The End

July has whizzed by. The Anchorage Bucs finished their season in Anchorage last night with the second win in a row. They were really doing so poorly, and were near the bottom of the Alaska Baseball League until this. The Anchorage Glacier Pilots remain at the bottom. The teams are composed of a motley assortment of college players mostly from the Southwest schools, and who know which guys will mesh. Well, ours surely didn't this year.
The weather has turned beautiful, and it's time for the garden walk today. This is always a special treat as many locals open their yards to the masses . . . this means me. Golf has been on the back burner for me this summer, as I have several projects going. Keep logging on, as I'm sure this will get more interesting later.

Dog Days of Summer

The short baseball season for the Alaska Baseball League is winding down. None too soon, as the Anchorage Bucs have had a forgettable season. We lost the Mayor's Cup again this year, which is a 3 game series with the Glacier Pilots. Never mind that the third game was rained out - we lost the first two.
The Petroleum Club golf tournament has ended, and it was a big success, as always. After these two sporting events, the days start getting shorter and shorter. No more 6 a.m. tee off times, nor playing til almost midnight. It's kind of the calm after the storm.

Eskimo Games vs. Golf

Marc Lester took the flashy picture of the native blanket toss you see here. It was published in today's paper, together with pictures of the other games, ie. Arm pull and scissor broad jump demonstrations, one-foot high kick, men's blanket toss, ear weight, knuckle hop, white man vs. Native women tug-o-war, which was followed by a dance group command performance

Talk about a busy week! For me, golf was the deal of the week, with the Petroleum Club Golf Tournament on, the Women's Cancer Tournament, and a round with the ladies. The weather cooperated for a change, and the evenings gave us some great baseball games. Notice here that I didn't tell you any results. Perhaps because the Anchorage Bucs are doing very poorly. But I'm still cheering for them.

T.G.I.F.

I was disappointed when I logged onto my blog, and thought, Oh, I'll hit next and see what I get. Turns out to be a porn page. I had trusted google to be above that, as I know I am, personally . . . So I guess I won't be posting for a while. I guess that's a bit prudish of me, but I can't handle that. I guess I'll just stick with my home page to display simple, mundane things in my life.

Summer Magic

We have a group of magicians that get together on a weekly basis to have lunch, and also share some tricks with each other. If visitors come, we perform a few for them, too. It's a lot of fun, especially when a tourist sees it in the paper and they come to meet us. That's what happened this week, as a couple from Vancouver B.C. came to explore. I learned a new card trick this week, too. When it starts raining, it's nice to have a place to play indoors. Our baseball season is half over and the weather hasn't helped our home team at all. What I mean is, we're not doing so hot, but then if we don't play, we don't lose. Right? Not a creative blog here, but I have been neglecting it of late. I'll try for some action soon . . .

Saturday Wrap-Up

This has been an exciting sports week in Anchorage. A lot of Anchorage Bucs Baseball, only moderately good, and the final home game for our still new WILD football team. The big surprise is that they finally won. The paper said the strategy worked! They switched the coaches assignments round. The traditional Mt. Marathon race in Seward was won by the favorites, and for those who don't know about this race, it's a great run from downtown Seward up the mountain, and return.

I've spent way too much time watching TV --Wimbleton Tennis -- which doesn't end until tomorrow, but I was cheering for Venus all the way, and some of the underdogs on the men's side. Such a disappointment to see Andy Roddick fall apart when he was knocking on the winner's door. The PGA Tour is playing in Whispering Straits, Wisconsin this week. The legend on the TV screen says the town is Kohler, but for one who visited there three years ago, I can tell you that it's really hidden off a blue highway near Sheboygan. Like finding an oasis in the desert. But it is one of the more beautiful 'resorts' with two 18-hole courses, right on Lake Michigan. The traditional clubhouse is warm woods, and speaking of woods, a golfer with a like name, just had a putt that hung on the lip of the cup. Finally, something like my game. (I'm watching the game thru the rear-view mirror I have on my desk-top computer.)

Aside from o.d.ing on the sports scene, yesterday was First Friday. This means the Art Walk downtown, which I did with my neighbor. Such fun, starting at Sub-Zero, which is a great little Absolut Bar on F. Street that has bubbles rising up the frontage windows. Wall space is limited, but they do manage an art display, some pop-art this week, and we followed this with a few more galleries, ending with a visit to the Top of the World. This is a long-time favorite in the Hilton Hotel, formerly the Anchorage-Westward, where they have opened the deck, for a great view of downtown and Cook Inlet, and music by local favorites, Kenny Blackwell and Mr. Whitekeys, plus a bass and drums. Its popularity has spread, so we were lucky to join some friends at the best table in the house. It's pricey, but the setting is priceless. So summer is in full swing.

The Fourth of July

It took all day, but the sun finally appeared at 8 p.m. That's Anchorage for you. The stands at Mulcahy Park are full with the crowd waiting for the double header to end, so the fireworks can be displayed. This won't happen until midnight, as we are still having daylight 18 hours a day here.

The pancake breakfast on the Park Strip was a good one, and the parade following it was also a winner. I actually was in the parade, so maybe I'm prejudiced about that. It wasn't planned in advance, but my friends in a club talked me into walking with them, especialy since I was wearing red, white, and blue. Then they had the reading of the Declaration of Independence in 'costumed' men, and some private parties followed. Let's say that this gal is too pooped to pop, so I'm going to watch the fireworks from our balcony. It's only about a mile or less, air distance. Can't close out the day without a prayer for our military in Iraq.

Independence Day

This year, the Fourth of July falls on a Wednesday. .. complicates things for workers who want the whole week off, and I hear, sometimes get it. It's not a week off for the Anchorage Bucs, who had a bad defeat (is there any other kind) last night, and especially to the Glacier Pilots.

Playing golf at Moose Run today was uncomfortable for me, because I'm afraid of bears. I know too many horror stories. There was a bear cub following us, walked across the green. We gave him right of way, but the question to me was, where it his mother. Anyone knows that you don't get between the two. The course marshall warned us at the next hole that 'she' was near the 150 yd. marker. Yep, exactly where I hit my drive. Well, sorry that's the end of the story, because I never saw her, but I could surely embellish this story.

The weather appears to be holding for the Fourth celebration. It starts with a pancake feed on the Parkstrip - for those non-Alaskans reading this, that's the block east-west between 9th and 10th avenue. It originally was used for an airport runway, then for a short golf course, and now mostly houses several carnivals during the year. The parade is at 11 a.m. Should be a nice day!