Today in Anchorage

[thør]

Thor & Aquagal, You guys are too funny... and I do appreciate all the good info. I am traveling alone... my wife works and I have a son in middle school. Our summer is already booked with too much other "stuff" so I selected May. I also want to avoid "tourist season" which apparently officially starts on June 1st. Car rentals will be a bit cheaper, and I do plan on staying in your local Hostels whenever possible. This is my "recon" trip, for I certainly will be coming back.

Photography is my mission... and beer of course, my beverage of choice. No fishing, just photos of other folks catching them. I do plan on a halibut feast or two while in Homer, as well as a visit or two to the "Salty Dawg." Yep, I'll be goin' for the growler plan for sure...

More later... thanks again.

You will find many establishments on your route.

Wiki

And if you're saving a buck, you can just camp on the spit in Homer.

 

[Aquagal]

Thor & Aquagal, You guys are too funny... and I do appreciate all the good info. I am traveling alone... my wife works and I have a son in middle school. Our summer is already booked with too much other "stuff" so I selected May. I also want to avoid "tourist season" which apparently officially starts on June 1st. Car rentals will be a bit cheaper, and I do plan on staying in your local Hostels whenever possible. This is my "recon" trip, for I certainly will be coming back.

Photography is my mission... and beer of course, my beverage of choice. No fishing, just photos of other folks catching them. I do plan on a halibut feast or two while in Homer, as well as a visit or two to the "Salty Dawg." Yep, I'll be goin' for the growler plan for sure...

More later... thanks again.

Tourist season starts any time in May. School here gets out the week of the 20th, so anytime after that, families could be on the move. Ray's in Seward has yummy halibut and chips. Seward also has fjord boat trips to go out on that would probably give you good photo op's. If you see any bars hosting Hobo Jim, make sure you stop and watch his show. He's pretty entertaining.

 

[thør]

Tourist season starts any time in May. School here gets out the week of the 20th, so anytime after that, families could be on the move. Ray's in Seward has yummy halibut and chips. Seward also has fjord boat trips to go out on that would probably give you good photo op's. If you see any bars hosting Hobo Jim, make sure you stop and watch his show. He's pretty entertaining.

Ray's food is okay. The halibut and chips are dandy. I wish the old soda fountain in the Alaska Shop was like it used to be back in the '60's. The Apollo downtown is decent food, too. But I wish the Fo'c'sle has never burned down. No one in town puts out food as good as what was served at my grandma's house.

 

[thør]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BDrqt-kCEAAf99F.jpg:large

 

[thør]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BDvNfLECQAAsM0v.jpg:large

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

17 ? Two are almost too much, for me!

 

[AuntNelda]

Yes, it's cold outside!

Let's race to the hot tub!


http://up.xhamster.com/000/026/980/956_1000.jpg

 

[trysail]

It's that time of the year again, eh?

Much to my amazement, it turns out that a local fellow (we're talking latitude 39° !) did the damn race about a decade ago. I just found out. I couldn't have been more surprised. I fully understand the attraction it would hold for someone from your neck of the woods but I fail to comprehend why anybody in their right mind from 'round here would be interested. In any event, he wasn't killed and managed to finish. Now he uses the stunt in his marketing material (ugh).

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BDvNfLECQAAsM0v.jpg:large

 

[thør]

It's that time of the year again, eh?

Much to my amazement, it turns out that a local fellow (we're talking latitude 39° !) did the damn race about a decade ago. I just found out. I couldn't have been more surprised. I fully understand the attraction it would hold for someone from your neck of the woods but I fail to comprehend why anybody in their right mind from 'round here would be interested. In any event, he wasn't killed and managed to finish. Now he uses the stunt in his marketing material (ugh).

Iditarod or Rondy race?

It's Rondy time right now.

http://media.adn.com/smedia/2013/02/22/15/51/AbMPD.AuSt.7.JPG

 

[thør]

It's that time of the year again, eh?

Much to my amazement, it turns out that a local fellow (we're talking latitude 39° !) did the damn race about a decade ago. I just found out. I couldn't have been more surprised. I fully understand the attraction it would hold for someone from your neck of the woods but I fail to comprehend why anybody in their right mind from 'round here would be interested. In any event, he wasn't killed and managed to finish. Now he uses the stunt in his marketing material (ugh).

People who run dogs either love it or despise it. The Iditarod is a race for the competitive mushers and a camping trip for the others.

 

[thør]

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/421535_546670952022195_1060206295_n.jpg

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

2013 Race Start Saturday, March 2, 10:00 a.m. Anchorage, 4th and D Streets
(OK)
2013 Race Re-Start Sunday, March 3, 2:00 p.m. Willow Lake/Willow Community Center
( Huh ? What ?)

thør, could you please explain the Race Re-Start, to me ?

 

[thør]

2013 Race Start Saturday, March 2, 10:00 a.m. Anchorage, 4th and D Streets
(OK)
2013 Race Re-Start Sunday, March 3, 2:00 p.m. Willow Lake/Willow Community Center
( Huh ? What ?)

thør, could you please explain the Race Re-Start, to me ?

The real race starts in Willow. The Ceremonial start is in Anchorage where it's easier to suck more money out of tourists. The Willow accommodations are pretty sparse and most non-Alaskans might find them a bit harsh. Basically, you park your car on the highway and hoof it out onto Willow Lake to watch the start. When you get cold, you go back to the car.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

OK, I get it. Thank you, thør.

 

[trysail]

For those who do not know him, Willis Eschenbach is a polymath, autodidact, savant, adventurer and raconteur of the first order.

(Warning) Some of you may know him as a vocal (and effective) critic of the current climate orthodoxy. He is in the process of writing an autobiography. Various episodes are appearing in serial (and random) fashion on the well-known skeptical climate blog "Watts Up With That." The episodes are completely unrelated to climate and do not touch on that subject. I find they are an absolute delight to read. Thus far, they have been on subjects as diverse as the Burning Man Festival, riding the rails as a hobo, a trans-Pacific voyage aboard a sailboat, a South Pacific crime, and living on a South Pacific atoll. http://wattsupwiththat.com/category/willis-autobiography/ They're immensely entertaining.

Fishing the Mighty Kenai
by Willis Eschenbach

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/02/22/fishing-the-mighty-kenai-2/

When I was 62, I had the great pleasure of working once again in Alaska. I love Alaska, I’ve starved and frozen there, worked there many times. I’ve also made good money there, and it’s always been piles of fun.

I was finishing up as the Construction Manager of about a seven million dollar construction project in Fiji...

http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/rw-in-his-prime.jpg




​

 

[Aquagal]

For those who do not know him, Willis Eschenbach is a polymath, autodidact, savant, adventurer and raconteur of the first order.

(Warning) Some of you may know him as a vocal (and effective) critic of the current climate orthodoxy. He is in the process of writing an autobiography. Various episodes are appearing in serial (and random) fashion on the well-known skeptical climate blog "Watts Up With That." The episodes are completely unrelated to climate and do not touch on that subject. I find they are an absolute delight to read. Thus far, they have been on subjects as diverse as the Burning Man Festival, riding the rails as a hobo, a trans-Pacific voyage aboard a sailboat, a South Pacific crime, and living on a South Pacific atoll. http://wattsupwiththat.com/category/willis-autobiography/ They're immensely entertaining.

Fishing the Mighty Kenai
by Willis Eschenbach

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/02/22/fishing-the-mighty-kenai-2/




http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/rw-in-his-prime.jpg




​

That's quite a big King. Never heard of him.

 

[thør]

That's quite a big King. Never heard of him.

I rather dislike the "salmon culture" that's ruined the Kenai River. If guiding fisherman was "one of the hardest jobs" Willis had ever done, he never really worked hard.

 

[Aquagal]

http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb434/Violetmouseful/1b2f4c65f72fdef7e43925e6c32c0387_zpsf6aa9a47.jpg

 

[thør]

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/481104_10151372034328393_2100802499_n.jpg

 

[Aquagal]

I rather dislike the "salmon culture" that's ruined the Kenai River. If guiding fisherman was "one of the hardest jobs" Willis had ever done, he never really worked hard.

Agreed.

 

[thør]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BD5pdDdCcAI5d-F.jpg

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

A thaw, and a taste of mud season. My boots were temporarily glued in the muck. (Why I own a pullover anorak. Splatter is messy.)

 

[thør]

Looks like fun, eh?

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/482368_547925635230060_1419525324_n.jpg

NOT!

 

[thør]

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/557912_10151795361718782_709603459_n.jpg

 

[thør]

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/285385_10151797167608782_1853091036_n.jpg