Real Estate Information Archive

Alaska summers are short but very long.  We have a tremendous amount of sunlight, which helps us navigate this great state.  There are so many different places that you can visit.  You just have to get out there and do it.

You can visit Valdez, my wife took some of our extended family there for a little Halibut fishing.  They did well and cam back with 10 fish.  on the drive from Anchorage to Valdez you will see many spectacular sights.  You can also get to Valdez by taking the Alaska Ferry from Whittier.  This is an easy trip and a great way to see Prince William Sound.  You can then drive back or hop on the ferry for the return trip.

Homer is another excellent choice, and although I will not make it there this year there I definitely recommend it.  In Homer you can visit the spit; this is where you will find the boat harbor and launch for fabulous Halibut charters.  You can get a water taxi to Halibut Cove or Seldovia.  Both destinations offer excellent choices for dining and some fabulous art galleries.  The Kachemak Bay is a beautiful destination.

I really like visiting the Cooper Landing area on the Kenai Peninsula.  Cooper Landing offers excellent trout and Salmon fishing as well as wildlife viewing.  On numerous trips I have fished along side black and brown bears.  Eagle watch as we catch our fish, then slowly drift down the river.  This last weekend we visited the mouth of the Kenai River for a little Alaskan fun; Dip netting.  This is an Alaska tradition and a great way to stock you freezer full of fish.

On the day we visited 100,000 Red Slamon came into the river, yes, I said one hundred thousand.  People line the shore with large nets scooping out fish; in one area boats of all sizes go up and down the river with Dip nets hanging over the side.  A dip net is a 4 or 5 circle with gill netting in it.  Most people have a 5-6 foot handle on the hoop.  You wait to a fish swims into the net and then haul it in.  On the day we visited the river there may have been 500 boats on the river scooping up fish.  There is a weir just past this area, and the next day the weir count showed 68,000 fish made it through the dip nets.

Our family pulled in 55 fish, and the friends with us pulled in 65 for their family.  We got our limits and headed home.

There is so much to do up here it's really hard to get it all in.  You can go clamming.  You could hike one of the hundreds of trials that are in the South Central Alaska.  You can water ski, white water raft or kayak; don't forget ocean kayaking.  There's flight seeing, and then the normal pursuits like softball, and baseball.

Oh yeah, I forgot the most important thing.  You have to work and get some sleep.  I have to go, my wife says I need to mow the lawn, don't forget your chores.

We are excited to offer the 13^th annual Prudential sponsored Points of Light Youth Leadership Institute for students grades 8-12. The institute will be held March 8^th-12^th over Spring Break. This program is a 40 hour community leadership training program for teens who, want to learn leadership skills and improve themselves, their schools and make the community a better place to live.

 If you or someone you know, know a student who would be interested in applying, please contact Sabra at ext. 7295 for an application or click on the attached information packet & application. The deadline is February 26^th. Or for more information on PYLI visit www.spirit.prudential.com

Enjoy the ride. There is no return ticket.


George Carlin on aging!

George Carlin's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30.  Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50, and your dreams are gone...

But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50, and make it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that, it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's, and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3.Keep learning.  Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's family name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND, ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
And, if you don't send this to at least 8 people - who cares? But do share this with someone. We all need to live life to its fullest each day!! 
 
Life's journey is not to
arrive at the grave safely
in a well preserved body,
but rather to skid in sideways,
totally used up and worn out, shouting
'...man, what a ride!'

Sorry I have written anything in the last week, I was up north or Delta Junction on the Good Paster River.  It was quite the adventure and a great trip in a very beautiful and remote part of Alaska.  According to my estimates we made it about 75-80 mile upstream from the Big Delta Landing on the Tanana River.  

We started out last Saturday evening and drove 320 miles north to Big Delta and launched our boat into the Tanana River.  From there we travelled 5 miles upstream in the fog to the Good Paster River.  This was fun and thought I would be able to find the mouth of the Good Paster fairly easily with the help of my GPS.  Unfortunately my GPS chart plotter had no record of the Good Paster in the memory file.  I had reviewed the google maps online so this helped me find the mouth.

The next stretch of river was very twisty and with 150 gallons of fuel on board we made our way up stream.  A little over 2 hours later and 45 gallons of fuel lighter we made to 6 miles above the south fork and found a nice gravel bar to camp on.  We set up camp there and got comfortable.  It was truly beautiful and very hot, it must have been 65 every day.  

The next couple of days we ran up and down the river, some times in the river and sometimes, like the day we ran into a raft coming downstream, we ended up in the wrong channel and high and dry.  In the week up on the Good Paster the river slowly dropped a little over a 1.5 feet.  It got really shallow.  On the way out we rubbed the bottom several times, and there were miles of river that we ran in only 3 to 4 inches of water.  One mistake and it was going to be a long was before we could get back on step.  

I learned a lot about what my Wooldridge could do in shallow water situations, as well as my driving skills.  At least one high and dry espisode was due to sun glare and missing the ripples in the middle of the river. Oh well, it was a lot of fun and what was supposed to be a hunting trip turned into a great camping trip.

This weekend was a time to check our list, make sure all the laundry was done, and a couple of trips to stores to find the last of the school supplies.  Why, because school starts today in the Mat-Su Valley.

We had to double check the lists, buy new shoes, and look for that elusive primary journal for my first grader.  Then it was to bed early, ya right.

Planning sure makes this easier, but even with the best planning it seems like I'm missing something.  I've checked my list and now I will leave my children to the local schools, and I am sure that they will do great.

A little last minute cartoons, breakfast, get dressed, and it's picture time.  Check out the photos on www.Facebook.com/eric.bushnell, I should have them uploaded later today.

Now that summer is officially over here in Alaska, we can only hope for a long fall with mild weather. More on this later in the week.  School has started and now were back into the daily routine.

Good luck to all of you with school age kids.

There is only one week left before the kids go back to school.  I have been trying to plan activities for all of us.  My wife is off to Brazil with a group of friends from the Wasilla and Eagle River Rotary (Rotoplast, helping kids with cleft lips and pallets).  My daughter is off with her friends in Cooper Landing floating the Kenai River without me.  go figure.

So that leaves me and Blake, what can we do me and my six year old son.  Well lets pack up the  boat and head to the Deshka River, I hear the Silvers are in.  So we headed up Saturday night and fishing was a little slow, but around 7:30 we finally got a taker and Blake caught his first salmon.

We camped overnight and we're back at it in the morning.  We caught three more fish.  Blake and I had a great time. Sunday was sunny and there was very little wind.  More fish too.

Another great weekend.