Wow, over a month since the last update, it's been a while.
A lot has happened since the 11th of July, so I'll start from there.
We got our boat fixed up and then head back out to the bay, where we were getting pretty consistent catches of fish, around 10,000 pounds a day. Until the 13th. On Sunday, July 13th, we had a record breaking (for our season) 19,280 pounds of fish in one delivery. That was a whole lot of fish, all the holds were full, most of them had double bags, we had some bags on deck and we filled them up and had to get them back so that we could fill them up again. It was a pretty exciting feeling. At the end there, we were guessing the weight. The other deckhands guessed low, around 13,000 or 15,000, I guessed higher than they, with 17,500, and then Etta guessed the highest, 18,000. So we were all pleasantly surprised when the man at the tender told us that we had 19,280 pounds.
After we delivered we ran back to where we were fishing, to see if we could get that many fish again, but it didn't happen. We caught nothing, maybe 1,000 pounds. And that was the way it was for the next week, twice we caught 4,000 pounds, but the rest of the time we were catching 500-2,000 pounds per delivery. This went on until the 21st when Rick threw in the towel and decided that it wasn't worth it to stay anymore, so we went back to shore and got stuff ready for the trip back.
Etta flew to Anchorage so that she could deal with some things, like getting the truck which was left in Anchorage, and getting certified to be a nurse in Alaska, so she didn't go on the trip back with us.
The trip back to Homer went pretty well, clear skies all the way.
After we got back to Homer and dry docked the boat, and finished cleaning it up the rest of the way, we were let loose to go our separate ways. On the radio there was a guy advertizing that he was going up to Anchorage, and he wanted a rider who would help with gas expenses, so I called the number and set it up. It cost me $40 to do it that way, and the bus would have been $65, so I was happy with that.
Anyway, I got up to the Anchorage airport, and then the original plan was to get on the next available flight for Tampa, but plans change, so now the plan was for me to hang out in Alaska until Friday and then I'd fly back. (It was a Sunday) I'd go up and see my grandfather, and on the way see my other relatives that I have in the Valley area. Pastor Julian has been very generous to us in the past and kept Jeremiah over night last year so I got a hold of him and asked him if I could stay with them for a day while I get in contact with my relatives. He graciously agreed to host me. He came with his son and picked me up and took me to his place where I met his wife, and family. Rodney and Justine, the oldest of the kids, are going to be at Bob Jones this fall, so that was nice, getting to know them a little.
To make a long story not as long, I stayed two nights at the Julian's, and then Uncle Tony and Aunt Cathy picked me up and drove me all the way up to Grandpa's farm, where I stayed for two days. While I was there I got to see Grandpa again, of course, and I met his helpers, (the Marbles) who helped him hay. And I also got to help do some haying. Haying was fun actually, the whole process is pretty fascinating how it all works together. So it was fun to see and experience that.
After my time was up, Uncle Tony and Aunt Cathy again drove all the way up to get me, and then drove all the way into Anchorage, and dropped me off at the airport. I am very grateful to them for going so far out of their way to get me where I needed to go.
After that I pretty much got on my plane and flew to Tampa, stopping at Dallas on the way. No problems at all, except that I forgot about some shampoo that I had in my bag, so that got confiscated, but my knives and everything important, I had put in my checked bag.
After landing in Florida, I had 2 days to get ready to leave again, because we were going to camp, which I was really looking forward to.
Now, camp is over and everything is settling down some. I'm getting stuff ready for college, because I'm leaving in less than a week now. I'm very excited about heading off to college, and starting a new phase in my life; I am a little scared but, not much, I know that God will watch over me, and I can do all things through Him.
That's all for now.
Timothy Petersen
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