October 11, A long Week

Sorry for not posting in a while, but I have been slightly busy getting caught back up from leaving for Palmer last weekend.

First of all, Anchorage/Palmer was great. The weather was beautiful, and it was nice to eat at a resturaunt again.

Prior to the race, I had set a goal for my runner to finish in the top 45. He finished with his best ever time, coming in 44th place. Needless to say I was pleased with his effort, however, if he actually put in some effort over the summer this could be higher, so for next year, we are hoping top 15 for him.

The real adventure started on Sunday. Saturday night, the two boys I was responsible for stayed up all night, because we had to be at the airport at 5:00. After we checked out of the hotel, and boarded the plane for Kotzebue, it was time to sleep during the hour and a half flight.

After we got to Kotzebue, we had 8 hours before the flight to Buckland, so we grabbed breakfast, and waited around Bering Air's terminal (much like the terminal in the TV show "Wings" or even better, a doctor's office waiting room). When time came for our 2:30 flight, the skies were too foggy, so the flight was put on hold.

After 2 hours of waiting, we were notified that our flight had been cancelled, and we needed to find accomodations for the night. After a phone call, I got back into the school for another night on a classroom floor.

After sleeping 12 hours, it was time to get back up, and try again, just so I could get back to teaching, as it was now Monday morning.

After waiting for 4 hours at Bering Air, it was again time to hear the dreaded words, "Buckland-Deering, Cancelled" yet one more time. So the only thing to do was to grab lunch, and hang out at the Borough mayor's house to watch TV for a few hours, before returning to Bering Air to wait for the afternoon flight to Buckland.

By afternoon, the fog had finally lifted, and we were waiting the pilots in the waiting room. When a pilot came out, and finally said, "Deering-Buckland, come on," I was glad to actually be getting on a plane.

Nothing was more comforting than to be back home Monday at 5:40, from a journey that started 4 days earlier.

So, the entire week, I was left catching up from missing Friday and Monday.

About the only free time I had this week, I spent watching Air Force hockey on Friday, and I was surprised, and proud to see that my brother scored on his NCAA debut, adding a second goal in his second game!

It took until today to get caught up, but now I am ready to go for yet another week.

I am also waiting for the snow to come again, as it has been in the high 40's, the kids here can't wait to get out on thier snow-gos (snow machines, snow mobiles), and even I am excited to go out riding.