Loving Alaska

It's been a while since I've posted a blog, but I had a reason . . . I've been traveling to escape the weather in Anchorage. I found myself wearing my coat more than I had anticipated, and even brought some summer attire I never wore. My bathing suit remained dry (and in my pullman). I visited 8 cities for 5 - 8 days each. Altho' it was sunny weather on arrival, it became rainy before I left each one!

I did have a wonderful odyssey, but I feel we can match most things I saw, and did. For instance, everyone of my friends' homes were at least 3 miles to the closest store/destination. Well, that's okay for once in a while, but I am speaking of multi-trips daily. In Anchorage, I am less than that distance to the airport (to the south) or downtown (to the north). My life is basically in mid-town, and walking distance to shopping, movies, clubs.

Some highlights of my trip are listed here:
The Museum of Science and Technology in San Francisco: great building and exhibits.
The Museum of Art - SF: featuring Vermeer's Girl with Pearl Earring and Dutch artists on one level, and Nureyev collection of his costumes, videos, etc.
Ritz-Carlton Hotel - Half-Moon Bay, CA: great jazz and sliders in their lounge, and the views of the Pacific were formidable. . .
. . my hostess with the mostest, and grandaughter.
San Luis Obispo - The world famous Madonna Hotel . . . my surrogate daughter and son who is being graduated from CalPoly in May!
. . .
the region includes Morro Bay, Cambria, Santa Maria, Cal Poly, etc.

The Magic Castle - Magical arts in fabulous art deco building with great magicians.
American Legion in Avondale AZ - suburb of Phoenix, theatre, lunch with long-lost friends, driving miles thru retirement areas.

Phoenix: a sprawling area of big city and senior/retirement cities.
Jackson MI: beautiful suburb of Flowood, and Million Dollar home with landscape to match . . . the rain didn't diminish the beautiful home's relaxing atmosphere. Biloxi: gaming but no live music around
Houston TX suburbs: Alley Theatre and activities with friends.
Lake Charles LA: visiting relatives, and city tour . . . smaller Mardi Gras
Tampa: Opening night of Ringling Bros. Circus - always great!

That's a quick look at some stops along the way. It's good to be back in Anchorage where we have no sales tax, no traffic snarls, little crime, equally great restaurants and theatre, and lots of live music!

Return to Alaska

The title refers to our return, but still encouraging your visit. That is, assuming you're reading this from afar. We did return last night, and it's always good to be home. It was an 'iffy' takeoff when we left last week, as most flights were cancelled due to the continuing eruptions of Mt. Redoubt. However, we were lucky as our pilot announced we had to go right away as another eruption was starting, and we were the only flight that day to make it. Since we were going to a meeting in Portland, Oregon, we had to make a connection from Seattle. We didn't. So one hotel room and a three hour drive later, we did arrive in time for our two day meeting. Portland is a very beautiful city, but our free time was limited to a drive around town, lunch at the famous Kennedy School, and two nights in Lake Oswego. A great visit, nonetheless.

Next came our flight to Santa Barbara. This sounds easy enough, but we did it the long way, as we had to return the car to Seattle and then fly south. When you deplane in SBO, you are left alone. No public transportation, and it's 60 miles to Santa Maria. Lucky for us that a friend picked us up, took us to her beautiful home, which was a menagerie of 6 cats, 2 cockatoos, 4 lizards, two huge fish, plus little guppies, etc. and any stray animal that should wander by. The garden was on three sides of the house that was a delightful combination of gazebos, brick walls, stone walks, bushes, trees, flowers, that had been carefully planned with an artful eye. She kindly loaned us her car for the trip further north.

Still not at our destination, we drove up to San Luis Obispo, which is the site of Cal Polytechnic. This was another 30 miles, past farms, ranches, open country, and close to the coast on good highways. The college is huge, as are most, and we parked and went into the men's dorm to visit with my friend's son, a freshman there. The dorm was a typical assortment of beds, books, bookcases, one large piece of art, and 'stuff'. Since it was a holiday some places in California - Caesar Chavez Day - we were able to take off for Pismo Beach, which was crowded with students, in bikinis, even though it was chilly. We went to dinner with friend's in Cuyucos, just north of Morro Bay, and spent the night there in their lovely home overlooking the ocean.

The couple fixed a beautiful dinner for us, and we left shortly after breakfast to return the college student to his early class, and continued into the town to visit some more friends in the courthouse, this time. After a short visit, and shopping, we returned to Santa Maria for the night, and flew home without any problems.

It was a whirlwind trip, but always good to be home, and continue tracking our pet volcano. The next blog will be back on track with Alaska happenings, so check back.