The 24 Hour Day- An Alaskan Fishing Adventure

While spending 20 hours a day in winter darkness, Alaskans develop a sense of urgency to spend their summer days wisely. I feel this urgency and it redoubles when we have guests. The Benefields do not want any of our visitors to get cheated out of a single minute of fun in Alaska. For those of you who know me, you might recognize a certain capacity to press a little too hard in my pursuits- or at least a little harder than most folks.  With all that background, I am happy to announce that our friends the Roberts are visiting with us in Alaska. 
Cammie and Sandra planned out some of their events, but there was too much white space left on the Roberts’ vacation calendar for my taste. I jumped in and started planning some of their events, like the fishing charter they wanted to do. On 03 July (their first full day here), I called several charter services from Whittier to Homer to Ninilchik to Anchor Point looking for open seats on the days the Roberts could go fishing.  The Roberts wanted Harrison, their six year old, to go fishing, so I had to find a captain who would take children that young. Actually, Jay Allen and Jackson, who are two years older, were not welcome on several charters because of age, too.  After all the searching  we found a great deal with a Captain I had some knowledge of, Scott Vanderhooven. Not only did we get a great deal, but we were using a veteran owned business, so this was a win-win plan.  There was only one challenge – the open seats were for the 4^th of July – read that TOMORROW!
I passed this course of action back to the Roberts, pressed hard for concurrence and quickly got it. They were so jet lagged and tired and I overwhelmed them with so much information that I think I could have convinced them that we should go with Gilligan and the Skipper for a three hour cruise, but I wouldn’t do that to our friends – this plan was going to work.  Two Benefields (Jay Allen and me) and four Roberts were going fishing just for the Halibut!
The biggest challenge to overcome in our plan was that we had to be in Anchor Point, Alaska early on the morning of 04 July and had to have the Roberts back in Anchorage for a pre-purchased train ride to Seward on the morning of 05 July. So, we had to factor in nine hours of driving and an opportunity for the Roberts to meet the required personal hygiene standards for non-hobos going on a train ride.  You can go a lot of places in Alaska smelling like you just spent all day on a fishing boat, but not as many if your momma is going with you and you had’t bathed since you left the Central Time Zone. This meant that there had to be time to power-wash Jackson and Harrison before their early morning arrival at the train station in Anchorage. 
So, after factoring in all the time required to drive to Anchor Point, prepare the fish, drive back to Eagle River, and power-wash the Roberts boys before reporting to the train station, we had a solid plan. The approved course of action did contain three full days of activities for normal people or non-Alaskans, but I had all confidence in the person who was planning and executing this course of action to make it happen. That person is me! I have a strong record of making ambitious vacation plans successful by filling any gaps where the plan departed from reality or reason with sheer bullheadedness.  The only thing different about this time was that I was going to apply my bullheadedness to somebody else’s family.
I could tell Sandra thought my plan was too ambitious because she was worried about things like sleep deprivation and speeding tickets and finding time to pack a lunch for her boys to eat on the boat. I had answers for all of these concerns – the Roberts can sleep in the Beast (my 84 Suburban) while I do all the driving. No speeding would be required (or even possible in the Beast for that matter). And, the Roberts boys could share the lunch I packed for Jay Allen, summer sausage and Kit-kat candy bars.  In spite of that offer, Sandra packed them some sandwiches and some healthier snacks – moms are like that.
The other Roberts who voiced concern over the plan was Harrison. When his daddy told him that we were going to wake up at 2:00am to leave. Harrison said, “But that is night time.”  The kid had a point, but I pointed out that it was just early morning in Alabama and he was, after all, from Alabama. Anyway, I didn’t need consensus, just participation, whether willing or unwilling at this point.
So, after dinner on 03 July, the two adult Roberts and the two fishing Benefields went to the Alaskan Super Store, Fred Myer’s, and bought all the necessary supplies: fishing licenses, kit-kats, summer sausage, a dozen energy drinks (those were just for me while driving), a big box of assorted nuts (you are what you eat after all), and some Alaska fishing hats for the Roberts!
We got back from Fred Myer’s at 2130 hours (9:30pm) and were planning to be at the boat at 0700 the next morning based on the initial conversation with the captain of the boat.   I thought I had better confirm that before driving down and sure enough, Captain Scott had left me a message that he had adjusted to a 0800 link-up.  I decided not to share this with my other fishermen so they didn’t lose their sense of urgency in the early morning hours when we had to get moving.
At 0230 on the 4^th of July, the Beast rumbled to life full of Roberts and energy drinks and kit kats and began the journey to Anchor Point. It was a dreary morning and darker than I have ever seen it during an Alaskan summer, but it was a good drive none the less. I probably enjoyed it more than everybody who didn’t know that we were not running late, but I knew they would forgive me for that.
When we got to Anchor Point, I discovered that there are several hundred almost identical fishing boats parked everywhere, so I needed a little more precision in my directions than my GPS was giving me. I finally had to swallow my directional pride and get on the phone with Captain Scott and have him guide me in. We made it to his camp and followed him on to the launch site.
The Roberts had not seen many or any eagles in the wild before they got to Alaska and when we drove up to the Anchor Point beach, they saw about fifty bald eagles combing the beach for fish.  I could tell they were impressed with Alaska and I was very pleased with my plan at this point.

We all loaded the boat while it was still on the trailer and got settled in. Captain Scott and his deck hand, Darren, prepared the boat and issued our life vests as we waited for the helpful tractor that would pull us into the waters of the Cook Inlet.  The tractor got us into the water and and we were on our way.  While we were getting our engines warmed up, the crew gave us our safety instructions.  It sounded a lot like a standard Army safety briefing and I tried to reinforce all the important stuff with the three boys, especially the “don’t touch anything sharp and don’t climb on anything or do anything that could result in a swim.”  During the safety brief, I noticed that Harrison was not pleased with his life vest and was getting pretty wound up. Sandra was getting a little frustrated with him and commented, “A life vest could ruin this whole day.” Just like in the movies, I am sharing this comment for a reason, so remember it. At that moment, Harrison accepted his fate as a life vest wearer and we got moving to our fishing hole.

Scott and Darren got everything set up for fishing and we couldn’t wait. I knew this was going to be awesome because fishing in Alaska is NASCAR paced and the fish are huge compared to the brim and catfish and big mouth bass of the lower 48. Sandra, who is not a fisherperson, was only excited about Shannon and the boys getting to fish. She sounded like she was hoping to be a spectator when she said, “I really don’t care if I reel in a fish all day.”
In another application of sheer bullheadedness, I determined that she was going to catch a fish and she was going to like it. Because God smiled on me, a fish got on the reel that I had just given Sandra full responsibility for before I could even verbalize that thought. Fish on! And it was all Sandra’s! Sandra fought that fish like Ali fought Frazier, but eventually, “DOWN GOES FRAZIER!” Sandra brought in the first fish and we were not going to be skunked! Not only did Sandra bring in the first fish, but she immediately started talking trash about it on Facebook from the boat. I didn’t know this until later, but I told her the whole story of that fish was going to have to be told.  Even though a reluctant warrior, I can’t deny her bragging rights on the catch!

The Reluctant Queen of Halibut Fishing  (She's not really touching that fish)!

We started out strong and had a lot of good fish, keeping the good ones, throwing back the small ones.  Unfortunately, small fish was not the only thing we threw back into the ocean.  Shannon decided to throw back his previous few meals and decorate Cook Inlet a bit, but like a trooper, he never complained.
Speaking of troopers, we had the honor of hosting an Alaska State Trooper on our boat. He visited us once and found everything in order, but never underestimate an Alaska State Trooper’s ability to find a deficiency upon further reflection.  Before his boat left the area, they pulled back to our boat named Sanctuary (ironically enough), and boarded to talk with Captain Scott. 
We did not know what had caused the trooper to visit us a second time, but he pulled up and started asking about the “youts” on board.  We told him we had three youts on board, but only Jay Allen was visible on the deck.

When Trooper Trent asked where the kid with the Batman hat was, CaptainScott said he was in the cabin, “asleep on Grandpa.”  I cut my eyes away from the Trooper drama at hand to watch the live, comical commercial for Grecian-Formula that Scott had just produced on the boat. I was not sure if Shannon had heard this very unkind (and accidental) commentary on his gray hair, but as I learned later, he had. I also learned later, that Captain Scott and Shannon were born in the same year and Shannon was not the only one with small children.  We laughed about it later, but I think Shannon and I both may be back at Fred Myer’s to spend some time on the hair care aisle (I am not far behind him in the gray hair department).
Back to our main story, Jay Allen had stepped out on the deck without his life vest and this was a violation, witnessed by Trooper Trent. According to Trooper Trent, it was a violation on par with DUI, but I struggle with that analogy.  Trooper Trent said Jay Allen needed a life vest on the deck and fifteen seconds later, Jay Allen had his life vest back on and we were again in total compliance with the complete library of Alaska fishing and safety regulations. I bet he has never pulled a drunk driver over and told him he shouldn’t drive drunk and then the guy sobered up in fifteen seconds and drove away in complete compliance with the law.  Trooper Trent was very polite and courteous as he told us all he didn’t want to stop our fun or ruin our day, but as the crew pointed out, he didn’t board our boat to pass out firecrackers and cold beer either.  Young Trooper Trent (YTT) did stop our fun and made Sandra’s words prophetic when she said, “A life vest could ruin this whole day.”

Young Trooper Trent - Not here to ruin our day.

As our fun was on PAUSEX (Army term when you halt an exercise to do some learning), YTT took all of Captain Scott’s information to write him a ticket - this is when I heard Scott’s birth year and realized he and “Grandpa” were the same age.  During the ticket writing, YTT maintained a demeanor that would imply he wanted to be Scott’s BFF.  I think Scott thought of YTT more as just a BF (find a Soldier to explain that term to you) at that point.  At least the kids all got a junior trooper badge on YTT’s second visit even if he did write our Captain a ticket. In real terms, those badges only cost $35 dollars each and made it all worth it.  Yeah, not really, but we tried to convince ourselves of that anyway.
In between Grecian-Formula commercials and decorating our piece of Cook Inlet, the fishing was great. We were fishing just for the Halibut, but we caught and threw back all kinds of interesting fellows. There was a bug-eyed Cod who surfaced from 250 feet way too fast, and the Irish Lord who looked a cartoon character, and the FOUR Crocodile-Hunter-Killers (Sting Rays) that visited our boat. They were all as unwelcome as the young trooper had been and I reflected on whether Scott regretted that the trooper was the only one of these visitors that didn’t have to swim away when he left.  
We had an awesome Alaska day on the Cook Inlet and everybody caught their limit of Halibut. We had to wake up the Roberts boys (the little ones, not Shannon) to catch their share after everybody else maxed out, but they woke up at a time when the fish were hitting at a NASCAR pace and the excitement was high, so they did not complain a bit.

A Pile of Roberts Sleeping

The young Prince of Halibut Fishing (he actually touched his fish)!

We started back to Anchor Point with our limit of Halibut, a pile of Kit-Kat wrappers, three uneaten sandwiches in the cooler, and three junior Alaska State Trooper badges. On the way in, we saw porpoises, seals, otters, a glimpse of a whale, and all the ever present beauty of Alaska that surrounds Cook Inlet.  I love it when a plan comes together.  Things could not have gone (much) better, the Roberts family exhaustion and the Trooper visit notwithstanding. A huge thanks to Darren and Captain Scott was in order and they were not even done yet.
The next event for Team Heflin was to get our fish prepared. Scott and Darren fileted the fish for us and recommended Tanner's in Ninilchik to vacuum pack the fish. So we settled up with our crew and took our fish and drove north to Ninilchik.

Captain Scott cleans our catch

Tanner’s operation was classic Alaskan efficiency as they vacuumed packed all the fish staying in Alaska for us while we ate dinner. The rest of the fish was going to Alabama and I strongly pressed Shannon to let them ship it to him and not to carry 50 lbs. of Halibut through the airport. He agreed, but I did not fully brief him on all the considerations.
After a day of successful fishing, we had a great dinner at the Inlet View Lodge in Ninilchik. We were all tired and hungry and we were the only folks in the restaurant for dinner. Our young waitress was very good at taking care of our needs throughout the meal. No glass was left empty and no part of the order was missed, but she talked to us so much that I began to question whether she needed to make more friends or get a better data plan to text her current friends. I know I am just being an old curmudgeon, but I did manage to leave the restaurant before I was accidentally mean to her in my tired state.  She did a great job and didn’t deserve any mean treatment, but if you live near Ninilchik and need a friend to talk with, stop by the Inlet View Lodge and you’ll find one waiting on you.
 After dinner, we went back to Tanner’s to get our fish! When they told Shannon how much it was going to cost to ship the fish, he looked like he did on the boat just before he got sick, but I was there to support him and we got through it. The truth is, those Halibut filets can go for $20-$25 per lb and I have to trust UPS or FEDEX over the airline baggage handlers with that kind of investment. A friend of ours tried to carry a lot of salmon that she caught to California and unfortunately the airlines sent the salmon to Mexico and she never saw it again.  I just couldn’t stand the thought of that happening to the Roberts’ Halibut, so I made sure Sandra and Shannon got more comfortable with the shipping decision. As bad as it gut-punched his wallet, Shannon is good with it and their fish is now headed to Alabama in the hands of professionals!  I think Sandra will be ok with it once they are home and the Halibut is in their freezer.
Now, with a full combat-fishing load, the Beast was ready to begin the return trip to Eagle River at 2030 hours (8:30 pm).  The GPS said we would arrive at 0200 hours.  I girded an energy drink to myself for the driving that lay ahead.  I also assessed my tired passengers to see if any might be able to drive a portion of the journey in case they were needed. Based purely on energy levels, it appeared that Jay Allen was the best candidate to drive, but Shannon was willing and able to drive when needed.
The Roberts were surprised to see all the Bald Eagles at Anchor Point, but I had promised them they would see a lot of Alaska wildlife. Unfortunately, the only moose we had seen at that point was a fresh road kill and they were still eager to see a live moose in the wild.  I had almost forgotten about this aspect of the trip as we were driving, when all of a sudden, Shannon yelled, “THERE’S A MOOSE!” 
He yelled with such urgency and enthusiasm that I thought the moose in question was about to charge our vehicle and Moose T-bone us.  When I saw the moose standing peacefully on the side of the road, my adrenaline was still rushing like a river from what I thought was Shannon’s warning and I verbalized what I was thinking at that very moment.
“YOU SCARED THE SHOT OUT OF ME!”  But you know that my shot had an i in it.
I wish I hadn’t said it, but I did - in front of all our boys. So much for the rule that my children can say anything they hear me say because Jay Allen heard that loud and clear. Don’t tell Shannon, but I sort of hope his boys repeat it to pay him back for scaring me so bad.
When I calmed down, I told Shannon that was the kind of announcement I needed when a moose was about to run out in front of me, not when it was safely grazing on the shoulder of the road.  Shannon apologized, but I told him not to worry. He had been such a gracious guest the whole visit and had tried to buy me gas, buy me dinner, and buy me different things to show his gratitude.  So, I told him, “If you really want to buy me something, now you can buy me some clean underwear because I have a sudden need for it.”
We stopped at Fred Myer’s in Soldotna for gas and clean underwear and continued mission.  It was good we cleared up the moose warning protocol early because we saw three more as we drove home.  It was a beautiful Alaska night and I kept the cabin of the Beast a little cool to make sure I didn’t get sleepy, but believe it or not, I did not get tired of driving at all.  I did consider giving Shannon a shift of driving just to be safe, and about the time that thought crossed my mind, Shannon pointed out a hitch hiker to me to make sure I saw him. As we passed the “hitch hiker”, I saw that it was really a road sign and also saw clearly that Shannon would not be driving us tonight. No worries – I had three more energy drinks in the cooler and I got home with two of them unopened!  My passengers all got some quality sleep and arrived safely and victoriously.
When we pulled into our drive in Eagle River, it had been 23 hours since we left and we had packed three full eight hour days of adventure into the past day. I was very proud of the Roberts crew for hanging with my ambitious plan. I had to convince Sandra to let me have her camera so I could download her pictures before I went to bed, but eventually she recognized that my OCD was not going to allow me to sleep until I had accomplished this.  It had nothing to do with the fact that I had caught the biggest fish and wanted to one up her on Facebook bragging, I just needed to complete my tasks for the day.
The Roberts made their train on time this morning clean and rested, but I had to take Cammie’s word on that because I was not conscious to witness it. They have several “days” of adventure left with us in Alaska and I have the rest of the day to plan it for them. Stay tuned…..

We had a great time - it doesn't matter a bit that I caught the biggest fish!