THE PATH

I have arrived. This picture is of me sitting at my favorite place in NYC - Bello Giardino (as you will remember from a previous post!). You can't see all that well but Jordan is on my right and Megan our dear friend is on my left. Life is good, all is well and I have had an order of calamari and will be dining on wild mushroom ravioli a bit later in the evening. Tomorrow morning we leave at 9 am for the airport and will arrive in Anchorage at 5 pm (remember, 4 hours behind EDT, 3 CDT). Alaska, here we come...

Tomorrow I leave for NYC. You already know from a previous post what I'll be doing tomorrow night. So I decided to post a picture of the woman that I will leave behind, a real beauty, a great sport (she has not complained once that she's not going), and my wife of 32 years - the one and only Sheila. Maybe one day I will make a second trip and the two of us can go together, after all, she is the daughter of Henry Tippins - one of the world's greatest fishermen. She is the love of my life.

Hello, Hello! Watch out Alaska! So I just got off the phone with our fantastic host Phil and he said they pulled in a 210 lb. Halibut yesterday. I told him "my Father and I don't like to deal with small fish. We are ready for a nice size 350 lbs fish that will fight back." (Hey either go big or go home) My sarcasm couldn't have been any thicker. So my Father and I are SO very excited about our big trip. It is coming up and I can't wait. My Dad and I used to go fishing all the time growing up. Bass, Rainbow Trout, Crappie... you name it we fished it in Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee...... all over Dixie! But never in my most wildest dreams did I think we would ever be deep sea fishing in the great state of Alaska. Now many people have said "Alaska? Are you going to hang out with Sarah Palin?" And my response has always been "Well heck yeah! I already called her. We are going to hang out on her back deck, drink white zinfandel...

This is Jordan and Lydia, his fiance. I am his dad. We're going fishing. Jordan and Lydia are getting married very soon and Sheila, Tom & Memrie (Lydia's parents) and I are as happy as we can be. Now this is one good looking and obviously very happy couple. I am going to tell you a few things about Jordan. He is an actor, a singer, a dancer, a waiter, a basketball ball player (plays for the Chardonnays), a baseball player, a football player (one heck of a defensive end I must say), he once was a long distance runner, and he is an outdoors man - a fisherman. So, we're going fishing. That's what fishermen do. Jordan takes care of things. He is thoughtful, considerate, and for the most part compassionate. He is 26 years old. Jordan also does a very good Chris Farley imitation of the SNL motivational guy - Matt Foley - that "lives in a van down by the river". I could tell you so many things about this fellow but I have been selective as I don't want to emb...

This is a picture of two of our pets taken just over a week ago. They were the best of buddies. Draeger is our almost 10 years old German Shepherd. Smudge and Draeger are looking out the front door, guarding the premises as they often would do, enjoying one an other's company. Smudge passed away today. He was 9 years old and he looked like a miniature cougar. He will be sorely missed by us all. Smudge was Sheila's cat, he was her boy, and I feel so bad to lose him yet I feel worse knowing the sorrow and grief that Sheila feels tonight. Forgive my indulgence of writing about our loss but it really is all that is on my mind. We have been fortunate. Every pet that we have had has been smart and very much a part of what our lives are all about on a day to day basis. Smudge was one of us. Smudge was a hunter. If he set his mind on taking a squirrel the squirrel didn't have a chance. As you can see, Smudge was not camouflaged by any means. He was white as snow. As I said, that ...

Isn't work just great? Now there's a happy man if I ever did see one! Monday's at the office are just fantastic aren't they? I don't know much but I do know this, next Monday will be a different story (and I promise a completely different picture) all together. No bow-tie, no starched shirt, just one of the guys on the river or the bay fishing for monster fish in Alaska. Hangin' with my boy (who will start posting soon) and my countenance will be be remarkably different - GUARANTEED. Speaking of Monday apparel, I stopped by REI on the way home tonight to pick up the last few things that I need to handle all of the potential weather situations that may come our way. Should have gone to WalMart $$$... See you tomorrow!

Well today has been a busy day. I won't go in to all of the reasons but I will say that I have started pulling everything together for the trip. I just spent some time with Jordan on the phone getting some updates on the fishing and our host says that they have been catching 100 pound plus Halibut on a regular basis. I have done a lot of fishing in my 57 years and I have never caught a fish any where near 100 pounds. Do you realize that catching a 100 pound fish takes around 45 minutes? Do you (do I) realize that you are not going to be ready to "go catch another one" right away? Jordan says he's been doing push-ups and working out a bit to get ready. I told Jordan that our best bet would be to do some "tag teaming"! With each passing day I think about my dad and I think about Sheila's dad (my father in law). I learned how to fish following my dad around as a kid. He was a very good fisherman, never fished from a boat, had a series of ponds (all the prop...

Ninilchik is a small Russian fishing village. The lodge we will be fishing out of is nearby. The picture you see here is the Russian Orthodox Church located in the village and it was built around 1900. If you click the link you will discover its history. Overlooking Cook Inlet the saltwater fishing is primarily for Halibut. Halibut look like giant flounder for those of you that are used to the fish of the Gulf Coast. On one website I found a picture of a couple that had caught a 466 pound Halibut. The limit is two Halibut per person per day. A 466 pound fish is hard to imagine and it certainly is an unusual haul. For those of you that might be interested, the following are some interesting facts. Twilight is at 4:51 a.m. - Sunrise at 5:51 a.m. - Sunset is at 10:34 p.m. - and evening twilight is at 11:32 p.m. This equates to just over 5 hours of darkness and a whole lot of daylight for fishing. The tempe...

A week from today I will be flying to NYC where I will hook up with Jordan and make ready for a long day of flying to Anchorage on Saturday. There's no better way to prepare than to enjoy the evening at Bello Giardino where you'll find the best Italian food on the Upper West Side (this is where Jordan works). The picture you see is as you walk in the door. My favorite spot is at the corner of the bar located in the bottom right hand corner of the photo. I am quite certain that it will be a wonderful time that will include all of the usual suspects. If you have never been there you are missing something really special. Things are beginning to get a little hectic as I have several projects to complete at work, a few things to get done around the house, and a shopping trip to REI to pick up the final things needed in order to be well equipped on the water. I have been going to my chiropractor, Dr. Art Lensgraf, every other day to ensure that all of my past injuries will bother me...

Jordan and I will be heading for Alaska on August 1st. This will be the fishing trip of all fishing trips for us both and we will be updating this blog daily for those of you who are interested in keeping up with our adventures. We just might be sophisticated enough to figure out how to upload pictures as well. Any suggestions will more than likely be appreciated as I have never done this before. I am quite sure that many of you will know exactly what to tell me. More to come...