First Surveyor Assignment

My first surveyor assignment, 1989, was to participate in a joint state and federal survey of a facility for the developmentally challenged. We chose what at that time was the State of Alaska facility in Valdez, Alaska. If you know anything about Alaska you know that the Alaskan Oil Pipeline runs down from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, Alaska. I had been to Valdez a number of times as a tourist. We all met at the airport in Anchorage, Alaska, prepared to board an Alaska Airline plan to Valdez. The weather was not pleasant. We had some very high winds in Anchorage. They postponed the flight. Later that day the state team and the federal surveyor were able to board. The plane took off. It turned out to be a most exciting flight. The pilot couldn't land in Valdez. My coffee came up off the tray table about two feet. We got off the plane in Anchorage and the federal surveyor said, "I do not have a death wish." Needless to say we substituted another provider in calmer Anchorage for the planned Valdez survey. It was a rough week, as we spent many hours trying to make sense of the new outcome oriented federal regulations for this provider type.