2006 SOS/ Off N Running Tours

Barnaby!

My nephew, Milhouse, another rescued pup who found a good home

It's that time of year again for Lollypop Farm's Barktoberfest 2007. Lollypop Farm is the Humane Society in Rochester, NY. Not only do they care for dogs and cats, but they also have cows, horses, pigs, llamas, emus and a bunch of other animals in need of a home.

Two years ago, Steve adopted Barnaby from Lollypop. I used to volunteer there on the farm. This is one of the biggest fundraisers Lollypop has every year. For the past 2 years "SOS/Off N Running Tours" has raised over $2000 in support of Lollypop Farm. Please consider sponsoring one of my friends. Although I can't make it for the race this year, I hope you will recognize the hard work of these participants.

Thanks!

The second trip I took as part of Invitational. There was extra spots on the Saturday trip, and Amy let me go as a thank you for all my help during the fundraiser. The best part was that my fellow shipmates were my friends! Jenelle (intern coodinator), Justin (her boyfriend who is the research coordinator at the ASLC), Trista (sales manager), Sarah (fellow intern), and Nancy (executive asst) headed out to sea on a very foggy morning. Ben, our captain, let me drive the boat out of Resurrection Bay. He also let me drive the boat in the fog, but I freaked out a little and made him drive again. The trips on Saturday were supposed to be short because the participants had to catch a 4pm train. However, since we were all employees, we decided to go for some barn door halibut! Yippee! I didn't catch any big ones, but between Trista, Nancy, and Justin, we got 70, 80 and 90 pound halibut. Jenelle and I got "chickens" (aka little halibut) but I didn't complain because they were still hard to real in. Once again, I proved I am not the best fisherwoman, but I had a lot of fun. (Well, I head fun until we stopped the boat to investigate a weird smell. Everyone took the opportunity to use the head. I used the head first and Ben punished me by starting the boat up quick and doing a fast 360 while I was still in there. Thanks Ben). These are all pictures that Sarah took. Yes Ben shot the large halibut before bringing it up on board.
Me fishing, once again great weather!

Sarah's first halibut!

Trista's big catch. Woo hoo!

Go Nancy! It's a big one!


Nancy is beat. I bet the fish is too.

That's huge!

Justin adds to the bounty.

Although Jenelle wanted a halibut, the lingcod was a nice surprise!

Yup we are such tourists! All of our catch.

Many of the tourists that come to Seward come for the great fishing. Most commonly caught are silver salmon and halibut. I was lucky enough to go charter fishing twice. The first time I went out on the "Rainisong" in the beginning of August. My friend Mike was in charge of the trip, and got me a great deal on the trip. My roomie, Nicole, and co-worker, Nate, also came along. Nate's brother and sister-in-law were in too. Unfortunately, I am not a very good fisherwoman! But I did catch a few silvers. The rough seas prevented us from going out for halibut, but we had a good time. Nicole and Shanna got a little sea-sick, but after some saltines and beers, everyone was feeling fine! The weather was warm- finally! Here are some pictures from our trip!

Nicole pre-seasickness:

Yeah- Mike!

My first catch, which turned out to be my biggest

Nicole's first catch. Beer makes her lucky.

Nate's sister-in-law and one of her fish

Mike and I

Our crew- Mike, Audrey, and Dirk.

Note how I hold the fish like a man! No gaff!

What a gorgeous day! Nate and I enjoying the weather.

Mike being manly and filetting our catch.