Bellingham or Bust Episode Three: Construction and Capitulation

[The third episode recounting a summer skin-on-frame kayak build and solo 130 mile kayak journey. From the start - read the first and second episode.]

We cajole our craft,

my fellow builders and I,

In sight of our tents

pitched beneath steely skies,

to the tune of a minstrel

modulating ukulele highs.

11 - 23.June.2014 | Portland/Manzanita, Oregon; Bainbridge Island, Washington

South I flew, to Portland, Oregon, to join up with the eldest brother and shop for the remaining necessaries - food for the next week of construction in addition to the following three weeks of paddling; and some flares, just in case.

Wandered about town with brother and his girlfriend, spent some time with a friend from school; smiled at their queries and tried to reassure their worries, despite an absence of answers. Told them of all the preparations, of the fail-safes, communications equipment, and survival gear that should support me if I have need of them. 

Personal Fiscal Delights: One Ramblin' Man's PFD Usage

You may have heard of Alaska's Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) before. Maybe someone described it to you as an "avalanche of free money" or you heard a rumor along the lines of "Alaska will pay you to move here!", or perhaps you were told you could "move to Alaska for free!". 

Gunnar Knapp, Institute of Social and Economic Research

The truth is somewhat simpler and less exciting: you may be eligible to receive an annual payout, if you establish residency in Alaska, and have lived here for at least one year (subject to a myriad of exceptions). 

Bellingham or Bust Episode Two: Dawns The Day Before

[This is the second episode in the Bainbridge to Bellingham or Bust series, edited from journals written prior to and during a solo kayak trip undertaken June 2014, from Bainbridge Island to Bellingham.]

who dreams, of

the fruition of dreams,

prepares,

perspiring over papyrus

accruing filthy lucre,

for the way

forward.

< : June 10, 2015 : Ketchikan, Alaska : >

Wellness

When drains the stores of joy, set out for the steely depths of an alloyed ocean.

Sunrise, Fossil Beach

My Country Tis of Spruce Island

My anticipation of the extended July 4th weekend was so eager, several people corrected me when I sputtered about plans to go kayak camping - on Thanksgiving Day. My mind thought that this holiday I was so thankful for couldn't be named anything else. Thursday night packing became Friday morning packing, but the boat was geared up and paddling north by noon thirty.

Seagulls standing off a rock in Ouzinkie harbor, the dome of the
village's Orthodox Church peeking out in the distance.