9-22-2008 Flying gnome snatchers

Today was our first port of call on our adventure, the beautiful town of Sitka, Alaska. This quaint little fishing village reminded me of the my youth working as a net repair gnome in a small sea monkey fishing town. Although the weather was a bit overcast, it did not hinder the beauty of the Sitka National Forest. Mr. and Mrs. S and I walked for hours along the shore of the bay watching the seagulls and salmon in their natural habitat. I thought I was in heaven.

Following our nature walk, we proceeded to a raptor rehabilitation center. My kind readers, the word “raptor” means something different in my Gnomistani dialect. To us, raptor refers to “a small harmless bird with fluffy feathers that loves to be held and can play checkers at the grandmaster level.” When I walked into the building this is what I was greeted with:

I have never been more scared in my life! In fact, I was frozen like stone in the doorway. These birds are responsible for more gnome disappearances in my country than the Gnomistani mafia. Amazingly, Mr. and Mrs. S were not frightened by these flying gnome snatchers of death, in fact they enjoyed seeing them up close. We spent about an hour wandering the facility, watching the birds and listening to presentations of the work they do at the facility. I will admit, I do admire the work they do there in rehabilitating injured birds and releasing them into the wild. They even bring them to schools all over the country to teach children about the animals. While I don't see the administrators of Gnomistani Department of Education allowing them to come to our country, I will present it to them when I get back. I can honestly say that I am now a smidgen less frightened of the birds.

Here are a few of the sights we saw on our journey.