UPDATE: I've made it back and pictures of the island and my adventures there can be found here.
I'm headed to St. Paul, Alaska for the first time. It's been on my Alaska travel list ever since I learned of the place. I'm excited to go, but I think its cautionary whenever you're told to pack all your food.
There is not a restaurant open this time of year and while there's a small store on the island, my guess is that it's crazy expensive. I leave tomorrow and hopefully fly back on Sunday. I'm reluctant to leave the beautiful Anchorage weather behind for winter like weather, but going to St. Paul is prohibitively expensive for a pleasure trip. I'll have the weekend and evenings to explore. I've packed lots of warm clothes and rain gear so that I have no excuse not to be out and about. There's also a bar on the island so if I get too cold I can always pop in for a drink to warm me up. Hope its open.
Too bad I'll be there just weeks before the fur seals come ashore. Maybe I'll get lucky and the birds will be around as I've heard this is a birding destination. I will regale everyone with adventures when I return. Until then...
Zach and I took a whirlwind trip to Germany for Oktoberfest with a quick dip into Austria to visit Salzburg. Lots of new things were tried - new places, new beers, new foods, authentic versions of foods eaten previously. My favorite new food was Zwiebelkuchen, an oniony eggy tart that a friend made during our first night in Jena, Germany. Zwiebelkuchen is a traditional food served with Federweisser, a very new wine and very easy drinking. My favorite new place was Bamburg, a small-ish town that is home to nine breweries.
Today I'll be working on unpacking, laundry, putting away our newly acquired swag (check out the new beer stein shaped cookie cutter!) and sorting through the pictures we took and trying to get over this jet lag. Zach, always the trooper, was up and off to work this morning.
While in Juneau last week, I went gold panning for the first time. It takes lots of patience, but you couldn't beat the scenery or the weather.
I'm not a big fan of heights and I like them even less when I have to give control of going up or down to someone or something else, like wheels and pulleys. That being the case, it was a big step for me to ride the Mt. Robert's tram in Juneau last week. I've been to Juneau probably 20 times and never wanted to ride the tram. This time the incentive was that the hike up was so muddy I was afraid I'd be a gonner falling somewhere on the way down, plus after I bought a water bottle (I'd left mine in Anchorage) the ride down for myself and my friend was free.
Update: Here are some pictures from the trip thanks to the camera card recovery skills of my husband.
I'm in Dutch Harbor/Unalaska for work this week, which generally means lots of time spent inside a room providing information to people. However, last night my co-worker and I grabbed our cameras and played the tourists. We took pictures of bald eagles, the old Russian Orthodox church, the mountains, water, etc. We didn't spot any of the boats from the Deadliest Catch show that is based out of here, but perhaps today or tomorrow.
In getting ready to leave this morning here in Barrow, we were told to wait and not leave as there was a polar bear nearby. Come to find out the polar bear less than a block from the hotel. Of course, I stayed put, not knowing which way the bear was from our hotel.. Later when we got the driving tour, we kept our eyes peeled for the bear, but didn't see it. I've been spending the last hour or so getting up the nerve to walk the two blocks to the coffee shop. I think I'll go, but walk really fast. Here are a couple of non-bear pictures from around town today. Check out those "palm trees."
Whittier is south of Anchorage about 60 miles surrounded by the Chugach Mountains and water. While Zach has been there numerous times, I have not, so this weekend was my chance. We met up with about 14 other couples to stay the evening at the Inn at Whittier.
Before checking in, Zach showed me the sites. First, to get to Whittier, you have to go through a 2 1/2 mile tunnel, which can only be accessed at certain times. It's the longest dual purpose tunnel (car and train) in the country. Second, once we were through the tunnel (whew!), we drove by Begich Towers, a converted military building from Whittier's military days, now condos which most of the town live in. Not a single family house in the whole town to be seen, or at least that I could locate. Next we drove by Buckner Building, a huge abandoned building also from Whittier's military days. Finally, on to the Inn at Whittier.
Once checked in we watch some cable tv, quite the treat since we don't have cable at home. However, our decision not to have cable is always reinforced by these experiences with so many channels and nothing we really want to watch. We then headed down to a nice dinner and then spent some time in the bar, primarily watching the Olympics. This morning was lazy as the rain fell outside. We had some breakfast, lazed about again for a while and then finally made the 11:10 tunnel out of town. Back in Anchorage, the skies are blue and the weather has the feel of spring in it.
Update: Here's a picture my friend took of me while snorkeling with her underwater camera.
Whew, I survived the snorkel trip. I'm not a very strong swimmer so things like snorkeling make me nervous. But there were these foam noodles to hold onto & they keep you floating. They also let me relax a bit & enjoy the scenery. For a reward it was fresh piña coladas & some minor sun burn.
