Carnival Pleasures

We finally got out to Palmer today to the Alaska State Fair, and we're glad we did!

Acting on advice from locals, we got up at the crack of dawn (OK, 8 a.m.) and headed out there. It is a measure of how minimally complicated the road system is in Alaska in general that we were able to set out with only the vaguest notion of the direction we were heading and get right to where we needed to go with absolutely no hitches at all. We just headed north and eventually there was a sign, and then right there we were!

(Art's Commentary: We're used to the east coast roadnet, where you need to know about 20 major highways and many more minor ones to get around. Plus they have confusing numbers or names, like 22, 222, 100, 309, I-78, 76, 476, the blue route, the beltway, the turnpike the schulkill expressway, etc.............. Alaska has just 3 and they're numbered 1, 2 &3.)

Anyway, if you have ever been to a state fair, as we have, there were not too many surprises. There were a lot of food stands, face painting, silly hats for sale, and humorous hair treatments (huge purple mohawks, that sort of thing). There were also vendors of everything from opinions (both major political parties, various religious groups) to jewelry to crap (ShamWow!) Also present and accounted for were the lame musical acts and carnival rides. Overlaying it all, though, is the Alaskaness of everything. Moose and salmon images everywhere - from the quilts in the needlework display to the directional signs.

Also, a surprisingly immediate bounty of McCain PALIN gear. I will write more about this event in a near future post, but I will say this. We were walking behind a mom and her two little girls, and the mom told the daughters "Look, that word is 'Palin'! You know her, she is our governor!" And the little girls squealed like Hannah Montanna had just appeared in front of them and handed them branded gear "Governor Sarah! Governor Sarah! Is she here??? Where is Governor Sarah! We love her!!!" So, though there are some doubters, among the little girl crowd, Governor Sarah is possibly the coolest public official in the history of the planet.

We had gotten so many recommendations for good things to eat that we decided right away to take a "grazing" approach to eating by getting small portions of everything and sharing. We did not eat one of everything at the fair, but we did get through a pretty good percentage. For my review of the Fair Food, check out Eating Alaska, my food blog. :)http://alaskafood.blogspot.com/

In addition to eating, we experienced many of the other carnival pleasures on offer. We looked at all of the craft and homemaker exhibits, which was more interesting than it probably sounds. My mom quilts, so we took pictures of the interesting or funny ones for her. I myself do embroidery, so I was checking out that exhibit - I think I will enter next year! We also saw some of the famous giant vegetables, which like many famous things are pretty good, but not as good as they are hyped up as. But still...big pumpkin!

Continuing on with the produce theme, a marketing board is promoting Alaska Grown, which, as you might expect, urges you to buy and use Alaska Grown produce. I wandered over to their stand, as I agree with using local produce as much as possible, to see what their story was. An extremely nice man gave me a button and a bumper sticker, and urged me to purchase produce from Alaska. I agree that I would. We chatted a bit, and then I spotted a recipe booklet. I said "OOOOO! Recipes!" He pressed one into my hands, took a brief moment to extoll Alaska Grown potatoes, which are superior to any other in all the world, and then said to Art "Sir, you'll thank her for stopping here!" I could almost not stand it. But they do look like pretty good recipes, so what the hell.

We also saw an EXTREME TRICK DOG SHOW! Which was not all that extreme, but was very cute. The dogs mostly caught frisbees and jumped real high and other amazing feats. But who doesn't love puppy dogs? Also, the show rescued all these dogs out of pounds, so that was very nice to see. And they seemed very happy, in the fashion of dogs who get a lot of attention and affection.

We went through a haunted maze, which was actually pretty good. Usually, these things are poorly thought out and badly run, and I have been known to stop in the middle of going through a haunted attraction and tell the people staffing them that they are really more annoying than scary and what they could do to be more frightening. I have given impromptu seminars on the subject. This may be the reason that Art generally doesn't want to go through haunted attraction with me. But, you know, if I'm paying you $20 to scare me, scare me. Don't just wear a Planet of the Apes mask and scream at me - because that just makes me want to smack you.

But anyway. Another thing adding to the Fair-y goodness was the absolutely perfect, beautiful weather. We brought an umbrella, because it has been very rainy this whole summer, but there was not a threatening cloud in the sky the whole day. It was in the 70s and balmy all day long, which was a pleasant surprise. Although we did get to do most of what we wanted to do, we were thwarted in a couple of things. We tried to go on the Ferris wheel, but the line was way too long. Also, we tried to see the Lumber jack show, but we were unable to get seats, and since we had been standing or walking around for 5 straight hours by that time, a place to sit was pretty much necessary. So that was a no-go as well. However, I am pretty confident that we will probably go on without too many regrets... until we catch them next year!

As promised, art

Shorter, cooler days

Not much doing with us. The Alaska State Fair is going on right now and we intended to go, but the weekend got a little hectic, so we wound up doing mostly house stuff, which is OK too. We will make it to the Fair next weekend, barring the unforseen. The main news is that we are moving more into fall - the days are shorter by a LOT. After getting used to the light nights, it is interesting how much normal evening times make use subconsciously hunker down for winter. Although it is only the end of August, we find ourselves saying things like "Make sure you have plenty to read" and "Make sure you are stocked up on hobby supplies" and "What kind of light bulbs keep you from going crazy and killing yourself? Let's make sure we have some of those!" Also, it is cooling down noticably. Although it was cool anyway, compared to most spots in the lower 48, the temperature is lower than it was over the "height" of summer.
I associate cool weather with fall, which is my favorite season. Saturday morning we went out early to do our grocery shopping and it was nippy enough that I needed a light jacket. It was so cool that I found myself thinking that I better start keeping an eye out (but not literally!) for those Halloween recipe and idea booklets that come out every fall. Then I reminded myself that it was still August. The funniest thing is that there was one out! So I guess the Taste of Home people like to jump the Halloween gun too...

New in the News!

We have a new game we play every morning. It's call "Guess the Headline" and it goes like this: before turning on the computer, we guess which of the following three headlines will be the lead on www.adn.com (The Anchorage Daily News).

1. Wildlife atrocity! (Bear attacks person, moose attacks person, wolf attacks person, animal control officers kill one of the above.)
2. Person catches big fish!
3. Alaska politician involved in scandal! (Palin in trouble, Stevens in trouble, someone else in trouble).

Because it's always one of those three. If you chose 1 or 3, you can get bonus points by picking the correct option within the category.
We are considering adding a bonus round by guessing which of the following is still a major, but not leading story:

a) Something to do with oil
b) Something to do with mining
c) Something to do with a 5K run or bike race.
It's fun! Try it for a week and you'll see!
But I kid Anchorage - it's nice to live in a place where a person catching a big fish has a reasonable chance of being the main headline, at least until Stevens gets hit with a fresh indictment.

More excitement than was strictly necessary

Saturday contained an adventure that kind of got out of hand - but more about that later.

Our adventure started with a drive to Seward to go to the Sea Life Center, which was pretty good. It is a smallish aquarium, as these things go, but it does its job very well. They focus on the sea life of the Bering Sea and the Kenai peninsula - salmon and harbor seals and so on. It was pretty interesting, and had a lot of good informative displays - a series of aquariums showing what plants and animals were living at the various depths of the sea and that sort of thing. The stars of the show are what are sometimes referred to as the charismatic megafauna - the sea lions and harbor seals - and the seabirds, such as puffins. One of the main missions of the center is rescue and rehabilitation, so there is something of a rotating cast on hand. When we were there, one sea lion and one harbor seal inhabited each of the big indoor/outdoor tanks within the facility itself. There were quite a few harbor seals outdoors in hospital tanks, and you could watch these swimming around as well, but not as closely as the indoor ones. If you are in Seward, or anywhere near it, definitely include the Sea Life center in your plans!

On our way home, we stopped at Exit Glacier. Here is where things got interesting. Art had heard from people at work that you could walk up to this glacier and touch it, but that we would have to cross a few streams. It's a little cold, they said, but no big deal. So we set out to see the glacier. I should explain that I had my purse with me, which I realized later was pretty stupid, but I never trust to leave it in the car. Anyway, it was a beautiful sunny day, and the walk was pretty nice. It ranged between nice smooth trails to steeper climbs up steep, jagged slopes. We kept trying to get to the Toe of the Glacier, which is where you can touch it. At the Edge of the Glacier point, you can look at it, but there is a heavily posted rope fence, a ranger, and a ravine between you and the glacier, so there is no getting into contact at that point. So, back to the paths leading to the Toe of the Glacier. At every point, we were confronted with some pretty deep, swiftly moving, COLD streams between us and the point we were going for. Then a couple came back across the water and rocks. They were wet about halfway up their legs, but pretty psyched about making it to the glacier and back. That decided it - we set off. The first step in the water was pretty cold, but you get numb really fast. We made it across 3 streams OK, we were wet about halfway up our legs and with the cold wind coming off the glacier it was pretty chilly but bearable. Then we got to the last stream. It was deeper and faster than the others, but we couldn't see any other way that was obviously any better. Art crossed first and got wet up to his waist, then slipped and got about half his torso wet before he got to the other side. He told me to wait while he went to see if there were any other streams to cross, and also if this was going to be worth it. He disappeared around an outcropping of rock, and I walked back and forth on my side of the stream, trying to see if any point was clearly safer than any other. It all looked about the same, so I decided to go ahead and set off. I made it about 3/4 of the way across, and then I went down. The current pulled me down and under and rolled me few yards down the stream, bouncing me off a few rocks on the way. I managed to surface and pull my way onto shore. Now I was extremely cold, totally soaked, hurt, and felt stupid besides - which I assuredly was. I was gasping for breath as I tried to wring water out of my jacket and tip the gallon or so of water out of my purse. The purse my cell phone and mp3 player were in. (I know! But it was supposed to be an easy walk over some streams! No big deal!) I checked for injuries - a bunch of places hurt, but there was no obvious blood and I hadn't hit my head and all my limbs and fingers and toes worked, so I decided to go on to the damn glacier. Art met me about halfway and immediately began expressing sympathy, probably because I was still gasping and was dripping and shivering. Did I mention glacier water is cold? Because it is. But anyway, we got to the glacier, and it was pretty cool. Literally and figuratively. Basically, the first impression is - dirty ice. Which it is, but it's important to remember it's primordial dirty ice. That dirt was frozen in that ice in the time of the dinosaurs! Or something like that. [Art's Commentary; on closer inspection of the glacial ice, I would describe it as fist-sized ice cubes packed together by the millions. They were so closely compacted that some had shattered like glass. I thought; "if they would hose this thing off and clean it up, it would be spectacular"]

So anyway, we went and touched the glacier - quite a bit actually, because I really needed to get full value out of this little adventure. Just when we were realizing it was about time to go, and that we were going to have to go through all of that again, which I was not looking forward to, a guy hove into view between two boulders. He was dry! He had found a path between two ravines, he said, and would be glad to guide us out. He even took our picture by the glacier, and I am sorry I did not have the presence of mind to ask if he would like us to take his. However, he had already been looking around, he said, and was ready to lead us out. He guided us out a path we never would have found, which we were probably not supposed to be on in the first place, but we did not care at that point, as it saved us from going through the water again. If ever I have received help directly and personally from God, it was that guy. He got us back onto a path and then took off. We needed to stop for a bit, because we were learning something else about glacier melt. It has lots of silt and little rocks in it, and where the water goes, those particles go. I had little rocks in my shoes, in my hair, in my bra, in my pants pockets... Just then I had a bunch in my shoes that need to be shaken out, so I stopped and did that. I shook out a bunch more from everywhere else when we got home, and am saving them in my scrapbook. :) We sogged out to our car, turned the heater on full blast, and shivered our way home. Only an hour or so later, I was able to laugh about it - if somewhat feebly and through chattering teeth. On the plus side, we got to touch the glacier! Last night, as I catalogued my extensive new collection of big purple bruises and wondered if our cell phones and my mp3 player were dead, I wasn't sure the benefit outweighed the costs. However, this morning, as our electronics were only a little worse for wear, and I am not nearly as banged up or dead as I could have been, it all seems to balance out. (Hint - for those of you goofy enough to do something like this - don't. If you do though, dry out your devices thoroughly before turning them back on. I don't guarantee it will work, but you have a better shot.) Now, let me stop and assure you, gentle reader, that I am fully aware of how wrong all of this could have gone, and how dumb we were to have gone into this so very unprepared.

So what have I learned? Several things. First, the Sea Life center is a good cause and a good time all rolled in to one, and deserves all the support it can muster. Second, glaciers are very dirty, so you should think about that before purchasing bottled water advertising its "glacial purity". Third, when people 15-20 years younger than you and in much, much better shape, who moreover are properly equipped for the adventure at hand say something is "a little tough, but definitely doable" you should understand that that means for them. That means, come back next season after you have worked out a little and obtained proper equipment. Or maybe just watch a show about it on the Discovery channel. Message received, lesson learned. On the plus side, though, we got to touch the glacier!

Opa!

Friday evening, we stopped by Anchorage's Greek -yes, Greek - Festival! It is a fundraiser for Anchorage's Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, and it is quite the hootenanny. We went for the food, and stayed for the dancing.

Dinner
There was a wide variety of really, really good Greek/Mediterranean food, as you might expect. There were gyros, souvlaki, and a bunch of different dinner options like moussaka and spanakopita. The best though, was the dessert tent. If you like Greek pastry - and we do - this was nirvana. Only relatively high prices kept us from getting one of everything. We had the best baklava we have every had, and some really good Greek coffee.

Dancing
Two groups of church youth - the little ones are the Stars of the North and the older ones are the Northern Lights - did a variety of Greek dances, and there was traditional Greek music as well. The little ones were absolutely adorable, and seemed to having more fun with it than kids normally do with this sort of thing. The older kids were pretty good, with some absolutely outstanding dancers. The boys got the majority of the glory and got to do all the best moves. This may well explain the fact that this is the only folk dancing program I've seen where the boys wildly outnumber the girls. All the girls get to do is dress up in about 15 layers of clothing and do a little bit of back and forth foot work. They are like the backup singers of Greek folk dancing, so I can see why they wouldn't be too motivated to participate. Of all the older kid dancers, you could tell about 1/3 of them were really, really into this stuff, and the other 2/3 were there because their parents made them do it. But it had tremendous entertainment value, nevertheless. Also, live folk music was perpetrated against the crowd.

Other available activities included a tour of the church, and shopping. A guided tour was available at certain times, but we were not there at one of those times, so we just poked around some. It is a beautiful church with a lot of ornate art. There is a Christian bookstore with lots of books and gift shopping options. You can also shop in the Agora, which featured stuff imported from Greece, souvenir t-shirts, and assorted other Greek stuff. Most prominently for sale is their church cookbook, an impressive bunch of recipes. According to their program, this is the 15th annual festival, and I hope they have many more!

Dad is home!

Yeah! Dad is well enough that Mom could take him home! He is not completely OK yet, but feeling much much better and happy to be home. So keep him in your prayers still, and thanks for all the positive thoughts!