So here is the house, it is an 1850's style farm house with a two story barn and half an acre of land . Putting the pictures up will most likely jinx this all somehow but what the hell, everything happens for a reason, so if It falls through at the last minute, ill walk away knowing that.

Didn't see it coming....

After looking at a number of places and exploring the Camden/Rockland/Rockport area I was really into the area but not very enthusiastic about what we were finding for property. In this terrible market it IS a good time to buy, especially for a first time home buyer. We were leaving after a couple days of looking with no luck. We went to one last place before heading out and what we found was pretty sweet. So now The house is under contract and I close on the 28th of this month. I know, what the hell am I doing?? To answer the common questions: Yes, I am still heading to Alaska to jump, Yes I am going to rent it out, Yes, I will be returning in the fall to live in Rockland, (or base out of there anyway), no I won't be driving to Alaska, ill fly, Yes I have all of my belongings in Bend (they will be retrieved in the fall), yes Ill be living in Rockland until April, and yes I am doing it myself. I am impulsive for sure, but I have found that when I want to do something I go try to made it happen, it has worked out so far so hopefully this will be the same. It is a good investment, a good place for me to put my money instead of paying someone Else's mortgage.   Well see, it is all part of the "ride" I feel real good about moving to Rockland, I love the coast, I love the edgy seaside fishing town. It is one of the few areas of the coast where the mountains meet the sea. It truly beautiful, and not being there in the summer will allow me to enjoy it in the spring, fall and winter without the tourist crowd. Oh and Camden Snow bowl is in town so I can hit the slopes, calm the craving and and work on those tele-turns, looking out at the island's and the sea. Not bad. 

Changes......

So as most of you know, I was slated to head back out to Bend, Oregon come the first of the year......  I thought for sure that was happening, I bought a truck and gathered my gear and at the last minute decided to wait until after new years to leave. I went to visit my Mom and Grandparents in Western Mass for Christmas. I had a very nice low key time for the holiday, just what was needed before crossing the country again.  I have been looking into property and houses for sale in Mid-coast Maine for a while now, not sure how serious I was, but frequently looking for the last couple of years. My mom thought it to be a great idea that we head up to the mid-coast and just "look" at some property. The "discovery phase" I think it was called.  We headed to Maine for a few days and stayed at the Lord Camden Inn, in downtown Camden.  After we were done, I would head back to my Dad's and hit the road for Oregon, via Florida and the southern route. 

Cross country ski-jouring

Fortunately I was able to follow Dad's lead and go score a nice new pair of cross country ski's, boots, and poles from a lodge that is not doing so well. Shaemus and I now have the complete setup and can hit the lake for some ski-jouring. If you are not sure what the heck that means, it is Shaemus, a one dog sled team pulling me as I ski behind him. He doesn't do all the work though, I need to constantly remind him that it is OK to be pulling hard, as I herd him along the trail.  After we ran so much together with the setup he could only run me so fast, so he is hesitant to break out. That in combination with being out of shape makes for an interesting, but really fun time. We have had a lot going on lately, as a result both our fitness has been struggling. It is time to turn it around, the arduous work season is now on the horizon and getting tough is essential.  

The largest moon of 2009

Last night was the largest moon of 2009, as the sun went down the moon came up and created an awesome scene out on the ice. Here is to the biggest moon of 2009.

8 pounds of Cusk

Dad ran back home for something and wouldn't you know it, I got a flag and caught an eight pound Cusk. It gave a decent fight, almost 20 minutes of sheer "excitement"................ I caught a Cusk, it was the biggest cusk I have ever caught, hey, it's better than nothing, only by a little though.

Ice Fishing

Now that 11 days has expired in the 2009 fishing season I finally was able to get out on the ice to set some traps. It is real hard to get out and ice fish when you live so far from any lake or pond................ Anyway, Dad and I took Saturday and went out to the shack and set some traps down deep and a few on top for Salmon. It was an alright day of fishing, well, better than the last few days of open water in 2008 anyway! The dogs had a great time, Shaemus ate a couple of smelt, and some snow covered with grease.