Kenai, AK

Kenai, AK

10/7-11

If given the opportunity, there are several places that everyone should go. I learned in high school that Theodore Roosevelt said that place should be the Grand Canyon. Aly would probably say the place to go would be Disney World. The driver that I cut off the other day would probably say I should go to... well, you can probably figure that one out.  I, for one, would recommend that Alaska be on your bucket list as well. It has to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Seriously, go add it now.
I'll wait...

There, now that that's done, let me share with you some of the highlights during my week in Kenai, AK. Kenai is located on the southern end of the state, on the aptly named Kenai peninsula, about 3 hours (driving) or 15 minutes (flying) south of Anchorage.  I was a little nervous leading up to this trip because I had been warned that snow could be in the forecast (and living in California and Nevada doesn't exactly prepare you for that).  Fortunately for this guy, it never got that cold, so the gloves, scarf, hat, second jacket, ski goggles, hand warmers, arctic boots, space heater, and firewood remained in my suitcase the whole trip. Yay!  The majority of the week the weather was overcast with occasional rain.

Guessing an upgrade to First Class
is out of the question...

Captain's Saute

Because of the inclement weather, I didn't venture out too far during the first couple of days. Instead, I spent them sightseeing in the Kenai/Soldotna area and eating at the Louie's Seafood Restaurant, which was the overwhelming consensus amongst the locals as THE restaurant to go to.  In fact, I went there a total of three nights during the week.  One night I had the Captain's Sauté, which was a broiled combination plate of salmon, halibut, scallops, and shrimp. Always looking to try something regionally distinct, I opted for the razor clams on another night.  And of course, I had had to go with another local staple, 1 lb. of King Crab legs on the other night.  All three meals were great, but have to say, this was the best.  Aside was eating, I spent my evenings driving around, trying to catch a glimpse of a moose or caribou to get a picture of.  Although the locals did their best to point out all the local moose hangout spots, when all was said and done, this was as close to a moose as I got:

Try the Road Kill Cinnamon Roll!

Fortunately, on Wednesday, the clouds parted, the sun came out, and I was able to take the two hour drive that everyone insisted I take down to the town of Homer to drive down the spit.  As I drove down Highway 1 (not to be confused with the Pacific Coast Highway), I felt the need to roll down the windows.  The air was chilly for sure, but it was so crisp and clean I just had to soak it up.  Along the way I was treated to some of amazing views of mountains (a couple of which are actually active volcanoes).  Looking back, I regret not pulling over to snap some photos, but I wanted to be sure to make it to Homer before dark.

Love this view!

I made it to Homer just before sunset.  After passing through the town, I took the 2 mile drive to the end of the spit, parked the car, and made my way to the waterfront.  I spent the next hour or so strolling around, soaking up the serene landscape and snapping as many pictures as my freezing hands could muster.  Perhaps bringing the gloves here would have been useful. 

Salty Dawg Saloon

So can we call this a
Singles Bar? (I know, that
joke was horrible)

After taking enough pictures to make a member of the paparazzi shake his head, I had to the stop by the world famous Salty Dawg Saloon for a drink. The decor of the bar is unique to say the least!  Every inch of wall and ceiling space was (literally) covered with dollar bills. Apparently the story behind the cash was that back in the 70s, if someone wanted to buy a drink for a fellow fisherman, they would write that person's name on a dollar bill. When that friend came back from sea, he would come to the saloon, find the single with his name on it and have a drink, courtesy of his friend. I glanced around at the old salts around me for a moment and then at my attire and found myself humming the tune 'One of These Things is Not Like the Others' in my head. Unfazed, I joined in the conversation and we spent the next hour talking about the finer points of fishing, drinking, and, of all things, the education system. 

Kalifornsky Beach
(K-Beach if you're a local)

Thursday evening was spent exploring the town of Nikiski and devouring (about half) of the Veggie's Haters Pizza at Charlie's Pizzeria. On Friday after work, I took a short trip to Kalifornsky Beach to enjoy one last view of the sea before heading to the airport to go back home. Although I didn't get to see any family on this trip, it was a great week nonetheless. And perhaps the best news of all, I just found out recently that I will be returning for another week in Kenai in June. I'm guessing the weather will be better because the sun will be out quite a bit then (about 19-20 hours of sunlight per day). Good times!

Sunset in Kenai

If no one claims these,
can I use a couple?

 

King Crab (need I say more?)

Alaskan Razor Clams

Homer

Channeling my artistic side

Mt. Redoubt - active volcano

View from the bridge near Kenai

Kenai

Brookings and Grants Pass, OR

August 13-22

Allow me to begin by quickly summing up the less than relaxing two weeks for me following Seattle:

Tuesday, in Louisiana:  Found out they have drive-thru margarita bars (no, I'm not kidding). Flight home was delayed 7 hours.  Learned that yes, Dominos will deliver that late to an airport.

Thursday, in Chowchilla, CA:  Met parents for dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory.  Found out one of the principals attending workshop was a former classmate and friend from college.

Friday, in Fairfield, CA (near Napa):  Discovered you can buy Boudins sourdough bread at the Oakland airport.  And there was much rejoicing!  

 Next Monday, in Frisco, TX (near Dallas):  Worked and went straight to airport to fly to El Paso.

Tuesday, in El Paso:  Worked and went straight to airport to fly back to Dallas.

Wednesday, in Frisco again:  Worked and went straight to airport to fly to El Paso again.

Thursday, in El Paso again:  Where am I?  What time zone am I in?

Waiting with Rachel for flight out of  Louisiana.  We even got the TSA agent to  join us for pizza!

!

For the alcoholic who's always on the go... but no U-Hauls (because that would be... dangerous???)

August 28-29

Pinned to the wall in my office is a small map of the U.S. showing the states I have been to.  To date, my total is 22.  One of those states already colored in was Oregon, because well, technically I had been there before.  Now, I was only 4 years old at the time, so my memory of the trip is obviously pretty limited.   Basically, the only thing I remember from the trip was being in tears because I was totally convinced that my parents had stolen my snow during the train ride up there and replaced it with water.  (Since I had never seen the stuff before, they scooped some snow into a cup for me during one of the stops.)  They kept trying to tell me some bogus story about how snow melts and becomes water... blah, blah, blah, but come on, would you buy that story?  Yeah, me either ;)

Well, this trip gave me the opportunity to return to the scene of the crime and see California's neighbor to the north.  On the agenda for this trip were the towns of Brookings and Grants Pass.

The trip began with a flight from Las Vegas to Crescent City, CA via San Francisco.  Aly was not with me this time, so of course I got into and out of SFO with no delays.  As the plane began its ascent out of SFO and towards Crescent City, I was able to get these pics of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges:

View of Golden Gate Bridge
from the plane

... and the Bay Bridge

I heard that there was a lighthouse in Crescent City that was worth checking out, so after landing, I took the short drive to the Battery Point Lighthouse and grabbed these shots:

Welcome to Oregon, enjoy your visit...

Cool fact- this lighthouse is also a museum, but apparently somebody lives here, so I didn't want to be rude and get too close.  Also, the lighthouse is located on an island which requires a small boat to reach it.  This made the decision even easier.  Maybe another time.  I strolled around the area for a bit, then it was time to get in the car and head north to the Oregon border and the town of Brookings.

I love the coast

Brookings is a really small town located along the Pacific Ocean.  My hotel, while not the best hotel I've ever been to, scored major points for being located right on the beach.  Man, nothing beats opening the window and enjoying the cool breeze, smelling the ocean air, looking out on the endless horizon, and reading the tsunami warnings that were posted EVERYWHERE!  Wait...what?!  Not because they were expecting anything, but as a precaution.  Geez!  You guys sure know how to make a guy feel uneasy.  Maybe I should grab dinner to get my mind off that possibility- after all, I've already had a couple of close calls with a hurricane, an earthquake, and a tornado in the past year.  I'd prefer to not add to the list.

After a dinner of scallops and fish at the Hungry Clam, I was ready to head back to the hotel to unwind and prepare to present the next day.

Fast forward to the following day at 4:00 and I'm back in the car (nope, didn't get the family truckster) heading to Grants Pass.  Now, if you look on a map, you will see that Grants Pass is northeast of Brookings, not that far away.  So why, I ask, is my GPS telling me to go south?  Well, let me to tell you- that's because you have to drive over an hour an a half BACK into California before you can cross over again into Oregon and continue another hour to make it to Grants Pass.  Definitely not the most direct route possible, but it was a nice, scenic drive nonetheless.  Here's a small sample:

Somewhere in Oregon

Somewhere Else in Oregon

Knowing it was going to be a quick turnaround, I didn't even bother unpacking anything.  Just wanted to check-in, drop-off my bags, and go eat.  After a quick search on Yelp, I found that Musashi Sushi Restaurant was the place to go.  Located in the downtown area, near "that one bar" and "the other bar" (I might mention here that Grants Pass is pretty small too), Musashi's claim to fame is the JD Roll, which consisted of shrimp tempura, salmon, onions, tobiko, and topped off with several lemons, sliced so thinly that you were supposed to eat it as part of the roll, rind and all.  It was an interesting concept to say the least, but you know what, it actually worked.  It really added a 'punch' of lemon, but not too overpowering.

All in all, it was pretty good couple of days in the Beaver State.  No rest for the weary, though.  After my work day it was time to head back to the airport (Medford this time) to meet up again with Aly, Chris, and Katie.  This time, though, I would be meeting them in Anaheim because we were about to embark on something really dumb, or maybe I should say Dumbo?  That's right, it was time for the Dumbo Double Dare Race Weekend!  I was about to run 19.3 miles in two days because, you know, half-marathons are so last month ;)  Never a dull moment!

Seattle, San Francisco too...

August 2-August 8

My legs are sore, my frequent flier points have skyrocketed, and my body has no idea what time zone it is in.  This can only mean one thing- I have survived another August!  Now that the dust has settled and I have a few days off, I finally have some time to recall and begin writing about this whirlwind of a month!

It's 'Go' Time!

It started off with a weekend trip to San Francisco for the 'Giant Race' half-marathon.  After Aly got off of work on Friday, we packed a few things and flew out to the city to meet up with Chris, Katie, Kevin, and Kourtnee.  Having Aly with me on a flight to SFO could guarantee only one thing- it would be delayed, and once again we were not let down. After several hours of playing on the IPad and talking to random people, we were able to board the plane and make the hour and a half flight to one of my favorite cities.

The Stater Family

Chris, Katie, and the kids showed up the next day and we had a great time spending time together and walking around the city.  Not too much walking around though, because tomorrow was the big run.  And what a great run it was!  The 13.1 mile course started out at AT&T Park (aka Heaven on Earth), led us down Fisherman's Wharf, past Ghirardelli Square, and continued all the way to Golden Gate Park.  Just before we got to the Golden Gate Bridge, we made a U-turn (Dad- you probably would have recognized this), and headed back toward AT&T Park again.  Perhaps the highlight of it all was that the finish line was inside of the ballpark!  Here, we all met up, had some snacks, and snapped a few pictures.  The weather was great, the scenery was beautiful, and to top it off, Aly and I both set personal records!

Showing off the Medals

On hallowed ground

After showering and checking out of the hotel, the six of us met up again for lunch.  Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of time to relax because I had to go from there straight to the airport because I was off to Yelm, WA (about an hour south of Seattle) to work for a week.

Finding the Mariner fan was a little bit like playing Where's Waldo?

Having never previously been to Seattle, I figured this would be a great opportunity see a couple of the city's highlights.  Something I quickly became aware of was how green everything was.  Living in Vegas for the better part of a decade has definitely taught me to appreciate this.  Emerald City indeed.  On Tuesday night, I drove up to Safeco Field to catch a Mariners game.  I have to say, this is definitely one of the better ballparks in baseball.  Intimate seating, good food options, and outstanding views of the downtown skyline!  Oh, if the only the people of Seattle could see it. Seriously Seattleans... Seattlites... Seatles... uh, Citizens of Seattle, feel free to SUPPORT YOUR TEAM!  The stadium was completely taken over by Blue Jays fans!  Final score:  Blue Jays 7, Mariners 2.  Both Mariner fans went home disappointed.

The next evening, I drove to the north end of Seattle (side note: Seattle traffic is brutal!  Did not anticipate that.) to have dinner with a friend whom I haven't seen since she moved here from Vegas 3 years ago.  Tanya recommend this place called Bizarro, a funky little Italian restaurant founded by circus performers that was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (you may have noticed from previous blog entries that this is one of my favorite shows.)  Obviously they heard I was coming, because we were given the:

I'm kind of a big deal around here ;)

 

If it's good enough for Guy Fieri, it's good enough for me!

The house specialty is linguini and clams, so I had to go for that.  Outstanding!  And by the way, if your cell phone starts ringing, don't even think about answering it here.  There are signs all over warning that if you are seen using your cell phone, there will be an extra charge to your bill.  Haha, love it!  You know, perhaps more businesses should adopt this approach.

There is so much more to see in Seattle, but I promised Aly I would save the rest of the touristy stuff (Pike's Place, original Starbucks, Space Needle, etc.) for another time when I could take her.  This also includes one destination that I had no idea I would be so infatuated with, and that is Mount Rainier.  I was absolutely blown away by how majestic it looked from a distance.  Seriously, I couldn't stop staring at it!  Except, you know, when other drivers yelled at me for not paying attention to the road, but what do they know?

Mt. Rainier- trust me, this picture does not do it justice!

Anyway, at 14,111 feet, it rises over 11,000 feet above everything else around it.  I was also told that people climb this peak when training to hike Mt. Everest.  That's pretty intense.  Hmm... perhaps hiking it is out of the question, but visiting the national park and just standing in awe of it is definitely on the to-do list.  Anyhow, this concluded my first week of August.  From there, it was time for a quick trip home, then off to Louisiana and California!  See you there!

Denver, CO

Hello again,
One of my favorite computer games growing up was Where in the World in Carmen Sandiego? The premise of the game was pretty simple- you are a sleuth who travels the world searching for clues that will help you apprehend Carmen or one of her henchmen.  I can remember spending hours at school and at home playing this game (and watching the TV show for that matter- remember Rockapella?)  That said, I can't help but find it amusing and somewhat ironic that these days I get to play the grown up version with my family and friends known as "Where in the Hell is Bill this Week?"  Well, the answer to that question for the past month has been... HOME!  Home, where the temperatures reach 118 and we were hear things like "it's going to dip down to 105" at night.  Home, where I don't have to show ID when I check-in.  (Yes, Aly still recognizes me.)

With that said, Aly and I did get to take one trip this month.  At the end of June, we headed out to Denver, land of 85 degrees, this weird stuff called rain, our friends Myron and Erin, and of course this...

The Hempmobile

Aly had to work on Friday, so we had to take an evening flight to the Mile High City, arriving after 11pm local time.  Thankfully, Myron was willing to pick us up from the Denver airport (AKA the airport that is nowhere near Denver- seriously, look it up) and drive us over an hour back into the city to drop us off at our hotel.  Thanks Myron.  Feeling as tired as a GEICO commercial (with the exception of the camel one), we checked in, tossed our suitcases on the floor, and crashed.

Fortunately, our plans with Myron and Erin didn't begin until after noon.  This gave us a rare opportunity to... get this... sleep in!!!  No work, no alarm clocks, no exercising- seriously, nothing but uninterrupted sleep.  I highly recommend it.  All good things of course must come to an end, so we eventually got up, enjoyed some breakfast in the lobby, and strolled around downtown before meeting our friends near the ballpark for lunch at Ignite and (what else?) a baseball game.

Coors Field

 Now, Myron and Erin recently got their first puppy, a cute little Chocolate Lab named Naga.  Being a puppy, Naga loves chewing on shoes, the corner of the refrigerator, and basically else puppies loves to chew on, so Erin had to head back to the house after lunch to take care of her while the three of us headed to Coors Field to watch the Giants take on the Rockies.  I definitely enjoyed Coors Field- views of the Rocky Mountains, pleasant fans, and perfect weather.  Matt Cain pitched a great game for the Giants, giving up only one run over seven innings, but unfortunately the Rockies won 2-1 on a walk-off single.  Even though we lost, it was a good game.  Afterwards, Myron showed us some of the sights downtown, including the 16th Street Mall for dinner, dessert, and an unexpected show.

Lady taking picture with the llama.  Love the dollar bills stuffed in the sash.

Dinner was at this cool little restaurant called Cafe Colore.  I had the Seafood FraDiavolo (linguini with scallops, shrimp, and mussels in a spicy red sauce (definitely recommend it). Aly opted for the braised short rib, while Myron went with the lasagna.  Both looked great.  Dessert was at a funky little candy shop that had every type of candy you could imagine.  From Bueno (my favorite candy bar from Europe) to Butterfinger, Scorpion on a stick to salt water taffy, this place had it all.  We ended up buying a large bag of salt water taffy which two weeks later we are still working on.  Finally, the unexpected show I am referring to was this random guy just walking around downtown with his llama.  Yep.  You read that correctly.  Just walking his llama down the street.  What can I say, this guy is living the dream!  With that, we knew it was time to head back to the hotel.

Adding to the collection

The next day, Myron, Erin, Aly, and I took a short drive to the town of Evergreen for a light lunch and to do a little wine tasting at Creekside Cellars.  We were not aware of the fact that Colorado even had any wineries, but it does.  In fact, many of the wines we tasted were actually pretty good, so we decided to buy a couple of bottles to bring home.  From there it was off a nearby lake for a scenic walk and some catching up.  Naga relished in all of the attention she received from every passerby who noticed her and couldn't resist the urge to pet her, while the four of us (AKA Naga's entourage) shared stories and discussed what we had been up to for the past couple of years since we had last seen each other.   

At the lake

That brought us to the end of our short trip.  It was great to get out of the Vegas heat for a few days to catch up with friends (and meet Naga too).  We need to make plans to do this again, and not wait so long this time.  On that note, it's almost time to start packing again.  Our busy season at work is about to start.  Where the hell am I going this week?  Well, it's off to the Kagan Summer Academy at Disney World.  Mickey is waiting, after all!

Wouldn't want anybody to get in now, would we???

Naples, FL and Alamosa, CO

January 2-3, 2013
The holiday season over, it was time to hit the road again and return to a town that is quickly becoming one of my favorites. That town is Naples, FL. Why is Naples such a great town? Where to start? First of all, the downtown area has lots of unique places to eat, mom and pops shops, and its just a cool place to stroll around. Fortunately, the town still had decorations up from Christmas which made for some great shots.

Dinner at Sushi Thai

Strolling down 5th Ave.

Second, about 100 yards down the street from the downtown district is access to the beach. Unfortunately, on this trip I was unable to make it to the beach before sunset, so here is what I "saw":

Of course, the third thing that makes Naples great is THE WEATHER! The temperature when I was there was 82... Let me remind you again that this is JANUARY. I'm still kicking myself for not packing any shorts. I soaked up the weather as much as I could and kept reminding myself that I most definitely deserved this because I spent the week before Christmas in Alamosa, Colorado. 

[now don't get me wrong, Alamosa is a cool little town too. And if you ever find yourself in Alamosa, be sure to eat/drink at the San Luis Brewery. Best place in town! I personally recommend the trout]

Alamosa, CO
(not to be confused with Naples)

Brrrr!!!!!!

Back to the point... the reason I deserved the weather in Naples is because the weather in Alamosa was -24. I'll give you a moment to go back and reread that. Yep, you read it right. Negative 24! While you are wrapping your head around that temperature, I will say goodbye for now and start packing for my next trip. Aly and I are heading back to Florida, albeit to Orlando this time for the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend and 11 days at the happiest place on Earth. Até logo!

Oh, Canada!

Masset, British Columbia, Canada

October 18-21, 2012

After some much needed time off, it was off to the ‘Great White North’ to do my first international training!  I packed the passport, Canadian work permit, and headed to the airport for a few days in Masset, on the island of Haida Gwaii (aka Queen Charlotte Islands).  If this place sound familiar, it’s because they had a 7.7 EARTHQUAKE a week after I left that triggered the tsunami warnings in Hawaii.  Yeah, that was close!

Anyway, we landed in Vancouver where I spent the night (I’m sure you’re shocked that there aren’t any nonstops to Masset) before taking the morning flight to the tiny island of Haida Gwaii, which took about 2 hours.  I grabbed a rental car, grabbed a quick sushi lunch and headed out the find the bed and breakfast where I would be staying for the next four days.  Unfortunately, my GPS does not work in Canada so I had to use my great sense of direction [pause for laughter] to help me find my way.  As you might expect, I had a little difficulty finding the place, but I had good reason.  According to Google Maps, the street where this B&B was located was called Chinny Rd.  However, this is the sign that I apparently should have been looking for.

The corner of Raven Rd. and
Chinny Rd. (uh, obviously...)

  

I unpacked and rested for a bit, then it was off to explore.  The island really is a fascinating place.  Something I noticed right away was the totem poles that could be found everywhere, reaching upwards of 30-40 feet tall.  Native longhouses with traditional Haida paintings were also very prevalent.  After strolling around for a bit, I headed back to the B&B and asked the innkeeper to recommend some restaurants.  He got quite a chuckle out of this, obviously not a good sign.  I don’t remember exactly what he said, but it went something like this:

“Well I think the general store can cook burgers, and I think the RV Park does fish n’ chips.  There’s Hidden Island Restaurant.  Oh wait, they’ve closed for the season…” 

Needless to say, I could see that food would not be the highlight of this trip!

The next day, I presented to a really great group of teachers who were eager to share their island with me.  During one of the breaks, a couple of them recommended that I head east to Tow Hill where I would find a beach with some great views.  “How do I get there?”  I ask. 

[Now be sure to read this in doing your best Canadian accent] “Well, you go down the main road there for aboot 40-50 kilometers.  When it becomes dirt, be sure to sloo down and be careful, eh.  It’s been raining ya know, and ya doon’t wanna get stuck.  If you do get stuck though, don’t worry, somebody’s boond to be oot there before too long, eh.  They’ll help ya oot.

Me:  “Okay”

My better judgment: “What?!”

I change clothes and head out (or should I say oot?) towards Tow Hill.  A pretty easy drive for the first half but of course a light rain starts to come down soon after the road turns to dirt.  At this point, I could turn around but I know that I may never get this opportunity again so I go for it.  I continue on for about 15 more minutes where I see a sign that says ‘Beach Access’.  This looks good to me so I pull the car over and hike about a hundred yards where I am treated to some great views of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean.

See those 2 little bumps on
the horizon?  That's Alaska.

The following day I presented the second day of the workshop (yes, I did work) and decided to walk around Old Masset for some more sightseeing.  One of the highlights from this walk was seeing two bald eagles perched on a wall.  I got within 20 yards of them and snapped a couple of pictures before they became aware of me and flew off.  Here is one of those pics:

The following day it was time to head home.  I really had a great time in Masset, and hope to have the chance to go again someday.  But for now, I have some great pictures to help me remember it and to share with you.  Enjoy!