Another rainy day...........

Today was another rainy day in Fairbanks. The locals are saying the weather has been a little "weird" this year, go figure that one. Anyway, most of them are saying it is usally a little warmer and not quite so rainy at this time. The rain usually comes later in the summer.

Kirkland finally got to go fishing today, in fact, we just got back from the Chena River. We only stayed about an hour and had no bites. Unless you count the ones he thought he had from the rocks. At least he got to go, something he has been looking forward to for a long time.

We had discipleship and practice earlier today after having Saturday/Sunday off. A'lot of the guys went rafting, biking, fishing, hiking and up to the Hot Springs. They took advantage of the time off.

Tomorrow(Tuesday) we get back to our routine. Discipleship at 1:30pm, pre-game at 4pm and first pitch at 7pm. We play the Miners for four days and look to get back on a winning track. Most of the teams have been beating up on each other so we are still right in the thick of things even though we struggled last week. Hopefully, we can get back on a winning streak soon.

Gas is still just $4.45 a gallon, that's good news.

Anyone just now checking out the blog can click on any of the links to the left of the screen and catch up on the previous posts. There were also about six done in May I think.

We will meet with the Miners on Wednesday and share with them after batting practice. It will be the first league team we will meet with since arriving in Fairbanks and I am interested to see how they respond. The routine will be the same. One of our guys will give their testimony and another will go over the brochures we hand out. This will give them a day or two for follow up if any of the players have some questions.

Well, that's it for tonight. I made a deal with myself to try and get asleep prior to 10:30pm tonight. Last night was tough. I hit an "energy wall" about midnight and finally crashed around 1:30pm. These sunny nights are rough.

Rest..........

Today we rested.....it's amazing how tired you get here in Alaska...even though you compensate for going to sleep late by sleeping later the sun drains you in an odd way.





We stayed closer to "home" today. Took a quick ride up the Steese Expswy to view the Trans Alaska Pipeline. It's amazing to learn how much oil transfers through the pipeline each day and then to fill up your gas tank for $4.45 a gallon!!! Actually, you can't fill up here as you are limited to $75.00 per visit. Just incredible to know all the crude oil needed is flowing 8 miles from our apartment and prices are that high. The Alaskans are mixed.....some are upset and some want to keep their land untapped. They are more upset with the govt spending millions of dollars "counting salmon".




We visited a local park and threw the football. It's weird to see Kirkland and Kaylee enjoy throwing a football at a local park more than anything else we have done.




We have tomorrow(Monday) off again. An early discipleship at 10am and practice until around 1:30pm will lead into our first day of fishing. You can pick up some really good prices on fishing rods here, they get you on the license. It's $20.00 per day, but you do have some 3-5-7 day options and also a yearly pass as well.




It's kind of neat as you drive down the roads and see people everywhere just fishing.

We finished the day off just walking around Fairbanks and playing down at the local river park. We miss Sundays at Secona and lunch at Grandmas............been a long time since we had some roast beef and mac/cheese.

I told myself I would be in bed tonight by 11pm, missed that one again. Going to bed with the sun up is just too difficult. I can only imagine what darkness will feel like when we get back home in August. Our sleep patterns will be all messed up I bet.

Got bit by a mosquito today, lost three pints of blood!

Butch, here is your shout out you requested......"shout out". Wow, I am tired.




I also added some more photos to the site....click here to view and don't forget to look at all the pages as about 60-70 photos have been added.

Here is a video of Kirkland's new hobby....skipping rocks:

I got Moose..........

It only took two weeks but we finally saw a moose in the wild. I think I was the last one on the team to see one.

We had a day off today(Saturday) and our family took off exploring. The day started at Denny's. Wait, before you say "Denny's" and ask yourself why the day would start there let me give you two reasons.

1: The number of restaurants in Fairbanks is limited and they were the only one we knew that would provide pancakes(at least good ones).

2: It is the northern most Denny's in the world....cool, huh.

Okay, b-fast we headed to the North Pole or least Alaska's version of the North Pole. The town is located about 10-15 minutes from Fairbanks and we actually have some of our players staying there with host families. Bobby Randall(former MLB player with Twins) is one of our coaches and he shuttles some of the guys back and forth each day. He told me one morning he just took some turns off Donner road, onto Blitzer and then Kris Kringle Way. True story.

The North Pole is small, but has candy cane light poles and of course a post office. The actual post office where letters are postmarked from the North Pole.

We then traveled to Chena Hot Springs and Chena Lake Recreation Area. It was a neat drive and we finally saw a moose. I have added a video below of the moose bathing in a river. A cool sight.

I have also added some photos, you can see the updates by clicking here.

Hard to believe we are almost a month in to the trip. It just seems like yesterday we took two trips through the Atlanta security before boarding a jet for San Fran. One month down and one to go. I am sure it will be August 4 before we know it.

On our way to the Chena Hot Springs we took the "roller coaster highway" or at least that is what Kirkland named it. It seems that the vast difference in the seasons here takes a toll on the roads among other things. In Fairbanks along they have recorded summer temps as high as 90 and winter lows around 30 below. You will be driving down a road at 55-60 and all of the sudden hit these dips in the road.......let's just say it gives you a weird feeling in your stomach. Construction is all over the roads as well since the winters don't provide much sunlight or warmth to work outside.

The stretch of road leading from Fairbanks to the Chena Hot Springs is a neat adventure. A 15-20 mile stretch is parkland and provides numerous pull offs. RV's and other campers are able to pull off right on the river beds and camp overnight. There is no law that prevents people from camping at the pull-offs or on the river bed unless marked.

We pulled off one area and saw a young couple getting ready to hike an area. They had the full hiking gear and seemed experienced. They even had a "hiking baby stroller" complete with baby. It was an odd sight, especially the gun strapped to the man's leg. In case of mosquitos of course. Remember those creatures are bigger than the bears.

Gas is up to $4.45, just thought I would throw that out there. What are the prices back in good ole SC? And by the way...no such thing as a dollar menu at McDonalds.......they have a $1.79 menu. No sweet tea either, going crazy on that one.

I have an official "peanut gallery" at the games. The fans here are great. They really get into the games and are brutal. I have been called "Yogi", "23", "idiot", "genius" and hired and fired by the Mariners all in one game. It's all by this one guy, too. He just sits in the stands behind 3B and gets on the coaches and players. He has some good one-liners. It's funny, one game we had a hit and run play work and he yelled out I should manage the Mariners, the next inning one of our guys got threw out stealing and he yells out how I coach like I am managing the Mariners. He is at all the games, yelling away.

If anyone would like some items postmarked from the North Pole let me know. It's kind of neat.

Okay, enough for tonight. The sun's out, time for bed.

Moose video below:

Back in the win column........

It's almost midnight here in Fairbanks and I am sitting in the living room area of our apartment eating a chocolate covered donut and drinking a wild cherry pepsi. We just picked up a win and I am wide awake. I guess the donut and pepsi might have something to do with that.

Earlier today I was trying to figure out what to say to our team as we were reeling off a five game losing streak. We met and talked about taking the initiative. This is simply having the courage to make decisions and take action. Seems simple, but often times very difficult to do. I was able to relay it into getting the most out of our early work(practice time before BP). The guys did a good job and seem to buy into for that day. It's funny, I bet if we as Christians took the initiative more often we would see a difference in our life and the lives of others. I am going to "practice what I preach" and give it a whirl tomorrow.

Our guys played well tonight. We had been struggling for the last few games in a phases and finally put it together tonight. I have to admit, playing for AIA takes a'lot of dedication and inner strength and our guys play the role. Other summer league teams here in Alaska play a game, stay up late, sleep late and probably partake of other activities common to college students. Our guys report to a local Church each day at 1:30pm for a 1 1/2 hour discipleship time then off to the field for some early out work before batting practice. They easily put in 10 hour days by the time the van shuttle drops them off after the game and dinner. You have to be dedicated and love it.

We play our final game of the week tomorrow night(Friday) against the Goldpanners. A win will get us back in the middle of the pack and prepare us for a good weekend. We actually have our longest break coming up this weekend. We are off completely Saturday/Sunday and then get back to discipleship and practice on Monday before playing on Tuesday. It is an odd three days off, but we are all looking forward to it. Some of the guys have fishing trips planned. Our family will try and take advantage of the local tourist attractions and maybe even wet a hook as well. Kirk has been looking forward to the fishing for months.

Well, the sun is setting as it should be at 12:18am and I am getting tired. It will be off to bed and another day tomorrow.

Update from Kaylee.............

This post will give Kaylee's view of the trip so far. Should be interesting......

Q: What have you enjoyed most about the trip so far?
Kaylee: "hmmmm...., what have we done so far momma? Playing with Neji." Neji is the Craig's pug, our host family in Gilroy, CA

Q: Did you like Gilroy, Anchorage or Fairbanks the best and why?
Kaylee: "Gilroy.....we went to Gilroy Gardens." Gilroy Gardens is a miniture theme park.

Q: Who is your favorite baseball player on the team?
Kaylee: "Cody" Cody Brown plays for Liberty Univ and plays 1B and P for us this summer.

Q: What do you like best about the baseball games?
Kaylee: "being the mascot" Kaylee bought a moose hat on the trip from Anchorage and desires to be the team's mascot and hand out candy at the games.

Q: What do you want to do in Fairbanks?
Kaylee: "going fishing"

Mid-Week............

We have now settled in to our apartment and life here in Fairbanks. It is a little different than Pickens, Gilroy or Anchorage. However, that is what makes this trip so interesting. We have experienced three unique types of lifestyle while on this trip so far.

We have not faired too well on the field lately. In fact, we have really played poorly the last two days here in Fairbanks. Too many walks, hits, hit batters and errors. Offensively, not enough walks, hits, hit batters or reached by error. We are in a phase right now that hopefully we will snap out of soon.

I know it has to be tough on our guys as well. They are on their third week of sleep away from their normal bed and are on their third host family as well. The guys are frustrated on the field as well, but hopefully they realize they are experiencing something unique in Alaska and AIA.

A'lot is expected of our players and Chris Beck does a great job of staying consistent with them in terms of the overall experience. He just finished his "LSD" session that last about 8 days. It really got the guys to thinking about their choices in life and what will happen when they get back on campus in a month or two. Peer pressure will hit them square in the nose. We start a new session today with Mike who is with Campus Crusade from UNC. He has worked with the Tarheel baseball team and should provide a great discipleship session.

Speaking of college baseball.........here's to the Dawgs taking the CWS. I know Joe B will be rooting for his beloved team.

The fam is doing great. Kirkland and Kaylee played with the Beck kids on the field with some of the other players. It was fun to watch them have so much fun and realize that baseball is just that......a game. Sometimes we get so caught up in our work, I know I do. I am really blessed to call my "work" coaching baseball for a living. I came into this summer experience knowing I am blessed, but also wanting to find more of what I can do in terms of helping others. Chris has said several times....."be strong, stand for truth and live for eternity."

Well, it's 11:43am local time and time for family. We will have about two hours before I leave for discipleship and then off to the stadium for some early work, bp and the game.

By the way, Tammy is on the phone and just told someone we are on a four game losing streak....ouch....that one stings a little.

For those praying for our trip, here you go:

Pray for our 23 players as they learn the Word, the game and life in general.

Tobias, Frank, Cody, Dave, Kevin, Nick, Quinn, Jonathan, Ryan T, Caleb, Kendall, Ryan E, Brint, Jason, Mitch, Tim, Eric, Alex, Brett, Derek, Shawn, Todd, Jeremy

Anchorage to Fairbanks, Home at last......

We left Anchorage this morning(Sunday) at 8am local time and arrived in Fairbanks around 3pm local time. We finally made it "home" after two weeks in California and 1 week in Anchorage.

Fairbanks is our summer home and is nice to be able to unpack our bags for awhile. The two weeks in California and 1 week in Anchorage were great, but it is nice to call a place "home" for a short time.

I will have more updates later, but for now here is a short video of our roadtrip to today. It begins early this morning with Kaylee finding a sleeping place in the van and ends here in Fairbanks. The video is nothing special in terms of special effects, so don't get too excited. Who knows, it may not even work!!!