THE PATH

117 pounds, that is what the Halibut that Jordan caught today weighed in at. He is standing next to his 1st place fish. His was the top catch of the day and mine came in second (and I also caught another big Halibut at the last moment before heading back to the lodge, but that's another story, Jordan is THE MAN TODAY!!!) So we get to bed about 11, Sara comes and delivers coffee to our cabin at 5 am and we get up, make ready and have breakfast at 6, leaving at 6:30, on the water by 7 for what turns out to be a perfect day for saltwater fishing the Cook Inlet with Deep Creek Fishing Club . First we troll for Silver Salmon, it's Michael, Ted, Jordan and me - along with Captain Sky Leman and Roger Wiste his excellent deck hand. The two of them made for a fantastic day. Jordan hooks up with the first silver, then Ted, then Michael; everyone catches a silver salmon but me and I hook up but get flipped off by the fish at the boat. So, it's time to go to the Cemetery , the infamo...

The last two days have been long and hard. Over 4500 miles in the air yesterday, a very pleasant and enjoyable evening last night (which turned out to be a lousy night's sleep as my body could not figure out what was going on) and then a 4 hour drive down highway 1 from Anchorage to Ninilchick today with the ghost of Dale Earnhardt Sr. at the wheel (aka Jordan Uselton who lives in NYC and never drives). It was quite the experience. Once we arrived and got settled in it was literally an awesome wonder to behold. The view of the Alaskan range and the various views of the lodge and all if its surroundings are incredible. I cannot explain, I cannot give you an adequate description, but I will give you my very best over the next few days to hopefully detail the wonder of it all. We have yet to "wet a line" and we are absolutely thrilled and amazed. Pictures will be forthcoming and I am going to attempt to set up a picture album/slide show on the blog for you to peruse. But ...

This is what we did yesterday. We spent 10 hours in an airplane. From left to right is Jordan, and our hosts Mailise & Phil Widlanski (I promise I will post a better picture of you all very soon). Considering the amount of time we spent in the air we all arrived in pretty good shape. It was 7 pm Anchorage time when we landed. Getting baggage and rental cars, the whole group of us (11 total with one more yet to come) checked in to a hotel. We then made our way to "Club Paris", a 50 year old establishment in downtown Anchorage for a fantastic evening of food, drink and lively conversation. A very fine evening it was as we finished up around midnight and it was not yet completely dark. Remember, EDT we are 4 hours behind and 3 for CDT. This morning we pack up, pick up a few things (fishing licenses most notable) and head for the lodge in Ninilchick. Today is actually not a fishing day as we will journey 4-5 hours down the Kenai Peninsula where I am told an outstanding dinner...

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...