Today is for shopping!

Anchorage has a big market in the summer time on Saturdays from 10-6. Amanda and Mairead wanted to do some shopping for native Alaskan items - tour books said that the market had the best choice of gifts at the best prices. Since Dan is not really into shopping, he decided to stay home and enjoy the hot tub.

It is another beautiful day - it is supposed to be in the 70s after a cool start. So we had a great day for traveling - although Anchorage is only about an hour away. It is a straight drive right into downtown Anchorage from Girdwood. We found a parking space right outside a shop that Dan wanted Amanda to check out. So we went in there first. They had some beautiful things, but I am constantly trying to eliminate clutter - although no one in my family will believe that! And I don't normally wear T shirts except to bed, I didn't really need more clothes, I have enough knicknacks. But I always try to buy magnets every place I go - I put them on my refrigerator or my file cabinet in my home office. They are small and easy to carry. I see them every day so I always have happy memories. So that is what I bought - plus postcards.

We needed to find an ATM machine - the first one was only for Bank of Alaska members it seemed because you needed a special ATM card to swipe. We walked a little further toward The Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center - there was an ATM outside, and we also hit the ladies room. I've said it before that my mother always said to never pass up a bathroom when you are traveling - you never know how long it will take to find the next one!! The convention center was huge - like Alaska! I read that Dena'ina is the original language of the Kenai peninsula and Cook Inlet - it means people. 

I wanted to see the log cabin at the visitors center which was right there. We were enjoying the fragrance from the flowers which are everywhere like in Seattle.

Amanda in front of the Visitors Center log cabin.

We headed off to the Anchorage Market- and it is a pretty big market! 

This is at the entrance - that is a white stage where a band was playing country western songs - Johnny Cash in particular - made me feel right at home!

We agreed to meet back at the entrance in an hour. There were some nice displays - very nice art work - soaps - jewelry - clothes - Alaskan home made objects, but I resisted. I did buy an ornament that is pressed Alaskan flowers in glass - I am going to use it as a sun catcher. The woman who made it said that no 2 items are the same. I was thinking of buying a round plate to put on my mantel in Gortdromagh - but I decided to think about it and never went back.

There were religious tents in the last row - Mormons, born again Christians - and others - I was too hot to get into a conversation with them so kept walking.

It was getting pretty warm - I had already shed my fleece and I could feel my arms and face burning. So I went outside behind the band - there was shade there and a very light breeze. So I slathered myself in sun screen - pulled my sun hat from my knapsack - took off my knapsack so the back of my shirt would dry!!

Amanda arrived just before noon and ran off to buy some family gifts. When Mairead and Amanda were both there, I suggested buying some Alaskan vegetables to have with our salmon for supper. By the time we got to the stall, the purple cabbage I had seen had been bought up by a restaurant. So we settled for huge zucchini, summer squash, a huge onion, and native potatoes. My mouth was watering thinking of dinner!!

Amanda, MEM, and Mairead

As we headed back through the market, we came to a bakery stand. Mairead had already bought zuchinni bread. Amanda bought a huge coffee roll - I was resisting but as I looked around at all the delicious baked goods, I finally gave in. Amanda bought me a coffee roll as well.

We headed back to the car to drop off the bundles. We agreed to meet in another hour at the car. I was roasting and my right hip was hurting from the walking. I had put a Lidocaine patch on my lower back - it works great!! I have tried them on my hip but the OTC ones do not stick as well as the prescription brand so I haven't bothered since we have been here. I decided to sit in the car with the A/C on high to cool off. Of course the huge coffee roll was looking at me from the passenger seat. I finally gave in to its advances and tore open the plastic wrap. My god, it was delicious!!  And it was so big! The white cream was melting all over me and my clothes. I was shoveling it into my mouth as fast as I could because it was melting and sticky - of course, I never thought about not finishing it - I ate every damn bite - and loved it - then I was licking my fingers and licking my lips to clean them off - why would I use my kleenex to wipe off the crumbs and icing when I could lick them off!!! Then I was searching for hand sanitizer to get the stickiness off my hands. That coffee roll was the best I've ever had. I wish I had another one right now!!

I decided to get out and wipe off my clothes - then I decided to walk to get some postcards. I saw Mairead going in and out of a couple of gift shops. She eventually arrived at the car - Amanda was on the phone a couple of doors down. Dan, Mairead and I all have Sprint - Amanda has Verizon and is the only one with cell phone service here in Alaska - that tells me something about all the money I pay Sprint!!

Our next stop was the Anchorage Museum on C Street. The building itself was massive! We started on the 4th floor at the Slow exhibit. I had read about this new Norwegian phenomena and saw something about it on PBS. I didn't know that Andy Warhol had started it. The purpose is to slow people down - sort of like stop and smell the roses - be aware of your surroundings. When we were going up in the huge elevator - it was the size of a freight elevator only bigger - there was a TV monitoring a herd of cows in a pasture. At first I thought it was a great still life - then I saw the grass blowing and a cow moving. The Slow movement would leave the camera on this field for days or months. Another example is the cameras trained on a birds' nest for months. Just showing that life does not have to be go, go, go! Unwind from electronics - spend time with family just talking - find out what is really important to you.  

Well, Mairead would not slow down and headed off to the next exhibit about life in the North. This was very interesting - some of it was about Alaska during WWII.

Mairead was anxious to see the Arctic Inuit exhibit - there were pictures of individual Inuits with a brief story about them or their lives. This was also very interesting - especially the older Inuits who talk about changes in climate, changes in the state since their childhood, their hardships and ways of life.

This exhibit also contained 600 artifacts from the Smithsonian Museum's Arctic Studies program. There were all kinds of clothes, boots, hats, gloves, cooking utensils. I went and sat down to watch a couple of videos that recorded the lives of some of the Inuit people. It was interesting listening to them telling their stories. Many again talked about changes in the seasons.

My hip had had enough - I can't stand for very long unless I am walking. Standing reading about the exhibits had gotten to my hip which was already sore from walking through the market. I went down to the lobby to wait for Mairead. There were benches to sit on except that people were stretched out sleeping on them. Outside I could see people sleeping on the benches outside. I was amazed by this - I don't think you would see it at the Museum of Fine Arts!

Amanda came along next and then Mairead. We headed home to see what Dan was up to. 

Amanda went to see what Dan had been up to - I cut up the vegetables that we had bought and put the potatoes on to boil - Mairead relaxed. We decided to cook the rest of the salmon. Amanda again cooked it on the grill in individual packets of aluminum foil and did the same with the veg. The dinner was fabulous!! Better than anything you would get in a restaurant. We sat around the table and talked for a long time. It was a great day!

MEM blogging on the deck in front of hot tub.

We caught some salmon!!!

It was cool this morning as we headed out at 6 am. Today - Friday, August 4 - was supposed to be dry and in the 70s so I didn't take my light winter jacket - I just wore a fleece and took my scarf and gloves which I probably may not even need. 

I drove - we stopped at the gas station for Dan and Amanda's fishing licenses. I went in to buy a snack and was flabbergasted when I saw all the Camel cigarettes at the register! I remember thinking how strange it was when we passed a big Camel sign as we drove down to Girdwood.  Now, here were 2 shelves of different kinds of Camels - they took up as much space as all the other cigarettes together!! There were filtered and non filtered Camels, there were mild, light, and regular camels. The clerk told me that Camels are big sellers and that light Camels are the best seller of all cigarettes!! Talk about cancer sticks!!

Then we were off. We headed south down the Seward Highway - the opposite way from yesterday. There was no traffic - the road was smooth and pretty level. The speed limit alternated between 55 and 65 mph, but it was difficult to go that slow. The scenery was terrific - more mountains - some with little pockets of snow on them - more mud flats. I wonder when the tides come in - I have read that the tides can be 10 feet high - I would love to see that. We saw mist rising above a long creek - that looked surreal. We passed the National Wildlife Refuge - and hoped to stop in there on the way home. We followed the Seward Highway/Alaska route 1 to the turn for Sterling/Soldnata. We began seeing bait shops, places to ship fish, different little places to buy food or fishing equipment. There were loads of cars and RVs parked near accesses to the rivers. We were looking for Moosequitos bar just before Sterling. I drove right by Moosquitos and the entrance across the road to the Izaack Walton State Park landing where we were meeting our boat and guide Cody. I turned around, took a left, and headed a short distance into the park. Cody and the boat were waiting for us. I talked with a ranger who told me there was a $5 parking fee - he gave me an envelop to put $5 into and deposit it into a locked box attached to a Park sign when we returned from fishing.

The orange icon at the top is Mosquitos Bar - the green icon to the right is at the entrance to Izaak Walton State Park. The dirt road runs parallell to Sterling Highway - you can just barely see it above the trees - and it ends in that gray area above the words Moose river. That is the landing. 

With my right hip needing another replacement, I can't lift it more than a couple of inches. Cody and Dan helped me onto the boat. There were four seats with backs to them - comfortable enough. After reviewing safety measures, Cody said that we were going to fish off the bank. I figured that meant somewhere close by. Was I wrong! We started off and kept gaining speed. I was wishing that I hadn't left my gloves in the car - and I should have brought that winter jacket. I had my scarf looped around my neck. I was pretty darn cold despite a turtleneck and a fleece. It was about 49 degrees - the cold river water and the speed we were going made it seem a lot colder. But I knew that this was only temporary - we were going to stop somewhere. Then we hit "the rapids" - Cody speeded up, and we were practically flying off our seats! I felt like I was white water rafting as we zigged and zagged back and forth across the rough current. It was unexpected but exhilarating! The wind and some surf flying at me as we skimmed across the water - the beautiful sunny clear day. We finally ran out of white water, and the ride was just fast. We were passing houses on heights with long staircases down to their docks - some staircases were wooden but a lot were metal.  Some had platforms where the owners could fish right off the dock! One even had a sink set up to fillet the fish right on the dock. Some places had boats tied up at the docks, many didn't. 

Mairead and Amanda

We passed single fishermen fishing by themselves and groups of fisherman. Some were sitting on the shore, but most were standing in the river - all had waders on - that water is coming down from glaciers so I bet it was pretty darn cold.

Cody pulled over to the left bank and asked those fishing there if they minded us fishing below them. I guess they said okay because that is where we pulled in. He docked the boat on the bank then told us to pull some waders out of a rubbermaid box and find some that fit. I tried to lift my right leg into a wader, but couldn't do it. So I decided to play it safe and stayed in the boat. The others headed up the river, and Cody set them up with fishing rods and showed them the technique.

Amanda fishing

It was quiet and still - so peaceful - I could hear the river flow by - I could see my fishers bring their right arm back and swoosh overhead to drop the line out in front of them - let the line drift in toward you and then right arm back again and swoosh in a big arc to drop the line in again - let the line drift in toward you, bring your arm back and swoosh that big arc to drop the line in the river - let the line drift toward you then swoosh with that big arc to drop the line - over and over and over. 

I was watching birds in the trees nearby. The quiet was only broken when another boat came hurtling through the river with more fishermen - there were a couple of women but it was mostly men. I was surprised by the wake that these small boats made. They would  fly by us and then a minute or two later the boat I was in would start swaying back and forth so much so that I couldn't stand up during it, or I would lose my balance. I could hear the bottom of the metal boat scrapping on the rocks of the river bank.

Suddenly, Mairead got a hold of something - it was a pink salmon!! BUT it was not a good salmon for eating so Cody threw it back in. This happened a couple of times to the three of them - I was excited when they caught something and disappointed when it had to go back in - if the fish was hooked in the body and not the mouth, it is not considered hooked and had to go back in - Amanda caught a King salmon but that goes back in as well. 

And so it went - swoosh in a big arc to drop the line, let it drift toward shore, right arm back and swoosh a big arc to drop the line, let it drift back to you, over and over and over. Dan figured that it took about 10 seconds for that whole motion so that they performed it hundreds and likely over a thousand times in 3+ hours! 

Dan with Mairead and our boat in the background.

Back in the boat I was wondering if anyone had taken any pictures. Of all mornings, I had left my cell phone at the chalet. I decided to try again to get a wader on my right foot. With no one else on the boat, I threw the wader out it's whole length and then held my leg up with my right hand and squiggled my foot into the top of the wader. Pulling it up was a struggle - those waders seem damn long - they go up past your knees after all. I got the left one on with no problem. The left side of the boat was on the bank so I sat on the side of the boat and threw my left leg over onto the ground, then lifted my right leg out. No big deal.

I walked over to the others - Dan said that he had taken some pictures but gave me his phone to take more. I took a few and then Dan handed me his fishing rod. Cody came over to show me the drill - arm back and then make a large arc over my head to drop the line, let it drift into shore then everything all over again. It was very peaceful here as well - no one was talking much - just concentrating on casting out the line. I did manage to catch a small salmon, but it had to go back in. My right shoulder was beginning to ache - how were the others still doing this? After what about a half hour, I'd had enough. I put the rod up against a tree and headed to the boat.  I sat on the side and threw my left leg in but my right knee buckled and next thing I knew I was on the ground!! I had fallen off the side of the boat!! After initial "Oh my God, did I hurt myself out here in the middle of nowhere," I thought "Oh my God, my kids will think I'm an idiot." I heard Mairead yelling - asking if I was okay. I needed to get up quickly. I had landed on my behind, but couldn't gain traction to push myself up. Cody was running over as I turned onto my knees and got up. He brushed sand off my wet behind - asked a hundred times if I was okay - then he lifted my right leg into the boat after I had got the left one in. I felt like an jerk - a big fat old jerk!! But Cody was very nice - he sat just talking to me about hunting in the winter - how much hunting with his father and grandfather means so much to him - how the short days in January and February when there are only 4 hours of light really affect him - he has to fight depression. Then someone caught a fish, and off he went with the net. 

Between Dan, Amanda, and Mairead, they caught 3 sockeye salmon that we could take home. Time was up, and we had to head back to the landing after Cody cleaned the fish. I don't know what I expected - I have seen fish cleaned and filleted before - but I didn't expect to see Cody just throw the parts we wouldn't use back into the river!! That plus the tobacco juice he spit into the river. 

Cody cleaning and filleting our salmon.

We took our seats, and we were off to the landing. If we thought the ride up river was bad, we were really flying off our seats on the return trip. I thought Mairead was going to land on the floor or in the Kinai river. Cody went faster than before and the rapids seemed higher and more intense. I was afraid I was going to hurt my back as I went up in the air and slammed back into my seat. I wondered if Cody was doing this on purpose!! We finally made it to the Moose River which is very tranquil, and Cody went much slower.  We docked and Cody, Amanda and Mairead helped me out of the boat - I was still in one piece - the boat ride was worse than falling off the side of the boat!!

We thanked Cody, and I paid the $5 parking fee. We jumped into the car and headed to the nearby gas station for a foam box and ice to hold the salmon. Dan drove home - we stopped at the Wildlife Refuge - I can't believe I forgot my camera today!

We got there just after the bears were fed - 2 brown bears and a 15 month old black bear cub. It was amazing to watch that bear grab an orange and dig his claws into it - but only enough to peel it - I could hear the scraping - he left the pith and peel behind and gobbled down the orange.

We saw musk oxen including a new baby, elk, moose, a silver and brown fox - all I could think of was foxes killing our lambs in Gortdromagh, a live porcupine - we had seen 3 dead ones on the highway, 3 wolves, and I can't remember what else. The refuge has a dirt road that goes in one direction past all the animals - Dan would park and we would run over to see the animals. The dust storms were horrendous.

We made it back to the chalet - the kids went into the hot tub, then Amanda cooked the salmon with zuchinni in aluminum packets - it was delicious!! Mairead had bought different brands of cream soda and root beers because they were so good at the restaurant in Anchorage. We had a bit of a tasting. She found Sarsaparilla as well. That has a Lowell connection - C. J. Hood's company made Sarsaparilla - my Keohane grandfather had worked on C. J. Hood's farm when he came over from Ireland.  

And that is what this trip is all about! Spending time outdoors and with each other.

We made it to Alaska!!

Thursday morning Mairead and I headed down to the lobby at Days Inn to catch the 6:30 shuttle. Dan and Amanda had texted that they had taken the 6 am shuttle. I am too used to Logan airport where you are dropped of in front of the terminal. I hadn't thought about the hike from where the shuttle dropped us off on the 4th floor to the check-in desks. When the driver dropped us off there again, I was thinking that Dan and Amanda had made a good decision to leave at 6 am. 

We printed our boarding passes and luggage tags and headed for the luggage drop off. We had to get into a long line with only 3 people checking the bags - it was after 7 - we still had to go through security, and we were boarding at 7:30 am. Fortunately for us, the gal taking our bags showed us that we didn't have to go through the long line for security because TSA precheck was printed on our boarding passes!  I had never even looked at it except to make sure it had my name on it! We didn't have to take off our shoes, I didn't have to take out my computer or liquids! I set off the alarms and had to go into the X-ray machine - but then NO pat downs or wandings! What a break and time saver! What a change from Logan and other airports - even some museums in England were more strict than this!!

We joined up with Dan and Amanda. It seemed like a long time before we started boarding. Dan was first on - Amanda was sitting closer to us in the back. It was a 3 1/2 hour trip - Mairead and I had aisle seats again.  The flight was not as smooth as the flight from Boston to Seattle when we had no turbulence and barely felt the touch down. Landing in Anchorage was not quite so smooth.

We gathered up our bags then headed to Enterprise Rent A Car, but first Dan and Amanda had to stop to take picture to celebrate Dan hitting all 50 states!! It is quite an accomplishment! More than most people will ever do. I certainly will never see all 50. Cheers, Dan!!

I signed up to be the second driver in case Dan gets sick of driving - Alaska is a big state, and I had read that some of the driving conditions are not the greatest. We did the paper work on one floor then took the elevator to the next floor to actually pick up the car - mini van actually - not too macho for Danno to be driving, but it is extremely comfortable with all the newest digital gadgets - a Chrysler Pacifica! And I was certainly glad that I wasn't driving out of that garage! The extremely narrow tight turns around circular columns to the exit were frightening - we could see where other cars had scrapped against the concrete columns! They were covered with dents and scratch marks.

Rental car outside our chalet

We headed for Anchorage - Hello Alaska!! Traffic was light compared to other big cities. We passed a sign thanking US Senator Lisa Murkowski for voting against Trumpcare. She is a hero for standing up for what is right and voting against the Republican health care bill despite intense Republican pressure. But enough politics. 

I was surprised that Anchorage was so flat - the mountains were in the distance. And it was so cool compared to 90+ degrees in Seattle - we were all enjoying that change! And Anchorage didn't seem too busy - it was after 11 am - no traffic jams - everything seemed pretty orderly.

Our first stop was Walmart - we stocked up on bottles of water, snacks - I bought English muffins and some cereal for breakfasts. I was surprised at how low the prices were considering the distance that everything has to be transported. Then someone mentioned that Walmart headquarters is in Seattle - so that isn't so far.

Next we decided that we needed to eat. So we went to the Glacier Brew House "where Alaskans meet Alaskans." It was a nice place - very busy! Were all those people tourists or Alaskans? We had to wait 10 minutes or so. Dan, Amanda and I had seafood chowder which was delicious. They then had burgers - Mairead had meatloaf which was a surprising choice to me - she said it was very good - I had a mushroom and arugula salad which was okay. Home made cream soda and home made root beer were on the menu - Mairead tried the cream soda and Dan tried the root beer. Both got outstanding ratings - the drinks, not Dan and Mairead - although they can be outstanding too!!

After eating, we headed for Girdwood where we are renting a chalet. But only after finding a parking ticket on the window of the car - welcome to Anchorage! I was still surprised that the streets in Anchorage did not seem so busy with traffic or people. Who was giving out tickets?

It was about an hour drive to Alyeska in Girdwood along Turnagain Arm where there are absolutely huge mud flats stretching out to mountains we could see in the distance while the Chugach Mountains were beside us on the left.

Dan and Mairead

Turnagain Arm interestingly was named by William Bligh serving under Captain Cook who was searching for the Northwest passage - a sea route connecting the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean. He had attempted to sail up two passages from Cook Inlet, but they turned out to be rivers - the second one Bligh called Turnagain because they had to turn around again. William Bligh went on to command the HMS Bounty of the mutiny fame!

Pictures of Turnagain Arm

Approaching Girdwood

We started seeing chalets along the road especially after we turned onto Alyeska Highway. They reminded me of Switzerland or Austria. The houses are built from large logs - a couple of stories high - some are colorfully decorated with gardens, window boxes, hanging flowers. And they are everywhere!!

We passed a gas station and a couple of shops as we turned onto Alyeska Highway - a mile or so further we passed a left turn that looked like it might have a few shops. It was at least 2 miles to the Alyeska Accommodations check in building from the turn off the Seward highway. Dan went into one building with a sign that said they had moved to another location. We drove around the block and found it - we passed a small restaurant which we will have to check out.

Map of Girdwood and Alyeska Ski Resort - our chalet is on the corner of Davos and Donner Streets near the plane and skier in the middle toward the top.

We found our chalet - it is so cute! Hot tub on the deck and all. Dan and Amanda took the bedroom on first floor. There is a bedroom on the second floor with a double bed. And then there are the two beds in the loft. The caveat is that you have to climb a ladder to reach them. Mairead got part way up before fear of heights overtook her. I went up the ladder to take a look but have enough sense to know that I would fall off the loft trying to climb back down in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.  So Mairead and I will take turns on the comfortable sofa in the living room. 

Ladder to the loft where two mattresses are on the floor. Second bedroom is there behind the kitchen.

Sofa that Mairead and I will take turns sleeping on

We had turned on the TV to hear some news. I normally watch the news throughout the day. I start the morning with CBS This Morning - flipping to CNN and MSNBC during commercials. Sometimes I am up at 5:30 or 6 and turn on CNN or MSNBC. I take a quick break around noon to hear the local news and catch the CBS or ABC evening news when I finish work at 6:30. Unless there is something good on TV, I end the night with news and then Charlie Rose or Brian Williams at 11. So I feel like I am going through withdrawal - the news shows are on at such early times here! But we did hear a weather forecast for Friday that was full of warnings about the heat - watch out for children and dogs - it will be in the 70s for the next few days!! 70s!! Warnings?!?! We get those warnings in Boston for temps of high 80s or 90s! Friday is supposed to be cool in the morning and get up into the 70s as the day goes on. Clear and dry. Sounds good to me!

We were all tired from the early morning departure. Mairead and I did take a drive to a general store in Girdwood for milk and fishing licenses. They had the fishing licenses, but Mairead had no ID with her, and you can't buy a license for someone else. We went back to the house to tell Dan and Amanda - but Dan was too tired to go out, and Amanda was already asleep - it was around 7pm. The guy in the shop had said the gas station sold licenses and was open 24 hours. Mairead and I took a drive to check it out because we are all going fishing in the morning, and we each need to have a license. 

We pulled into that little shopping center we had passed on the way into Alyeska. We got our licenses at the gas station, and yes, Dan and Amanda could get theirs at 6 am tomorrow morning. So Mairead and I checked out the little shops in this place. There was a guy playing guitar outside with a hat for donations as we walked out the door. There is a pizza shop, an ice cream shop, a gift shop, and a bakery. We checked them all out. I couldn't pass up huckleberry ice cream! And it was delicious! 

We explored Girdwood a little - we found the Post Office, the elementary/middle school, the town hall, fire station. Everything looks brand new.  I was reading that Girdwood was founded in the late 1800s as a supply camp for miners with claims along Turnagain Arm. It was named for Colonel James Girdwood of Belfast, Ireland - a linen merchant who staked the first claims along Crow Creek which is not far from our chalet. The 1964 earthquake devastated the original town along Turnagain Arm. New Girdwood - which Mairead and I saw - moved over 2 1/2 miles further up into the valley. A famous resident was US Senator Ted Stevens - the airport in Anchorage was named for him - he was one of the longest serving members of Congress - he died in a plane crash in Alaska. Girdwood was also the finishing line for The Amazing Race 2012.

It is still daylight here at 10 pm which is very disorienting.

Tomorrow morning we are going fishing for salmon for four hours - we have to leave a few minutes before 6 am - it's a 2 hour drive to Sterling after Dan and Amanda get their fishing licenses. We are all looking forward to cooking that salmon on the grill for supper! 

Heat wave in Seattle

Mairead and I met Dan and Amanda in the lobby of the motel at 9:20 am. Amanda arranged for a Lyft driver to pick us up - a very nice, comfortable black SUV. Because of traffic we were going to be 10 minutes late for our 10 am reservation for brunch at the Space Needle. Amanda called the restaurant from the car and was told there was a 15 minute grace period. We just made it. Amanda checked in - then we had a security guy checking bags - then we were sandwiched into the elevator that took 46 seconds to reach the restaurant which is at 500 feet. They even had an employee who accompanied us in the elevator giving us a little history on the Space Needle - it was built in 1962 for the World's Fair - it can withstand 200 mph winds - the restaurant revolves about once every 45 minutes.  I'm sure he was also  there to distract us from being squashed into that elevator.

The seats in the restaurant rotate like at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Cambridge back home. There were plenty of empty tables so we had one beside the window. The decor must have been the original from 1962 - it looked very retro now.

The day was overcast so we couldn't see the mountains - I was hoping we could see Mt. Rainier in the distance - Dan and I saw a lot of that mountain top the last time we were here. We could see Lake Union and the Marriott where we stayed the last time.  We could see the restaurant where we ate and the park where I walked. The sea planes were flying by - Mairead wants to try that the next time she comes. 

We could see the ferries and boats in the harbor. There was also a Navy ship docked. Then we saw a Coast Guard ship and another Navy ship.  It was getting foggy over the water.

There were lots of construction cranes as well as roof top gardens.

The food at Sky City was fabulous!  It was a 3 course brunch - it was difficult to choose a starter - but I finally ordered a spinach, strawberry, and goat cheese salad. My 2nd choice was asparagus and gruyere tart - Amanda had that, and it was great. Mairead had the seasonal soap, and Dan had clam chowder.

My entree was a garden vegetable scrambled eggs with white and purple cauliflower, Amanda had eggs Benedict with Dungeness crab, Dan had Dungeness crab and Oregon shrimp salad, and Mairead had blueberry pancakes. When I looked outside, it seemed more foggy.

Then Amanda, Mairead and I had a dessert with rhubarb while Dan had berries and cream.  By this time we figured out it wasn't fog outside but smoke from the Canadian forest fires. I could see it blowing between buildings. Mairead and I went up to the observation deck, but I couldn't stay out on the open observation deck because of the crowds AND the smell of smoke. By now we could hardly see the boats in the harbor because of the smoke.
I heard on the news later that the ships were there to open Fleet Week to honor those who serve our country.

We were headed to the monorail to go to Westlake Center. As we walked over, Dan and Amanda decided to have a caricature drawn by one of 2 guys sitting near the monorail entrance. We then took the monorail - when we got to Westlake Center, Dan decided to head back to the hotel while Amanda, Mairead and I decided to walk to Pike Public Market.  It was hot! 90+ and a drought. Sweat was running down my back and into my eyes! 

We walked through parts of the market - saw the fish sellers throwing fish to each other. Mairead and Amanda tried some smoked salmon and gave it a thumb's up.

Mairead took a picture of the huckleberries - Dan has been raving about huckleberry ice cream since he had it when we were in Idaho Falls.

We stopped at a cafe that was supposed to have air conditioning. I don't think they know what air conditioning is in Seattle! We decided to Lyft to Pioneer Square. Another Toyota Prius picked us up - the Prius is very popular with Lyft drivers, taxis, and people in general in Seattle. When I saw the distance to The Gold Rush Museum in pioneer Sqaure, I was glad we "Lyfted."

One of our ancestors was a gold miner - he traveled to Australia, British Columbia, and finally Idaho in search of gold.  I had always wondered if James Moriarty had traveled through Seattle so I had wanted to visit this museum run by the National Park Service to see what life was like for the gold seekers. And it was hard - miners carrying heavy back packs of supplies over snow covered mountains. Living in flimsy tents or wood cabins in all kinds of weather. So many left their families behind and then never found gold. The majority of miners must have been tough, strong, determined men to undergo such hardships. It seems that the merchants, saloon keepers, and hotel keepers are the ones who made it big - they must have been the well dressed folks in the museum's pictures.

We decided to get something to eat and a cold drink - Amanda found the Merchants Cafe which is one of the oldest Restaurants in Seattle - built about 1890, it seems stuck in the 1920s - old lamps and decorations, pictures of women who used to work in the brothel that was upstairs. There was a speakeasy downstairs.
We all tried huckleberry cider which was quite tasty. I had ordered a grilled cheese without the cream cheese so when the sandwich came with the cream cheese, the cook made me another one without cream cheese. I ate one half of each and brought the rest home to Dan.

It was still 91 degrees at 5 pm when we headed home with another Lyft driver. The smoke from the Canadian fires was still dense.

I was too hot and too tired to do anything. I took a shower because we have an early start tomorrow. Our flight to Anchorage is at 8 am. The front desk clerk told us to be in the lobby by 6:20 am, and we would have plenty of time to get to the airport on the 6:30 shuttle. So now I am going to pack my bags and go to bed.

The waterfront in Seattle

Tuesday 8/1/17 4:34 pm

The flight to Seattle was uneventful. I had chosen aisle seats for Mairead and myself. Now that the seats are narrower with less leg room and 3 together, I prefer an aisle seat - I can stretch my legs out in the aisle until someone walks by - I would never want to be in the middle seat! I also volunteer my carry on bag if the airline does not have enough overhead bin space and is looking for a volunteer to check them. I figure I have a checked bag anyway and this way I don't have to struggle getting the bag in and out of the overhead compartment.

Jet Blue seems to have more leg room, and the seats don't seem so squished. They gave us free soft drinks, tea, or coffee and a bag of chips or pretzels.  I was glad I had eaten that piece of pizza this morning! 

There was a free shuttle to the Days Inn Sea-Tac - the motel that Danno had booked. We took the shuttle to the Motel - we knew the room would not be ready until 2, but we just wanted to drop our bags off. Dan and Amanda are arriving about 8 pm. I checked in, and they put our bags in a locked room until we returned and were given a room.

I had my first Lyft ride from the motel to Seattle's waterfront. The driver was originally from Ethiopia - had worked as a driver for an embassy in Japan - and has lived in Seattle for 6 or 7 years.  He was very friendly and talked about how the prices of houses and apartments are going up. He was paying $1500 monthly rent, but now his landlord wants to raise his rent to $2500 per month!! We were talking about how people who grew up in the cities like Boston and Seattle can't afford to live there.

We needed to eat so we went into Miners Landing to the Crab Pot restaurant - I think that was the name of it. Mairead went for fish and chips and a beer. I had a fish sandwich that came with a cup of soup and fruit - grapes, cantaloupe, and honey dew melon - I ate the  soup, fruit and the cod - the fish was very fresh - the bun was covered in tartar sauce which I don't like.

We ate along this pier - about half way down toward the Seattle Wheel.

We were sitting outside - Mairead had a good view of boats in the harbor. The waiter David told us that we brought the sunshine. It was getting hotter - in the 80s anyway. We walked along the harbor and poked into a couple of shops - Mairead bought her first T shirt! I bought a couple of magnets and postcards.

View of the pier where we ate in Miners Landing.

This place had all kinds of unusual things!!

It was very warm by this time so we cooled off with ice cream!! We sat outside on a pier while we ate it. Then we walked to the Seattle Wheel and decided to give it a whirl. It is much smaller than the London Eye, but it was pleasant - we made 3 or 4 rotations and had a good view of that area of the harbor and the Space Needle.

View of Space Needle from Seattle Wheel

Red, white and blue umbrellas of restaurant where we ate.

Red, white and blue umbrellas of restaurant where we ate. You can go out for a harbor tour in the sailboat docked between piers - maybe tomorrow!!

You can just see the two stadiums near the top of these pictures.

Getting tired - I thought this lumberman might carry me to the exit!

Then we waited for the hop on hop off Emerald Trolley for a tour of the city. When the trolley arrived, the "conductor" told us the tickets were good for the day only, not 24 hours - They only had 2 hours left - but he would give us a discount - $20 each for today. We decided to pass - maybe tomorrow. We were feeling tired and dehydrated so we decided to head back to the hotel.  We got a "Lyft" in front of the Seattle Aquarium. 

The driver was another pleasant fellow - there was another passenger and the two of them were talking about all the homeless people along the waterfront. I had noticed quite a few - an Asian fellow with one leg on crutches and a woman with a shopping cart of belongings - she passed us as we poked into some shops - then we saw her near a fountain outside the Seattle Aquarium - she was yelling at no one in particular. There were men sitting along the sidewalk with signs asking for handouts. We drove passed a tent city. The driver said that the city had a program to get the homeless off the street, but the homeless have to be sober to participate - so many don't. The driver was talking about the number of homeless who don't want to come in from the cold. The other passenger said she had see homeless camped out under the Western Bridge. I was impressed with the compassion that the Lyft driver and that woman had for the homeless. As we drove by some old buildings along the waterfronts - some were being rehabbed - they talked about how the rents would be going up once the buildings were finished, and the homeless would be moved somewhere else.

The other passenger lived near Sea-Tac Airport - off the main drag - it was a very nice residential area - the architecture reminded me of the houses near John Huliston's cottage in Falmouth - some had triangular details and other "modern" features - the yards were all nicely landscaped. The gal told us that each lot had a grandfathered in deed to the nearby beach! She had said that she and her husband had looked for a year before they found their house - they had been considering moving out of Seattle until they found this house.

After we dropped the other passenger off, the Lyft driver said that the neighborhood was very nice but too far aware from everything - it was good if you had kids, but not if you were single.

The driver lost connection to his Waze - my battery was low - so Mairead had to find the way to Days Inn. The driver was very apologetic.

We are in Room 428 - we left Danno and Amanda's key at the desk. It's 7:37 pm so they should be arriving soon. I took a shower which woke me up a little. I was too tired to go back out. So I am stretched out in bed. We had a pizza delivered to the room. Mairead can go to with Dan and Amanda if they want to go out.  I am going to try to stay awake for another hour or so and then hit the hay!!

It's now 10:29 pm - Dan and Amanda have arrived - I gave them the leftover pizza. We are thinking of brunch at the Space Needle tomorrow. The menu looks great! and the price include admission to the observation deck!

Another adventure

And so it begins. After months - which seem like years, we are on our way.

My son Dan has been to every American state except Alaska. I was fortunate to travel to the Northwest states with him a couple of years ago.  Now Alaska was the only remaining destination in his quest to see all 50 American states. 

Of course who wants his mother tagging along on a quest? But Dan agreed to let me and my daughter Mairead tag along with him and his fiancee Amanda on this trip to Alaska. Did he and Amanda plan to go or did Dan let Amanda tag along as well? I just won't ask - don't want to get into dangerous waters before getting off the ground!

Bit by bit the trip came into being. Jet Blue to Seattle and later home to Boston - Alaska Air to and from Anchorage. Dan rented a chalet in Girdwood which is south of Anhorage. I rented a motel near Denali - Denali was Mt. McKinley my whole life, and I have a hard time changing now - so forgive the interchanging of Mt. Mckinley and Denali. I found a house in the mountains of Fairbanks and rented that. We have a loose game plan to follow - certain activities booked on certain days but plenty of time to take in the scenery and poke around the towns.

Mairead and I stayed at the Super 8 Motel in Watertown last night - I booked in about 7ish. Dan drove me up from the Cape. We passed Mairead in Watertown Square, but we had no room because my bags were in the back seat so we snuck by her. I did text her from the motel that Dan could pick her up and bring her and her bags to the motel before he headed home - but Mairead is Mairead, and she texted back that she wouldn't be ready until 9 ish. It isn't that far to walk from Perkins School for the Blind to the motel.

These cheap motels are good for a quick overnight - you get a bed, shower, wifi, TV - what else did I need for less than 12 hours? Our room was on the 2nd floor with no elevator - that was a no go. My check in bag was way to heavy to carry up and down a flight of stairs. I alway pack too much and never have time to go back and take out half of the things like travel gurus recommend.  So I have sneakers for fishing, sneakers for walking, winter shoes for a glacier, and sandals. I have rain jackets, fleeces, capris if it is warm, slacks if it is cold, polo shirts along with a long sleeve shirt. That would not be all that heavy, but the jar of reduced fat extra crunchy Skippy Peanut Butter along with the Ken's Lite Raspberry Vinagriette and the box of low fat Graham Crackers added a few pounds. I didn't think that seemed so strange to take those items along, but Dan and Mairead both asked if I knew there was a Walmart in Anchorage!

Anyway, the motel clerk had a room on the main floor so there would be no stairs to drag my 45 lb bag up and down. Problem was it was a king size bed. I tried texting Mairead to see if that was a problem - sleeping with me - but she didn't respond. The clerk found a cheap room on the ground floor for her - so I took it. Mairead watches TV late and a little loud - I planned to go to bed early at 11 pm - so it actually worked out quite well.  I walked across the street to Domino's and bought a pepper, onion and pineapple pizza. I had my supper in the motel then took a quick shower so I could just get up and dressed at 4 am. Mairead arrived about 9:30 and promptly complained about my choice of toppings on the pizza. 

Mairead headed to her room about 10. I repacked and thought of every thing I could have removed if I was at home - including the Skippy Peanut Butter and Graham Crackers!! I watched MSNBC talking about Donald Trump's hand in Donald Jr's reports about the Russian meeting - that could be the subject of another blog!

I went to bed promptly at 11 and almost flew out of bed when the alarm went off at 3:45 am!! I shut it off and laid there for 15 minutes until it went off again. I rolled into the bathroom, got dressed, ate a leftover piece of pizza, gathered up the trash, and Watertown Taxi arrived. He took us and our bags down Storrow Drive to the airport. He was avoiding the Mass Pike because of the Mass Ave Bridge construction. It was well worth the $36 plus $8 tip - he lifted the bags in and out of the cab!

We tried to use the kiosk to check in, but it didn't accept our information and sent us to a real person!! And she could pronounce Mairead's name!! We got through Security quickly - I just got a little pat down - not like the usual search because my hip replacements set off the metal detectors.

Now we are about to board - it is 6:40 am - we take off at 7 am. Dan and Amanda are taking a later flight and meeting us at Days Inn Sea-Tac.

So we're off to Alaska via Seattle!!