them while they were doing, "touristy things." This included a family Christmas card photo in which they all wore Santa Claus hats and did a plethora of funny poses. When that family looks at their photos I think they will be surprised with some of the candid photos of them that I took while they weren't paying attention. If only I could be there when they look at the couple in there that I took of myself... overall today was a great reminder of why I came to Alaska and how great it is to be doing something I enjoy.

The sun is back!

For the first time in a few weeks I have seen the sun, so what else to do than take some pictures! Ketchikan Alaska is my home for now and it makes taking pictures easy because it's such a photogenic place when it's not raining. Thirteen feet of rain a year and lots of cloudy days makes sunny days a thing to be cherished. So even though I worked all day I still think I might have gotten a bit of a tan today.

Why Not Blog?

So here I am, blogging on the internets so that I can one day look back and remember all of the shenanigans and mischief I got into as a young man traveling and living life. I hope that this will act as a way for my friends and family to see how I'm doing as well as a way to keep track of my crazy life. So here goes nothing...