Brandon Family News
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Finally! An Update!!
Ok. I guess it's been long enough now that we really need to catch up! I was hoping to get back on cable modem first, but probably won't have it hooked up until after Oct 1. I guess you've all figured out that we actually made it to Valdez, almost in one piece. We left Kodiak with a whole lot of stuff (over 15000 lbs) and ended up putting the motorcycle on the ferry by itself, while pulling the loaded trailer with the van. Some friends of ours in Homer were kind enough to store the bike for us for a little while, in exchange for some use of it. We figured it was a pretty good bargain! After we get our cable modem back I'll get some pictures posted. We were pretty loaded down.
Anyway, we left the hamster with Kasi's friend Carolyn to live out his remaining days. I was worried that he wouldn't make the trip too well, and we didn't have any place to leave him in Anchorage anyway. When I talked to Tracy just last week, she said he is still alive and kicking and hasn't slowed down any at all. Ben says he must be the oldest hamster known to still be alive!
We had left Sasha in a boarding kennel in Kodiak for 10 days. When we went to pick her up we learned that she had ripped a hole in the kennel trying to get out, so they had moved her to a kennel with a steel plate at the bottom so she couldn't escape.
Meanwhile, the cats were boarded at the vet's office. When we went to pick them up, the attendant came bringing out this really pretty little gray tabby cat with white paws, and said, "He is much quieter than when you dropped him off!" Brian said,
"That's because he isn't our cat!!" I told them that if they wanted to give us cats that were better behaved, we'd be happy to trade, however. But they finally straightened it out and gave us OUR cats.
So we were finally on our way..... We had the kids in the van, the dog in the kennel in the middle of the van, and the cats in their kennel on top of the dog. A cartop carrier packed full of stuff, behind the seat packed full, and a loaded down trailer behind. The bus was also rather packed full. We really were quite loaded!
The ferry was, as normal, running behind schedule, so we ended up getting into Homer later than planned. Also, one of the cats had done their business in the kennel, so we had to give them both baths and clean the kennel good. We ended up being in Homer for most of the day, which was actually nice. It was nice not to be too rushed and just take our time and enjoy the day. Besides having to bath the cats, the only other trouble we had was with the dog. We left her in her kennel while we went out to lunch, and she ripped the door off of the kennel trying to escape. She's NEVER done that before. Luckily she pulled it into the kennel so she couldn't get out anyway, and the door was able to be fixed.
After leaving Homer we decided to stop in Kasilof and see Brian's aunt on our way through. We spent a little time there too, leaving the dog in the van and letting the cats loose in the bus. When we came out and got ready to leave, the dog had ripped the door off the kennel again! She was really having a hard time with the move and was terrified that we were going to leave her again.
Anyway, we took it rather slow, and headed for Anchorage. We figured we weren't on any time schedule so it didn't really matter if we took our time. We had a very nice drive for the most part, with beautiful sunny weather.
The sad note of the trip happened when we had a flat tire on the bus just south of the Hope cutoff. It was of course an inside rear dual, so we needed some help to change it, as well as a bigger jack. And being where we were, there was no cell service, so we couldn't call anyone. We went ahead and shut the bus up as well as we could with the cats in it, and Brian climbed into the van with me, the kids, and the dog, and we drove on into Girdwood where we could call Mom and Dad and let them know what was going on. It was about 12:30 at night, and the kids were all tired and cranky, so we decided to see if Suzanna would have room for them to crash on her floor for the night while we figured out what to do with the tire. Mom had told us that Dad had a floor jack that would probably work for us. We dropped the kids off, and Suzanna told us that Mom had called her and said they were on their way into Anchorage so to have us stay there until they arrived. They were really worried about vandalism as there have been a lot of problems down in that area. So we left the kids with Suz, and went with Mom and Dad back down to where the bus was. When we got there, we found the door to the bus open and no sign of the cats. We searched the area, and didn't find any trace at all of them. So we finally gave up and hoped they were just hiding in the back of the bus where we couldn't find them. We drove back down the next day and searched the area some more, but didn't find anything at all.... no cat footprints, no sign at all of them. Some friends of ours stopped and searched the area too, but didn't find anything either.
Anyway, we parked the bus in Palmer while we were in Anchorage, and Dusty finally did come out where we could pet her. But Gizmo is gone. We hoped he would be there and just hiding, but when we unloaded the bus there was no trace of him. I hope that somebody found him and is giving him a good home. It's really hard to not know what happened to him after raising him for so long. The kids still pray every night that he's OK and somebody is loving him and taking good care of him.
- posted by Rosanna @ 1:38 PM 0 comments
Anyway, we left the hamster with Kasi's friend Carolyn to live out his remaining days. I was worried that he wouldn't make the trip too well, and we didn't have any place to leave him in Anchorage anyway. When I talked to Tracy just last week, she said he is still alive and kicking and hasn't slowed down any at all. Ben says he must be the oldest hamster known to still be alive!
We had left Sasha in a boarding kennel in Kodiak for 10 days. When we went to pick her up we learned that she had ripped a hole in the kennel trying to get out, so they had moved her to a kennel with a steel plate at the bottom so she couldn't escape.
Meanwhile, the cats were boarded at the vet's office. When we went to pick them up, the attendant came bringing out this really pretty little gray tabby cat with white paws, and said, "He is much quieter than when you dropped him off!" Brian said,
"That's because he isn't our cat!!" I told them that if they wanted to give us cats that were better behaved, we'd be happy to trade, however. But they finally straightened it out and gave us OUR cats.
So we were finally on our way..... We had the kids in the van, the dog in the kennel in the middle of the van, and the cats in their kennel on top of the dog. A cartop carrier packed full of stuff, behind the seat packed full, and a loaded down trailer behind. The bus was also rather packed full. We really were quite loaded!
The ferry was, as normal, running behind schedule, so we ended up getting into Homer later than planned. Also, one of the cats had done their business in the kennel, so we had to give them both baths and clean the kennel good. We ended up being in Homer for most of the day, which was actually nice. It was nice not to be too rushed and just take our time and enjoy the day. Besides having to bath the cats, the only other trouble we had was with the dog. We left her in her kennel while we went out to lunch, and she ripped the door off of the kennel trying to escape. She's NEVER done that before. Luckily she pulled it into the kennel so she couldn't get out anyway, and the door was able to be fixed.
After leaving Homer we decided to stop in Kasilof and see Brian's aunt on our way through. We spent a little time there too, leaving the dog in the van and letting the cats loose in the bus. When we came out and got ready to leave, the dog had ripped the door off the kennel again! She was really having a hard time with the move and was terrified that we were going to leave her again.
Anyway, we took it rather slow, and headed for Anchorage. We figured we weren't on any time schedule so it didn't really matter if we took our time. We had a very nice drive for the most part, with beautiful sunny weather.
The sad note of the trip happened when we had a flat tire on the bus just south of the Hope cutoff. It was of course an inside rear dual, so we needed some help to change it, as well as a bigger jack. And being where we were, there was no cell service, so we couldn't call anyone. We went ahead and shut the bus up as well as we could with the cats in it, and Brian climbed into the van with me, the kids, and the dog, and we drove on into Girdwood where we could call Mom and Dad and let them know what was going on. It was about 12:30 at night, and the kids were all tired and cranky, so we decided to see if Suzanna would have room for them to crash on her floor for the night while we figured out what to do with the tire. Mom had told us that Dad had a floor jack that would probably work for us. We dropped the kids off, and Suzanna told us that Mom had called her and said they were on their way into Anchorage so to have us stay there until they arrived. They were really worried about vandalism as there have been a lot of problems down in that area. So we left the kids with Suz, and went with Mom and Dad back down to where the bus was. When we got there, we found the door to the bus open and no sign of the cats. We searched the area, and didn't find any trace at all of them. So we finally gave up and hoped they were just hiding in the back of the bus where we couldn't find them. We drove back down the next day and searched the area some more, but didn't find anything at all.... no cat footprints, no sign at all of them. Some friends of ours stopped and searched the area too, but didn't find anything either.
Anyway, we parked the bus in Palmer while we were in Anchorage, and Dusty finally did come out where we could pet her. But Gizmo is gone. We hoped he would be there and just hiding, but when we unloaded the bus there was no trace of him. I hope that somebody found him and is giving him a good home. It's really hard to not know what happened to him after raising him for so long. The kids still pray every night that he's OK and somebody is loving him and taking good care of him.
- posted by Rosanna @ 1:38 PM 0 comments
Valdez at last!
We finally arrived in Valdez on August 15. We spent the night in a hotel here, then Brian had to check in on the 16th. Luckily our house was ready for us, so we were able to move in right away. We were REALLY impressed! The house is HUGE and has LOTS of storage space. The people here are very friendly. The Coast Guard Family Association brought us dinner the first night we were here, and some church members brought us dinner the next night. People have been really friendly and have offered help all the way through. We had people come over and bring us cookies, and stop by to introduce themselves and welcome us in.... it has been really great! We are loving it here!
The kids are enjoying school and have made quite a few new friends already. Kasi is involved in Band, Choir, and is now playing Basketball with Parks and Rec again. Kenny is now in Cub Scouts and is really having a lot of fun. Chip is crawling and is all over the house. I spend most of my time chasing him around and getting him out of stuff he's not supposed to be in to! I am anxious to get back into some quilting and sewing. There is a really nice quilt shop here in town that I enjoy browsing through. They have some neat patterns that I may decide to try out. Also, I think I'm going to order another block of the month pattern to work on. Of course, I still have to finish the last one!
Anyway, the best part of life in Valdez, I think, is Brian's work schedule. He now works Monday through Friday, 8-4:30, with weekends and holidays off!! We don't know how to handle a "normal" schedule!!
Well, I think that's about all for the "catch-up" in a nutshell. For those of you who we weren't able to visit on our way through Anchorage, we are hoping to be up there about once a month, so will make it a point to come and see you. Also, if you happen to get to Valdez, look us up! We aren't hard to find!
- posted by Rosanna @ 1:06 PM 0 comments
The kids are enjoying school and have made quite a few new friends already. Kasi is involved in Band, Choir, and is now playing Basketball with Parks and Rec again. Kenny is now in Cub Scouts and is really having a lot of fun. Chip is crawling and is all over the house. I spend most of my time chasing him around and getting him out of stuff he's not supposed to be in to! I am anxious to get back into some quilting and sewing. There is a really nice quilt shop here in town that I enjoy browsing through. They have some neat patterns that I may decide to try out. Also, I think I'm going to order another block of the month pattern to work on. Of course, I still have to finish the last one!
Anyway, the best part of life in Valdez, I think, is Brian's work schedule. He now works Monday through Friday, 8-4:30, with weekends and holidays off!! We don't know how to handle a "normal" schedule!!
Well, I think that's about all for the "catch-up" in a nutshell. For those of you who we weren't able to visit on our way through Anchorage, we are hoping to be up there about once a month, so will make it a point to come and see you. Also, if you happen to get to Valdez, look us up! We aren't hard to find!
- posted by Rosanna @ 1:06 PM 0 comments
