Snowshoeing in Girdwood

During yet another return trip to Anchorage this past week, I escaped for a few hours to Girdwood, AK. Girdwood is home to the Alyeska Ski Resort, gorgeous meadows, groomed trails, and back country snowshoeing. On the way there, I photographed the late afternoon sun over Turnagain Arm and fell in love with the blue-ish hue it bestowed upon the neighboring peaks.

My camera's battery died shortly afterwards, but not before I caught this shot of my friend, Chris, capturing the inlet's viewshed.

My partner in crime was a new rock climbing friend, Chris, who donned his snowshoes and showed me a fantastic trail that starts just behind the tram [that runs up the mountain]. Not even a 1/4 mile in I had to shed layers. In Kodiak, Brad, Tok, and I snowshoe in an area where are susceptible lots of wind (um, yeah, it's Kodiak). Typically, I wear lots of layers and wind blocking gear. Covered from the elements along the tree lined trail, I trudged along in my base layer and HardWear. The Winner Creek Trail trail varied in terrain, moving along the streams, over bridges, up icy hills, with intermittent glimpses of the mountain from the trail. Occasionally, we stopped to listen to the streams trickle underneath bridges and to behold fungi's ability to live in the winter, as evidenced by a shot I took with his camera:

I am stoked to have learned a new trail as Brad and I make plans to spend Christmas at Alyeska.

Windmills and HH60

Brad may detest that I am posting this, but I thought it an awesome photo of our air crew and the new windmills on Pillar Mountain.

Wind

I am an avid reader of Kodiak Konfidential, and I love his posts that bring perspective to some of our laments and reflections about life in Alaska.

The wind in Kodiak woke me up several times this weekend, but having read that Attu was subject to gusts of 178 miles per hour, I will keep my mouth shut about my slumber being disturbed. For the full story, click here.

Gettin' my urban on

On my way home west, I stopped in Seattle for a few days of loveliness with the Meltons and a future Mrs. Trapp. Having relocated to Seattle this past summer, the Meltons bought a home and immediately gave me the green light to crash whenever possible. And you all know me: I am never one to not accept an invitation from a cultured foodie with a palate for wine that rivals my taste buds.

After my airplane drama, a lovely Sirena collected my sorry arse at SeaTac and took me home. A restful evening ensued, and I was actually nice after a couple hours of sleep. Friday morning, we joined forces to prep the crockpot with the easiest (and later, tastiest) short rib recipe ever. With smiles, we set off to SeaTac to collect Flo, and immediately headed to the International District for dim sum. It was my first dim sum experience, and hearing Sirena order in Chinese made me ever-thankful that my first experience was with a native speaker.

We passed Friday afternoon in the tasting room of Delille Wineries. Our wine steward turned out to be a Coastie mom, and she joined in our lively conversations each time she filled our glasses with a different variety from the tasting menu. Flo and her fiancé are avid wine connoisseurs, living only 45 minutes from Napa. Flo’s specific questions about the varietals and aging paired well with my musing on what foods would compliment the more complex wines we tasted.

Saturday was my day, per se. I started off by taking the ladies to the Donut Shop, on our way to the Needle. This being Flo’s first time in the Emerald City, I wanted to knock out all the regular sights. After being blown around atop the Space Needle and beholding the former St. Anne’s high school (now million dollar condos), we made our way to Pike’s Place Market (click here for video montage). As we walked along 2nd Avenue, passing bars, Umi, and other lively venues in Belltown, our tummies rumbled. I made a bee line for Beecher’s to treat the gals to the best grilled cheese sandwich ever. Our threesome became a quartet when Elizabeth arrived. Introductions made, cheeses tasted, we crossed the street to take in the flowers, fresh food vendors, and artisans in the famous market. As we rounded the corner with the pig, we noticed a loud group of soccer hooligans who took over the street each time the light changed in the favor; they kicked the ball around a little, shouted for MLS, and those with colorful wigs posed with tourists for candid pictures.

We bid Elizabeth adieu and headed back to suburbia. We stretched, rested, glammed up, and then headed back to city center to attend 20something, a wine and food event boasting local vineyards, delicious food samples from catering companies, and a rockin’ DJ. With stewards pouring wine at every turn, our sample glasses filled and emptied repeatedly as we exchanged tasting notes. Two hours after starting the event, I left the girls on the dance floor and collected our coats and summoned a taxi. Safe from the rain, we headed over to our reservation at Purple, a restaurant whose reputation I have extolled before. Wine flights ordered, small bites selected, and musings about the décor began our dinner conversation, which ranged from health care reform, local politics, wedding planning, and travel. To be a part of such a diverse dialogue with well-educated and experienced women was a breath of fresh air.

With tummies full of cheese, wine, and unique dishes featuring autumn selections, I took the gals to Vessel. Custom cocktails ensued, as did our conversation. Close to midnight, I wrapped them up in their coats and headed out to meet my regular car service to return us, safely, to suburbia.

On Sunday, my last few hours in their company featured a goat cheese and spinach quiche, a side of bacon, and mimosas. Elizabeth joined us for some girlie chat over brunch before we packed our bags and headed back to SeaTac…and back to reality. So, a special shout out to my beloved girlfriends. I look forward to doing this again next fall, possibly in Portland.

East Coast v. Alaska

Recently, Brad started watching Lobstermen. This new show is a riot, mainly because nearly every third word needs bleeping. I chuckle each time I listen to a commercial for it, or the program itself, or at least those portions that I can hear. Nestled into the corner of the couch, he chuckles, lifts his fist and declares, “These are my people!” And you know, in some respects I agree with him. There are many (many) times that we both miss the east coast. This week was not one of them.

Brains. While on the east coast, my IQ decreased, I swear. So many conversations evolved around the hottest news items, as we were just 3 hours south of the beltway. And in those dialogues, I was shocked at the amount of misinformation and how it was presented. Honestly, NPR is headquartered in DC. Listen to it. Learn the facts. Be able to articulate why you feel a certain way about an issue. Waxing poetic is sooooooo 2007. Even James Carville no longer does it. Keep up, people!

Beauty. I am all for the beach hair look: slightly wind blown and waves. It is romantic, goes well with swim suits and casual sundresses. But when paired with my business attire, the poodle-esque coif I sported this week was shameful. I had forgotten what humidity does to my follicles. You know the adage, “Are you having a bad hair day?” Yeah, well, I brought true meaning to that each day. BUT, it is somewhat better than the hat head I will sport for the next few months of colder weather in Kodiak. At least my best poodle impersonation gives my coif body…wow, that was a really shameful attempt at a silver lining, huh?

Spirit. Customer service on the east coast is dead, nonexistent, and needs a serious revival. My return trip to the west coast was a test of my patience. On Thursday, FAA had computer issues, which delayed all Atlanta flights by 2 hrs—my connecting city. Long story short: after speaking with Amex (corporate travel booking agent), I went to the NWA/Delta counter to get my ticket kicked over to another airline that was not impacted- US Air. Two women gave me the biggest drama about the change; and I mean drama: whining about how I was getting them in trouble, how the two hour delay was industry wide (it was not), and how my agent had told me wrong (five minutes after getting off the phone with her). I stood my ground, literally, for 35 minutes (!) to get the flight I wanted and that Amex said was available. By the time I finally got them to agree, the actual transfer was done and printed in 4 minutes! The audacity, the complete disregard to help a traveler far from home was shocking. I handed them both my military ID (afterall, Hampton Roads is a military community) and my Alaskan drivers license (afterall, Palin Palooza is omnipresent), and there was no recognition on either count. For the love. I love AK Airlines and knowing the crew in Kodiak- by name.

Suffice to say, I am heartbroken that I was not far enough north to get a true Dunkin Donuts coffee, or listen in a conversation in which every third word is an explicative, but I could not wait to head west and back to Alaska.

Yes, ladies and gents. I think we have a convert on our hands…

Dive Bars

Okay, I have a confession. I was on the east coast for 65 hours and did not tell anyone. I traveled 40 hours roundtrip to attend the CG Innovation Expo in VA Beach. While there, I connected with some Coastie friends, colleagues, and learned a lot about modernization and a host of other topics. One evening, after a rather large reception, my team and I went out. John shouted out the address and name of his recommended establishment, and we all agreed. We return to our respective hotels and change, and one team leaves earlier than the other. They call me, "Um, is this supposed to be a dive bar?" And then it hits me, "shit, we let John pick the venue, so yes, of course, it's gonna be a dive. Damnit...."

We pull up to a strip mall that contains a china palace, a takeout pizza joint, an Asian grocery store....and South Beach Grill. With the doors wide open and a parking lot full of cars, we roll in and take up residence on the opposite side of the bar. The next five hours was a treat: I watched enough flesh rub up against each other, bad dye jobs, and elvis impersonators dancing to the cover band to have fodder for at least three blog entries, but I will summarize some of the highlights here:

1. There was a dude whose hair, sideburns, and eyeware resembled Elvis. His female companion had an Elvis purse.
2. There was a woman who wore big fake diamond everything: multiple rings on each hand, oversized earrings, large chunky necklace, and rhinestones on her purse and yet wore a tangerine tank top that looked more than a few years old...
3. And then there was Uncle Rico, as we named him. You know the Uncle from Napoleon Dynamite, the one with the football? Yeah, well, fast fwd 15 years, add a collared paisley shirt with a corduroy jacket, and you have the man who gave us the most fodder.

So many times, I turned to my former Army colleague and said just looked at him. And that's all I needed to do. We were on the same wave length, both having lived/been stationed in this part of VA. Wow. We both joked about the "caliber" of the 15 women and 60 men that poured themselves into the bar to listen to a pretty dern good cover band that played everything from Earth Wind and Fire to Kings of Leon. Of course, the older crowd were more attuned to the former rather than the latter, but the other young colleague in the group, Paul, and I enjoyed their rendition of the tune.

For Kodiakians who read the blog, I am sure it was like the Mecca, but I have yet to cross the threshold of that distinguished establishment to find out.

Holiday Photo Selection

I befriended another photographer in Kodiak, who offered to help us capture a holiday photo for the multitude of cards I send out each season. We have several from which to chose - coming to us on a CD - but our photographer, Amy, loaded some choice photos onto her website.

Log onto the below link to view; BUT return to our blog to reply with your favorite!

http://simplybphotos.blogspot.com/2009/11/christina-and-brad.html