Time Flies in Alaska

Wyonna and Naomi Judd visited Anchorage yesterday. They did a show at Elmendorf AFB, drawing a crowd of over 10,000. It was also telecast locally, and it was well received. One of the highlights of the program was when they called some military families to the stage, and they had TV access with their loved ones who were on the screen in Iraq. It brought tears to your eyes, and to Wyonna's, too.

After the 2 1/2 hour show, they had a huge bonfire on the tarmack - how do you spell that? I know - go to spellcheck. Anyhow, it was a great send-off for the Military "Thunder" weekend. The Thunderbirds are putting on their airshow today, and tomorrow, too. This is all in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of statehood for Alaska. There's always a heap of activity this time of year, and the visitors are abundant on the downtown streets.
The baseball season continues, and the Bucs are near the top of the heap. So much for an inkling of reasons to visit Alaska!

Homer Alaska

When you visit Homer, you will find a different world down there. This is primarily a fishing village, but also a quality art community, too, as the Arts are thriving. There are two lovely galleries there, The Pratt Museum, and Bunnell Art Gallery, plus a multitude of shops ranging from the popular Wild Berry Products, to Cups, a restaurant which has broken pieces of cups lining the walls.

This is the statewide logo for Made In Alaska, and I think it's so clever the way they have nested the mama bear and baby bear.

Besides the hospitality of the locals, I was also privileged to attend a barbecue party at the home of a UAA Music Professor. She had a 3 piece jazz combo playing in her living room, and they were all professionals, but the real great was a visit for a former vocalist who can belt out a song like no other. So it was a memorable few days in Homer.

The flight from Anchorage to Homer is only a half hour, but it is also a beautiful drive. That take over four hours, and the road is very good, except if there's an accident. That could hold you up for hours. But the scenery is like no other. There are some interesting places along the way to visit, like Hope, Alaska, and Moose Pass. You would enjoy this side trip to the Kenai Peninsula.

Elton John Conquers Alaska

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I've been listening to Sir Elton for over 30 years now, and he's been acceptable but no big deal. However, last night I saw this musician in action, as he did his first (of two) shows in Anchorage. The large arena where he played to a sold-out audience, is hardly noted for its acoustics, so I wasn't expecting much, when I accepted the invitation of friends to join them in the first row. Well, I was wrong . . . this was a great show as he played to the masses, and he really knew how to work the crowd of all ages. Some near us were decked out in boas, and funny eyeglasses, etc. to join the feel of this quirky guy, and he started off with "Your Song". He finished non-stop almost 3 hours later with "Crocodile Rock", the crowd of all ages (ahem!) were mesmerized. So now I've taken in by the ultimate international entertainer.

As a bonus, he did strut around the stage, wearing his "Music Magic" ornate coat, throwing kisses to the audience and waves, and at one point even signed autographs for several people who raced to the stage after what I thought was the end of the evening. It wasn't. He added "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" and "Benny and the Jets" and it seemed like he just couldn't stop playing. Kudos to the lighting techies, as the light show behind the stage, about 40 ft. high also added a lot to this one-man show.

I don't know about him, but today, I'm still exhausted as I felt I was working right along with him. If you get a chance, spend your life savings and go see him when he comes to your town.

Busy Happenings in Alaska

Although this isn't one of my piano students, I thought I'd share this shot of a relative . . . ahem . . . my students did a non-recital at the Pioneer Home recently in conjunction with the Strawberry Festival, an annual event put on by the Women's Igloo of the Pioneers of Alaska. This relieves stress level.

Memorial Day was lovely as we had a ceremony at the downtown cemetery at the Pioneer Tract, followed by a mug-up at the Pioneer Hall. In case you wonder what all I'm talking about, the Pioneers of Alaska have been 'one hundred years on the trai' which started in Nome, and there are chapters, called Igloos, all over the state. .. this year, I'm the chaplain of our Igloo, so that's how come I did the prayers. Somehow, I also ended up as the moderator of the Presbyterian Woman, who chose to have their 3 day Synod meeting in Anchorage at the same time. So you can see that I'm glad this weekend is over.
Somehow, two of my blogs were not posted, and I'm searching to find out just why. You'd think I'd have this thing licked by now.

Alaska Wedding

Following up my recent blog on the Ice "Museum" which is a hotel at Chena Hot Springs, I felt I just had to post this neat picture in the morning paper of a couple getting married there. Here's part of the article:

What would happen if Barbie came to life and got married? Oh, and she lived in Alaska and wanted a unique wedding. And she liked the idea of being a princess.
Her big day would look just like Anchorage residents Mechelle Sharp and Shawn Boquist's wedding April 26 at Chena Hot Springs Resort.
"I'm the girl playing with Barbie all her life," said Mechelle, who still has 300 of them tucked away in a trunk.
"I'm just really grateful that there is an ice castle in Alaska."
Outside of all that, this was a weekend to focus on the 'kids'. My piano students played some neat music for the residents of the Pioneer Home on Saturday for the Strawberry Festival, an annual event sponsored by the Pioneers of Alaska. . . Women's Igloo #4 . . . and the Children's School of Dance gave a great performance of the "Wizard of Oz" at West High school, with over a hundred kiddies on stage together, and no one ran into each other. I am amazed over the number of 4 - 7 yr olds. who participated, wearing great costumes, and of course, there are always a few who don't 'join the group' and wander off, but they were ably grabbed by some teen age girls who herded them back to the 'chorus line'. It was such fun to watch, and brought a tear to my eye as I was laughing at the same time. Kudos to the teachers/director.

Outside activities of the weekend included a women's triathalon that drew a number of the younger set of ably fit gals, and the newspaper gave good coverage of this event. This is really a running city, and in the winter, a cross-country skiing draw for national and international competitors. Until next time, keep planning your trip to big A! You'll love it here.

Alaska Wild

That's the name of our local football team in case you're wondering, and last night I attended my first game at the Sullivan Arena. The IFL (Intense Football League) was founded in 2003, and Anchorage has one of the three (of 9) teams located outside Texas. Since they play in a smaller stadium, it is more personal, and I feel particularly involved since the Petroleum Club recently had their 2nd meet-and-greet. I won four tickets at this event, which motivated me at attend a game, now in it's second year. By the way, the team colors are maroon and gold, but I couldn't duplicate it on the blog, so just trying to get close.

The parking lot was pretty full when I arrived, and there were several tailgate parties going on. The playing field is only 50 yards, but I felt the biggest problem was the sidelines which have boards (not unlike hockey) only a foot out-of-bounds, and the players frequently hit them hard and climb over into the attendees. There are just 8 players on a team, and sometimes it seems crowded out there.

The cheerleaders were quite outstanding. Of course, they're good looking and well costumed, but their dances/cheers were obviously well rehearsed and real crowd pleasers. The opponents were the San Angelo Stampede Express and lost pretty bad... but it was good entertainment, nonetheless, and a great way to spend the evening.

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Back in Alaska

I've been back for a week now, but would you believe I couldn't seem to log on . .. now I love Google, but sometimes it doesn't love me. . . so I switch over to my more commercial blog, which is alaskab4udie.wordpress.com . . . I stole that name from a rather famous vanity license plate, but don't seem to worry about copyrights online. . . well, not yet. I really want to promote inbound travel to Alaska, and I try to stay focused on this. I do want to share a clever program of The Student Gypsy, I attended in San Francisco. . . .like it?

One of the highlights of my trip outside was my stopover in Tacoma to visit a longtime friend. We went to the great daffodil parade, but I don't have any images of that. However, this image is taken from the Glass Museum, which is a Dale Chuhuly project. Dale started teaching glass blowing and glass art at Pilchuck, a small place north of Mt. Vernon, and has some impressive work, plus the work of his students. This is taken from the brochure. Enjoy.