North to Alaska

Has It Really Been That Long...

2009-08-20T16:19:00.001-07:00

...since we posted here? Wow! It has been a tough year for many people. Just before the economic crisis hit we had talked to the realtor about selling our home here in Florida. She said "Wait a couple of months and let's see what happens." Then the bottom dropped out of the market. Needless to say, that's put a huge crimp in our plans! However, we have managed to keep our heads above water and are continuing in our goal to build this dream of ours! Unless we hit the lottery or a hurricane destroys our home or some such thing, we will have to start out much smaller than originally anticipated. BUT we are continuing in our plans!
Right now things are still in the very infant stages. We have a vision and a bunch of drawings that Steve has done. We have been doing some research and Ginni just updated the website with a few pictures at www.clarkbaylodge.com.
Our goal at this time is to wait a few more months until the South Florida market rebounds just a wee bit. Then we plan to move to Ketchikan where we will work. Meanwhile, we'll take the trips over to Hollis and build as we are able. It will just take longer than we wanted. :)
If you know of or want to invest we'd be interested in talking to you. You can email Steve at stevegass52@yahoo.com.
In the meantime we hope you've had a wonderful few months and I promise I will update sooner than every 6-8 months! (Very embarrassed here!) We look forward to meeting and serving you in Alaska!

2008-12-30T08:54:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season! And a great 2008!
As you can guess, the economic situation has affected our plans for building the lodge. But never fear! We have other options in mind. We talked to a realtor just before the economy tanked and got some very positive feedback from her. However, now is NOT the time to sell in our area! So we are going to Plan B. We will be spending the first few months of the new year working on finding some grant money for the building project. We are still VERY excited about this project and can't WAIT to get started with it!
Meanwhile, here's some pictures of the property to whet your whistle!
Enjoy!
First is a picture of the property as it looks now. We will leave as much natural beauty as possible and will be using as much wood from the property as possible. (Some of the pictures are a bit blurry because the ground was very soggy and it was hard to get a steady footing!)

Here's a picture of the lagoon in front of the property.

Some of the many tall cedar trees on the property.

A picture of Steve standing in front of a VERY large cedar tree! It's already leaning so we will have to cut it down and use it for building materials.

Here's a picture of the nearby world famous Harris River.

The Maybeso Creek is very close to the property. Is there gold in it? Maybe so!

I took this picture in nearby Craig. Eagles are a common sight!

We look forward to hearing your comments and/or suggestions!
Have a wonderfully blessed 2009

A little bit closer!

2008-08-08T18:42:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in awhile because our progress here has been VERY slow. Steve's mom got very ill and he's been working hard too. His mom's doing much better now and we're very glad. Meanwhile, there HAS been a bit of progress. We have a landscaping plan for the back yard. Thank you Heather!!! The dining room ceiling is finally finished! YAYAY!! And the guest bathroom should be done no later than the end of next week. I'll post pictures when it's finished. I'm calling it the "Ugly Duckling Bathroom"! Hopefully I'll be able to find the pictures I took a couple of years ago so I can post before and after pictures! We still have the living room ceiling to repair which will take at least a week between coats of mud and sanding. The living and dining rooms are all one big room so painting will be done all at once. That won't be much fun for sure! And then it will be little tiny touch-ups and finishing projects. Finally, we'll do the landscaping of the back yard and then we can talk to the realtor! So still awhile to go. Progress is being made slowly but surely! Remember, it was the tortoise that won the race! Hehe!

A TINY Bit of Progress!

2008-05-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

So the first two projects are late. But they're DONE! This is a picture of our "new" front porch. The railings between the posts and the house are decorative only and are new. Gives a whole new feeling to the house! And the guest bedroom is finally painted and has drapes! YAY!

Next project is to redo our "Florida room". Some may call it a sun room. Basically it's a porch that previous owners made a permanent room. It needs new French doors, a new closet, paint and the ceiling needs to be finished. This is the room that totally lost the roof in Hurricane Wilma on October 24, 2005. That's a day we aren't likely to EVER forget!!!

Once that room's done we can repair the damage to the ceilings in the living and dining rooms from the hurricane and leaking. The roof was replaced a year ago and Steve did try to fix the drywall. But it's definitely not something he's good at and now we need to fix the repairs. Hehe! And both rooms need painting. That means moving furniture to the Florida room for a few days. Hopefully it won't take that long and we'll be back on schedule soon!

Alaska, HERE WE COME!!! (At least someday soon we hope!) :)

A Plan!!!

2008-04-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

Steve and I finally had a few minutes to sit down and make a goal plan for finishing the work on the house. We were both amazed at how much was still left to do! But if we're able to stick to it as we wrote it, we'll be able to put the house on the market by August 1, 2008! Maybe by then this slow market will have perked up a bit. It's already started here just a wee bit!

Now, we need to figure out the best way to pay for the land .....

Sssh!!! Don't Tell Anybody!

2008-04-05T20:23:00.001-07:00

I think we have finally come up with an actual floorplan and design for the lodge!!! It's taken LOTS of "discussions" and even a few tears, but a compromise has finally been reached! I can't share it yet, but suffice it to say IT'S AWESOME!!! I wish it could happen tomorrow, but what's that old saying? Good things come to those who wait! But it doesn't say anything about liking the waiting or being patient about it does it now?! Hehe! Until next time...

Stormy Weather!!

2008-02-13T17:51:00.000-08:00

Here in South Florida we get some pretty nasty storms (aka hurricanes and tropical storms) but we don't often get storms like we've had the last couple of days. We desperately needed the rain though and after praying hard that the nastiest weather would stay away, I hunkered down in the house and prayed for Steve's safety as he worked. But today just about scared the wits out of me! I was sitting at my computer in the new office. (We switched rooms as soon as Steve's mom left.) It was beginning to get nasty again and I was glad I didn't have to go out anywhere. Suddenly I saw a flash, heard a very loud CRACK and then BOOM! This all happened within a nanosecond of each other and I realized that I'd just heard the lightning strike just outside my window! Sure got the old heartbeat going good for awhile! I quickly turned off the computer and stayed away from most electrical things (except a couple of lights) and started to scrapbook. It took several hours for all the storms to pass but when they finally did the skies were beautiful with huge clouds and blue hues. And the mango tree we love so much still has all of its half-grown fruit and most of the blossoms from the second bloom! Yummy! So thank You Jesus for keeping us all safe today and keeping the nastiest weather away - even though a bit was too close for my comfort!

Some Pictures of the Property

2008-02-02T17:37:00.000-08:00

It's been a really busy couple of months around here. The kids moved out, my mother-in-law came for a visit from Alaska, we celebrated my parents' 60th wedding anniversary with a surprise party and we are finally settling down. Our next step is to finish the house so we can put it on the market. Each step brings us closer to our goal of Clark Bay Lodge!

Meanwhile, I thought you might like to see some of the pictures we took last year of the property and area. Enjoy!

2008-02-02T17:10:00.000-08:00

This is the lagoon just off Clark Bay. The entrance to the bay is off to the left side of this picture. This is how the property looks now. We plan to keep as much natural beauty as possible.

This is a HUGE cedar tree. Unfortunately it's already leaning, so we'll have to cut it down. But we plan to use the lumber for building materials. The building behind the tree is a lean-to built by Steve and his father.

Our property is very close to the ferry terminal - about a 5 minute drive. This is Clark Bay.

The Maybeso Creek is about a mile from the property. Is there gold in that creek? Maybe so!

A pretty sunrise on the ferry returning to Ketchikan.

A Beautiful Eagle

2008-02-02T15:58:00.000-08:00

This eagle was kind enough to pose for me as we drove by.

First View of Property!

2008-01-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

It's been very busy here lately. Steve's Mom arrived on Monday night and will be here until February 1st. Noah and Michele leave on Sunday for their move to Virginia. And my parents' 60th Anniversary party is next week in Virginia. Once we return from the trip to Virginia, our plans for the house here in Florida will finally be able to be completed!

In the meantime I thought you might like to see a satellite image of the property where Clark Bay Lodge will be located. It's on Prince of Wales Island in the city of Hollis in Southeast Alaska.

Steve is furiously drawing plans and reading both books and internet information about building the lodge, house and cabins; and also about developing our business there. He's planning a pole building construction which is common in Alaska. I'm hoping to post more pictures of the actual property soon. In the meantime, enjoy this Google Earth image!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2008-01-07T20:27:00.000-08:00

Wow it's been a busy time since the holidays ended! I knew January was going to be a bit hectic, but wasn't expecting a friend to have a motorcycle accident and end up in the trauma unit. He's going to have a long road to recovery, but so far so good. Thank You Jesus! And I wasn't expecting time to go by so quickly. Only 11 more days until Michele and Noah leave. Thinking about it just makes me want to cry. But I know that if they don't go we'll never finish the house and we'll never make our dream of Clark Bay Lodge come true.

While I've been busy getting ready for my parents' 60th anniversary party, Steve has been researching boat building and construction of post-built homes and alternative styles of countertops for the house here in Florida and also for the house and lodge in Hollis. There's so MANY options! We need to redo our kitchen countertops here (LONG story) and it isn't going to be an easy task. So my "I'll do it myself" husband is trying to come up with the least expensive way to repair what wasn't properly done in the first place. I've finally convinced him that formica won't work because the bathroom is tumbled travertine and granite and very modern. So we can't go cheap in the kitchen! Now we're thinking that polished concrete may be the answer. Looks pretty good on the internet and he's pretty handy as most of you know already, so once he's practiced and proven to me that he can do it right, we'll be on our way to finishing the kitchen finally! YAY!

In the meantime, I've been furiously scrapbooking away, trying to make sure I have all the family and heritage photos either scrapped or scanned or both so that I can take them with me. My SIL and I have been having long conversations on the phone at night making all the plans and ordering things that we need for the party. I can hardly wait! But I need all the time I can get right now to finish my projects.

So with that said, I'm going to TRY to post my first picture to this blog! I needed some "down" time last night and so I pulled out some pictures of Noah that I took a couple of months ago. I am doing some of the monthly challenges on the http://www.123-scrap/ forum and this is a layout I did using the quote from the quote/lyric challenge. I love the photo of Noah smiling at me and I love the color combination in the papers!

Until next time!

Update on Dad

2008-01-03T22:14:00.000-08:00

Thanks so very much for all your prayers and thoughts! Dad is doing well and his blood pressure is almost normal! A miracle!!! He'll be in the hospital for a couple of days until his blood thinner levels get back to normal.

You are all a real blessing and I truly appreciate you guys!

2008-01-02T22:23:00.000-08:00

Wow ladies! Thanks for the great ideas! My mind is swimming with the possibilities. :)

I spent the day today at one of my favorite scrapbook stores, Scrapbook Place. I worked on more projects for the upcoming party for my parents' 60th anniversary party. It IS a surprise and I'm safe talking about it here since they don't surf the web.

For those of you who pray, please keep my dad in your thoughts and prayers. He's 85 years old and is having his pacemaker replaced tomorrow morning at 10 AM eastern time. They admitted him to the hospital today and he was in good spirits but very nervous. The doctors are optimistic that this will help his breathing and stamina problems so we're hoping that this will help him do more than just sit around the house and sleep. They say it will take 4-6 weeks for him to see real results but the party is in 21 days so we're also praying that his recovery and results will be a bit quicker! As one friend put it on the phone today, "He has a party to go to! And it's not in heaven either!" God bless you Trish!

Now for those of you who don't know what my wonderful friends who commented are talking about, my husband and I are in the process of moving from Florida to Alaska. Our plan is to build and open a combination bed and breakfast/fishing lodge designed with the family in mind. It will be located near Ketchikan (in Southeast Alaska) on Prince of Wales Island in a town called Hollis. The only way to get onto the island is by boat or plane and the closest "town" is on the other side of the island - about 20 minutes' drive over mountains. A traffic jam along the way is considered meeting another vehicle on your way! Quite different from our life in a very metropolitan area here in South Florida!

At the moment, we are in the middle of finishing the remodeling of our home. Most of the major work has been done. The kitchen and the main bathroom have been totally remodeled from a 60s style to a more modern style. Most of the work remaining is cosmetic except for the landscaping which will be our last major project before putting the house on the market. We have a set amount in mind for what we need and God willing the right buyer will arrive at the right time with the right amount of money!

Meanwhile, January will be a very busy month. My daughter and grandson will be joining Daniel in Virginia where his job has transferred him. He's got a beautiful home all ready for them when they arrive on the 19th. On the 14th my mother-in-law who lives in Alaska is arriving for a few weeks. And my parents' anniversary party will be in Virginia on the 24th. Busy times!

So now that the holidays are over, we are looking forward to a really great 2008! We hope that building will at least have started on Clark Bay Lodge and that we will no longer be Florida residents. And thus the purpose of this blog! So wish us luck, pray for us and tell me when we're absolutely crazy! I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I think I'll enjoy sharing.

Next to figure out how to post pictures! Any wise bloggers wanna give me some pointers?

My first blog entry!

2008-01-01T23:06:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am! My online friends have been encouraging me to do this and it was one of my goals for 2008. What better time to start than now? So I decided to jump in with both feet!

Now. I need a cool name, but just haven't been able to come up with one. So.... Any suggestions out there?