Right Place, Wrong Time.

I promise I'll finish writing about my trip to Austria/Italy at some point in the near future. I have most of it written, actually, I just have to clean it up and post it (the most annoying part to me. details, details. . .)

I thought of something that's absolute crap today. When I was in Austria, Innsbruck to be exact, I got an email from Mando Diao saying that their next tour would kick off from none other than Innsbruck. Cruel world. I haven't had the chance to see them live because they're not in the US often, so it was a kick in the butt to find I was in the right place at the wrong time. I'm always in the wrong place at the right time, but I've never been in the right place at the wrong time.

A little background for those wondering who Mando Diao is:
Swedish band I stumbled upon a few years ago and it was love at first listen. Then, as most of you know, I entered a painting contest they held in order to populate the walls of the new studio they were building. I actually ended up being one of the winners, which was pretty awesome. I'm still somewhat amazed they liked the crap I was peddling - I assume my art to be something only a mother could love. It's hard to get outside of your head and try to see it from another perspective, so the assumption on my part is always that it's like the ugly baby that everyone smiles at while throwing up into their mouth a little bit because nobody has the heart to tell the mother her kid was seriously bludgeoned by the ugly stick. Anything creative falls in that category for me - I never think people will like it. I wonder if songwriters are faced with that?

You know, I thought I was off track there, but that actually brings me to my next point. Because I never think that people will like the things that I like, I'm weary of introducing people to music, too. I had liked Mando Diao for a good while and it was unfortunate that none of my friends were on the same page. I finally realized they'd never be on the same page unless I made it happen because it wasn't like they were going to hear them on the radio! (They don't make the pop music cut here, which is actually a blessing if you ask me.) So, I took a chance and mailed a CD to a friend for her birthday when I was in Alaska. Because I'm insecure about my likes going over well to others, I also included descriptions of songs and why I like them, etc. Yes, I'm really cool. It actually went over well - she Really liked it. With my newfound confidence in my taste, I sent it to two more people, who were both impressed.

Now that I have a sense of validation working for me, I feel comfortable saying: Three out of three agree, listen to Mando Diao! If you don't see the humor in that last line, look harder. If you still don't see it, re-read the last two paragraphs.

Alright now I'll get to the why. Why do I think they're awesome? First off, versatility. They've got so many different kinds of songs so there's something for almost everyone to love. I happen to like most kinds of music, so I love it all. Their library has the ability to cover most musical moods, making it a good choice for a desert island predicament.

Another reason I love them, which is a facet of versatility, is that there are two singers. There's Bjorn, who has the more versatile voice of the two. He has this Steve Marriott thing going where he can sing nicely or scream like a madman and sound great both ways. (sidenote: Speaking of Steve Marriott, the song Itchycoo Park makes me exceptionally happy - it's all too beautiful.) Then there's Gustaf, who doesn't quite have the range Bjorn has, but I'll be damned if I've ever heard anyone use their voice for all it's worth like he does. His style is somewhere between yelling and speaking for the harder songs, it's not very sing-songy. He does, however, do a few slower songs, which are surprising. Slowed down, his voice is heartbreaking - he sounds like he's about to fall apart, and it does wonders for the songs.

Here's the kicker about the singers, though: they know how to play off of eachother! No small feat. They sing songs separately, at the same time, alternating verses, lines, etc. There's a level of competition buried in there somewhere, but it isn't enough to dominate the feel of their interactions. They have a chemistry which isn't often found. Hmm, two lead singer/songwriters with great chemistry. . . I'm reminded of something.

I shy away from Beatles comparisons because it's sort of like hallowed ground, but let's pretend it isn't sacreligious for a moment so I can get down to business here. Their dynamic is somewhat Beatlesish. When asked to describe their music, I once said a variation of this: If the Beatles members were cloned just before they formed as a band and the duplicates were frozen, then later revived in 1999, something like Mando Diao would be the output. Weird description? Yes. But, the point is that if we had Beatle potential/chemistry and then implanted that in a time when musicians had the benefit of post-Beatles influences, like Pearl Jam and Nirvana and all that 90s grunge, I think we'd be looking at Mando Diao. Alright, I'm just going to leave that thought to stew where it is, because I'll kill it if I try to describe it any further. Before I abandon this line of reasoning, though, I'll leave you with this: Beatles influenced by Beatles = Mando Diao? Maybe. Or, maybe some things just defy explanations, logic, and categorization.

In short, I like them lots and I think they deserve a larger following and more recognition here in the US, but not so much that they get influenced by the demented world of pop and fame we have going here (that would be a tragedy)

By the way, if you don't see the humor in the fact that I had to describe why I like them, look harder!

Workin' it in the mountains

October 9th 2008

Hiking kicked my butt today. I went to work with Christian, which was out in the field. We hiked allover the place and tested water in the mountains. In the summer he does it every 2 weeks. I had some shin splints going on, which I was worried would bother me. . . and they did. There were two hikes which were a good length and elevation.
The first was about 1.5 hours each way and I'm not sure what elevation we reached, but it was a steep hike at times. Our elevation gain was 800 meters. The last sign I saw said 2000 meters (6500ft) and I hiked a good distance after that. Getting to the trailhead was half the fun, though. We must have gone through 25 hairpin turns on the way, and one of the roads, along with a hairpin turn, only had room for one car to pass. I don't know what happens if a car is coming from the opposite direction, and I don't want to know. Anyways, back to the hike. I found psylocybin mushrooms. No, I didn't eat any. I was wandering while he was taking measurements and I came across another hiker and we exchanged a few words. He was wearing all black and I found out later it's because he was going up to the hut at the top to clean the chimney, and it's tradition to wear all black. ooooookay. I'm told it's like that everywhere, even the US. Comparing countries is endless fun, by the way.

The second hike was about 1 hour roundtrip and reached 2142m (7000ft). I'm not sure what elevation we started at, though. I went ahead and hiked to the top myself while he was doing readings elsewhere and he met me afterwards for more readings, so I got to spend some time up there. It was gorgeous, too - stunning views. There was also a nice stream running through and a cute little hut there. Everything was wonderful there until a bumblebee chased me around for a while. He was trying to check me out, but I kept moving away from him, so he kept moving towards me. Lucky for me, he gave up first. Probably lucky for him, too.

I don't have a clue how far any of these hikes are because they measure hikes here by time instead of distance. There's no way to be sure how far they are, because the time is adjusted based on steepness, I'm sure.

I'll probably be sore tomorrow, which is double trouble, because tomorrow we start the 3 day hike through the Alps where we'll be hiking 4-5 hours each day! yeeha! We'll see how it goes. . . and if I survive.

By the way, Europeans drive like maniacs.

Planes, trains and automobiles

Disclaimer: posting these after the fact. I tried to write as I went, but I couldn't actually post anything until I got home.

October 7th, 8th. Days 1 and 2 (1 was a travel day, 2 was my first full day)
after 24 hours of travel, I've arrived!

My flights were fine, nothing much there to talk about. There wasn't a passenger in the seat next to me, which I was very happy about. Otherwise I end up with a giant pile of stuff on my lap. One thing I found strange about my journey was that every time I landed they didn't have a terminal, I had to walk or get bussed across the runway. I was surprised they did this for the international flight, because it was a big plane.
I flew to Frankfurt and had a quick connection to Germany, which was uneventful. I was through customs within a minute, including time waited in line. Then came the real treat. . . that airport is like a MAZE. I swear I must have walked a mile at the very least to get to my terminal. The flight from Frankfurt to Munich was easy. My only complaint was that I don't speak German. A little girl sat next to me and apparently I buckled myself up using her latch, so she was trying to tell me and I just didn't have a clue what she was saying. I finally got it, but I felt like a terd. I bet the expression on my face when people talk to me in another language is priceless, probably like a deer in headlights.

The train ride from Munich to Innsbruck was more of me being confused by people speaking German to me, which was extra fun. I never know what to do when I go to a counter to buy something - should I just ask for it in English right off the bat, or should I first ask them if they speak English in German? Really it makes no difference in the exchange, because if I ask if they speak English and they can't, it's not like it'll make communication any easier. I suppose that way we're on the same page, though. . . and I don't look like an ignorant American who expects the world to bend to my needs. I've found my best plan of action is to say "hi" right off the bat, and if they speak English, they'll immediately start speaking it. Wow, I'm so lame. It's funny, because I do know small bits of German which could get me through some of these situations, but I'm afraid to speak it because I'm sure I sound ridiculous.

Speaking of sounding funny speaking another language. Today Christian said 'California' and I nearly died of laughter. Poor guy had no idea what was so funny - I was laughing because he said it exactly like the Governator. I really wanted to ask him to say "It's not a tumor!" and "get OUT!" but I decided against it. English is his 3rd language, which is a hell of a lot more than I can say, so I think I'll keep the accent critique to a minimum! I wish my video camera worked - I'd make a whole montage of Austrian people saying Governator phrases.

Other than a bit of jetlag, everything is great. I'm about to go walk around Innsbruck for a while - it's beautiful today, warm and clear. The mountains here are just beautiful. More on that later.

Bore tide video. . . finally

Last week I finally edited the bore tide video. I realized when I looked at the picture I put up with the original bore tide post that people probably wouldn't notice the guy in the picture. So, go back and take a look - it adds some good scale to the picture. You now have the video for that, too

A little video explanation -
The tide was changing from low to high, so logic would say the current should be moving from open ocean (right) to the shore where the turnagain arm ends (left). BUT, this is a bore tide area, my friends, so things don't make sense. The tide was flowing left to right, except for an area straight across the way that was bordered by mudflats and was relatively still. All in all an odd scene.
at 0:55 listen to the ridiculous noise that comes out of my mouth as the camera goes unsteady. I hate hearing myself on video. I always watch the videos later and wish I just hadn't spoken. . . but that would have been awkward at the time, no? This noise makes me laugh, though, especially because of why I make it.

Don't judge a book by its cover.

I never did write about Valdez. . .

Another day. It deserves a day when I'm in writing mode because it was an interesting place.

So, I've been home now for a few weeks and it's the same as it ever was. My niece and nephew are huge and my kitten is now a cat, but, other than that, things are the same. I was thinking about sameness today because I saw this site where a guy has been taking pictures of himself every day since 1998. It's cool to see what a little aging and hair can do to a person's overall appearance. He should have kept a diary along with the pictures to somehow track the outside world's response to him; though, I'm not sure how he'd go about it because he'd need to track it based on something he consistently does every day. Maybe one of those mood trackers or something so he could superimpose a graph on the video? okay, getting off track here. . . It's neat to think of it in terms of approachability, because he definitely goes through phases where he seems more and less approachable. Lesson learned: don't judge people by their hair.

{{{{{{{{{{wait, I'm adding this part after the fact because the mind wheels started turning. Should we continue judging people by their hair on some level? I mean, it's what they're presenting to the world, right? We choose how we'll present ourselves to the world on a daily basis, whether we like it or not. Our outfits and hair and makeup etc, or lack thereof, all speak to the world on some level. Ever notice while people watching that friends and couples tend to dress alike? I wonder if they dress alike before becoming friends and that's partially what attracted them to eachother, or if they met eachother and then melded their styles into one? I try not to be judgmental or intimidated by people that dress differently than me. I fail at times, but it's usually in the name of being judgmental and it's usually directed at people I feel are dressed like overpriced skanks (you know, those people who are obsessed with things that they think look good just because they cost a lot of money? Newsflash ladies; dress based on the goods on your body, not the goods in your wallet.) I'll try harder to accept my skanky sisters. . . oh, wait, no I won't. This calls for one of my all time favorite quotes:
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.

Oscar Wilde}}}}}}}}}}

It's amazing how our minds have the ability to glaze over major change because it's happening over too long a period of time for us to perceive. It's like watching your gas guage - you can't see it, but you just know that needle is moving. Small children, kittens and other beings that are still growing are the exception, of course (not gonna go into the plant world, here). It's interesting that we need to see a picture of ourselves from years ago to realize there's been a change. Imagine the horror if you kept a person away from a mirror and other reflective surfaces for 5 years. It's like we expect time to stand still because we can't see it moving.

All of that said, I look forward to aging. I've left some great phases and awkward phases in my looks behind and I'm interested to see where my looks will go in the future. I'm also interested to know if I'm currently in an awkward or good phase. Unfortunately, I won't know for a few years. Pity.

GIRLY DAY

Toward the end of Lindsey and Courtney's visit, we decided we needed a girl day together. We also decided the day should probably involve large quantities of alcohol. (it was a rough week.) Unfortunately, everything is far away, which involves driving, so we needed a chauffeur. Enter Tyler. All I have to say is that we owe him a GIANT favor. We terrorize Tyler every chance we get, so I'm sure you can imagine how much worse it would be when he's stuck in a car with three of us for long periods of time.

We had a great day, though. First we went on a short glacier cruise, which was really cool. The blue ice is so neat. The best part of the day was probably the bore tide, though. We waited for a while, but it was definitely worth it. When we arrived the water was flowing backwards at a pretty good rate, which was quite strange. Tyler and I spent the time trying to figure out the processes involved in the backwards flow and ultimately bore tide. We still don't know for sure what the cause is, but I don't think anyone does so I don't feel all that bad. It was still a good conversation topic, though. When we finally spotted the bore tide we were definitely ready for it because we had waited quite a while.
We talked with a local woman who educated us a bit. She was obviously intelligent, so it was interesting to talk to her. I found one thing she said to be notable - and exchange I'll remember for some reason. We were talking about the moon phase and how it ties in with the tides and Tyler chimed in that he hadn't heard of the influence the moon has on the tides and was genuinely interested in what we were saying. The woman (whose name I never got, because I'm a jerk like that) instantly asked what he studied in school and when he said engineering, she said, "that explains it!" She then proceeded to say something to the effect that engineers are too busy looking at the ground to notice the sky. I suppose engineers are always looking down and while physicists busy looking up (or even at things they can't see and that don't exist. Ha! but that's another topic altogether). Anyways, she informed us that this bore tide was a pretty good one. It was, too!

Watching the tide come in all at once is definitely an experience. It roars through, right over the current, which is running against it (which I'm sure has something to do with the creation of the tide). I took some video, which I'll edit down and post. I started filming too early, so it's far too long and boring. The best part of the video is the guy that's standing on a rock that ends up covered once the tide comes through. He was very close to getting smashed by the wave, but managed to jump out of the way at the last second. Quite a sight.

All in all we got our girl day and had a great time. When we got back my dad and Brad had dinner cooked for us, which was a welcome treat. Here's a picture of us proudly drinking in public on girl day:

I'm not sure why I'm sending a Captain Morgan style cheers to the mountains, but so be it. I love Courtney's expression in this picture, and how can you not love that there are squirrels on Lindsey's hat? That was a great cheap find at the Fred Meyer in Soldotna.

Fishing

Alright, I've been slacking for a Really long time now. I'll try to touch on some of the more notable events, talk about my ride home and possibly talk about life after Alaska in the coming days. I was going to go chronologically, but I've decided to go categorically. Today's category is fishing.

During my last week in Alaska, I FINALLY went fishing. Yikes, took me long enough. There I am in an area that's world famous for fishing and it took me months to get around to going. When friends visited two of them wanted to go fishing. I figured it would be as good a time as any, so I went along. I'm so glad I went because it was a lot of fun and very educational. I've never been much of a fishing expert. Apparently when it comes to fishing, I'm very lucky. I'm sitting on a boat full of men and I'm reminded of the difference even further when Alan, the guide, points out to the men where they can pee and then tells me to let him know if I have to go and he'll head to shore. Screw that, I skipped the morning coffee and drank minimal water. HA!

For a little background: On the Kenai the limit on Silvers (a type of Salmon) you can catch in a day is 2 per person. The salmon come through in runs, meaning they all head up the river at once, so if you want to catch a certain type of salmon, you have to go during a specific few weeks. There are two runs of each type of salmon every year, except the pinks. The pinks are the dreaded pests on the river. They only run every other year and I'm pretty sure it's one run, not two. When I first read about the types of salmon before I went to Alaska I thought I was lucky to be going there on an even year when the pinks run. I should have kept reading. They aren't as big so they have a smaller meat yield. The meat texture isn't as desirable. They also show up at the same time as other more sought after fish and Unfortunately they're a lot more aggressive than the better fish. All this means that 9 times out of 10 when a fish bites, it isn't the kind you want!

I caught my limit by noon and none of the guys reached their limit by the end of the day! HAHA!! I was so sped, though. I just didn't know how to fish, so it was a shame I was the one getting all the bites! I enjoyed myself, though. At one point in the beginning I was still trying to figure out the best way to hold the rod while reeling and a fish jerked my rod and I was in an awkward position so the rod ended up between my legs and it was a big mess. I was so sped, let's just leave it at that.

Although I hit my limit, the guys caught some impressive fish that I'm almost certain would have dragged me into the river. It wasn't king season (another type of salmon - the really big ones. The season was over, meaning you can catch it, but it can't leave the water, so any catching of those out of season is purely for sport.) but we ended up catching two beautiful kings. One was 60lbs and the other was 50lbs. They were HUGE. The one Dervid caught was the biggest and it put up a hell of a fight. Every time he got the fish close it would freak out and practically empty the line off of his reel, meaning he had to fight it in over and over. It was quite a fish. He had bloody knuckles and everything from the fight. Talk about sport. . .

HALIBUT FISHING
I went halibut fishing on my last full day in Alaska. It was a great time. I asked the guide I used for salmon fishing if he knew of any guides and it turned out he was going fishing with a guide friend on the day we wanted to go anyways, so we jumped in on that trip. I went with Dervid (my dad, for anyone that hasn't caught on to that whole deal yet) and Ed. Ed got really seasick and was throwing up and fishing at the same time. It was awesome. I've never seen someone power through seasickness like that. What a champ. I actually came very close to getting seasick and that's very uncharacteristic of me. I'm not one for motion sickness. I was fine until I had to go to the bathroom, which was below deck, which meant I couldn't see the ocean, I could just feel it. That spelled trouble. I took a pill and was fine a half hour later.

I was lucky once again, getting bites constantly. Halibut fishing is a HUGE workout. HUGE. the ocean floor was 200ft down, which is where the halibut hang out. This means we had at least 200 feet of line we needed to reel in each time we needed new bait or caught something. Did I mention there was a 3lb weight on the line, also? yeah. My arms were jelly the next day. I must have caught 100 sharks, too. Little jerks! They were sort of cool looking, though, because they had pastel green eyes. Both my dad and Ed caught HUGE skates. My dad caught the biggest one I think I'll ever see. The guide said it was easily a few hundred lbs. It was a monster. I'm sure you can imagine the disappointment when we realized it was a skate and not a halibut. ohhhhhh well.

Halibut is a great fish for eating, so it was well worth the work! It's incredibly light in flavor and the texture is very meaty. We brought about 50lbs home to Mass, but we probably had a good 30lbs more up in Alaska that we left behind. Fish anyone?

SLACKER

I know, I know, I've been seriously slacking. It's been a busy week and I'm just entering yet another busy week. I have lots to write about, though, so soon enough there will be reading material. I'm sitting in the airport right now waiting for my connection from Anchorage to Valdez. The little plane we took from Kenai to Anchorage was fun. I love planes and flying, so the smaller the plane the better. This one was probably about a 20-seater. A Beechcraft something or other. It's a small prop plane where you can see right into the cockpit to watch the pilots while flying. Wow, if I'm this excited about the flight portion of my journey, maybe I should stop paying for vacations and just start flying around instead. Reminds me of Martin Sexton lyrics: It's in the journey, when am I gonna see there's no destination.

I'm freakishly tired - 1.5 hours of sleep last night and only 5 or 6 the night before. Ouch! I had to get up at 2:30am to catch this flight and of course I couldn't fall asleep until 1am. Typical. I'm slightly delerious, so, though I have the time now, I'm going to opt to write more later when I've got a shred of sanity. Dervid only got a few hours last night, too, so I'll be surprised if we don't bite eachothers heads off by the end of the day.

So, just a bit of what's to come. This week I:
-hiked to a glacier
-went on a glacier cruise
-had king crab legs for the first time
-saw a grizzly (in captivity)
-went fishing for the first time ever (and schooled the men on the boat)
-saw a bore tide
-came close to freaking out several times due to lack of sleep and abundance of stress
-had a great time

and much more that I can't remember right now, I'm sure!

One other notable thing. I dropped Lindsey, Courtney, Tyler and Brad off at the airport yesterday and before they got out of the car, Lindsey said, "your dad was everything you said and more. I am not disappointed," in a slightly excited, but mostly matter of fact tone. HA! I think people think I'm exaggerating when I describe my looney bin family. If they only knew the half of it!

I have visitors!

Alright, so I've been seriously slacking the past few days. . . or more.

It's been a busy week around here. Frenchy headed to Thailand, so there was lots to get done before she left, which kept me busy. I also had lots to do before the arrival of my visitors so that I don't have to do much while they're here. Friends and Dad arrived the past few days, which I'm extremely happy about. I picked them up from the Airport the past few days, which actually worked out great. It was great to make the drive from here to Anchorage again because it's an amazing drive. So much has changed since I was last up that way - almost all of the snow is gone! I expected it, but things still look so incredibly different. I'm so glad I had the benefit of seeing it both snowy and not. Just beautiful both ways.

I drove up last night to get Dervid and we stayed at the B&B for the night and headed out in the morning. We ended up leaving much later than I planned because we helped Denise (who is manning the B&B while Frenchy is out of town) do breakfast for the guests and other tasks. It worked out well because some of the rain cleared up as the morning progressed, making the drive a bit nicer for sightseeing. I felt bad, though, because it meant my friends, who were already at the cabins, were stranded until I got back. They ended up heading out to the store a while after I got back to get some stuff. I was really stressed out because I didn't get any sleep (long story) and we had weirdness going on with guests and I didn't know what to do with everyone at that point. I was standing around with everyone my decisions impacted - all of them staring at me waiting for me to figure things out. As Kevin and Ed might say, my broom came out in full force. While they went to the store I took a shower, had a sandwich, and started watching a movie with Dervid and felt much better. I think the shower was extra helpful because I had a chance to mull things over on my own for a bit. Showers are thinking time for me.

Tyler and Brad have been doing a bunch of fishing already. They caught a bunch of fish their first day out. They got one big Silver and several Pinks, both types of salmon. Contrary to popular belief around here, the pinks made for some really great eating. Brad is really in his element here because he's really what you'd consider and outdoorsmen (hunting, fishing. . . ), so he's taught us a thing or two. The other night he taught fish fileting 101. Tyler tried his hand at it and got a few good filets out. Nothing is ever easy the first time. The fish were slippery, too, which didn't help things, so I think we'll get some rubber dipped gloves that I keep seeing the fishermen using. When it came to Courtney, Lindsey and me, Brad's filet lesson fell on deaf ears. We were far too busy watching them, half disgusted, half fascinated.

We have lots more planned in the coming days, so I'm sure I'll have plenty more to write about. It's off to bed for me now, though. More later - right now it's BED TIME!

More Weird weather

More hail today. What the heck is going on?! There was actually a bit of thunder, too. I only heard it twice and didn't see any lightning. The hail today was bigger than yesterday and there was a lot more of it. This time I got some video. I took two videos. I'm posting a short one of the hail bouncing off of the garage roof.




The other video I need to edit a bit before I put it up. It shows the hail piled up allover the place, but while I was taking the video I was talking to Ed and you can't hear what he's saying on the tape, you can only hear me, so I'm going to edit most of that part out. It's unfortunate because he was telling me about a time in Florida when it rained shrimp and fish and he thinks it must have been because a funnel cloud picked them up. Then he was talking about how the lake in his backyard now has shrimp in it. It was an interesting conversation, but unfortunately he was the only interesting part of it and he's the only bit you can't hear of the conversation.

Weird weather

Today was a very strange weather day. It was beautiful most of the day - blue skies with big poofy white clouds. I started hearing these weird noises from inside, sorta like rain, except that the drops sounded MASSIVE and there was almost too much time between drops for it to be rain. I went outside and it was hailing!! Whaaaa? It wasn't huge hail, slightly larger than a pea, but it was raining at the same time, BIG drops and it was wicked cold rain. The electrician was here at the time and he was just as baffled as we were, which tells me it's quite out of the ordinary because he's been living here for a looooong time.
The other weird thing about this rain was that it was blue skies and white puffy clouds all around. There was one small suspicious looking cloud, but other than that it was a sunny beautiful day.
Apparently it hailed in Anchorage yesterday, too, except that they got a thunderstorm along with it. I'm so jealous!! I love thunderstorms! It's VERY out of the ordinary to get a thunderstorm up here. Hopefully I'll get a few late season storms at home.

Shoe Mission: Impossible

The other day I went searching for shoes to wear with my bridesmaid dress for Lindsey's wedding. Oye! I set off on the road with no idea where I'd even begin looking. I mean, if hip-length waders would match the dress, I'd be all set.

This is the dress I'm wearing:

And this is the color of the dress:


I found a "mall." in Soldotna. If anyone has ever been to the "mall" in Billerica, MA where the K-mart is, then you know what I mean when I put quotes around the word mall. It's like a defunct mall with room for about 6 stores (mostly small weird stores) and only half of it is occupied. It's like a ghost town mall. This one happened to have a Payless shoe store there. Unfortunately, they didn't have ANY shoes that would remotely work.

Next up was Gottschalks. It was my first time in - it's apparently where the entire Kenai Peninsula has to shop for department store items - you know, like clothes that aren't Realtree print and shoes that aren't made to be planted at the bottom of a river for hours as you cast over and over and over trying to land the big one. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's the only place aside from thrift shops that you can find this sort of shopping. The shoe selection was pitiful. It was all clunky leather sandals. There were about two pairs of shoes that might pass as dressy, but they were all wrong for the dress I needed to match. Wrong, meaning one pair was red and the other pair looked appropriate for a hooker. I asked the girl at the register if they have shoes on the Kenai Peninsula. She gave me a look that wasn't reassuring and told me I'd be better off going to Anchorage. She then said I might try a bridal shop, which happened to be right near where I live.

I go to the bridal shop. They had about 10 pairs to choose from:

There were the clear plastic ones with a dash of rhinestones to look like a little strap. Not only are they hideous, but the clear part isn't making it look like you're wearing a strappy shoe, it makes it look like you're too wimpy to suck it up and wear strappy shoes and it makes me think of how sweaty your feet must be under that oh so obvious plastic. Let's keep the PVC out of wearable items, please. The shoe below is almost exactly what I saw there:


There were also several pairs of white dyeable shoes. Have you ever looked at bridal shoes? they're all awkward and always seem like they're a couple of generations late fashion-wise. No thanks. Plus, I'm not about to go mixing up a batch of dye. I'm just not.

Even if I wanted any of these shoes, I couldn't have them. Their entire stock was on the floor, which amounted to a few sizes for each shoe type. So, what was left? Well, there were the flat sandals that belonged on a belly dancer. There was more junk hanging off of the many straps of those shoes. I couldn't even untangle them, nevermind fathom trying them on. Then there were the gold ones, which won't work with the dress. The dress requires a grey or possibly silver shoe.

This left just one pair (they happened to be on sale, which is nice, because despite being ugly as a rule, shoes in bridal shops are usually expensive). The shoes aren't hideous, but they definitely wouldn't have been my first choice. They've got one of those ankle straps that wrap around a few times and travel up your leg a bit. So not me. There's just one issue. . .I'm a size 9, sometimes a 9.5. They had an 8.5 and a 10. I ended up buying a shoe that's one size too big for me because it was the ONLY shoe on the Kenai Peninsula that remotely fit my needs. I will laugh every time I see those shoes. I'll also laugh when I fall while walking down the aisle at the wedding and profusely apologize to the people sitting near my landing site, saying, "I'm so sorry, I got these shoes in Alaska," as if they should understand why that explains my faulty shoes.

They just don't deal in dressy shoes on the Kenai Peninsula. Period.

Da Bears

Yesterday evening I pulled up to the driveway and was greeted by just about every guest staying with us right now (12 people). I didn't think they were that excited for my return, so I rolled down the window to see what was going on. Turned out the sow with her two cubs walked by right before I pulled up. I missed it again!
I was up early this morning seeing off some guests and a bear came by! It wasn't the one with the cubs, though. I wish I had my camera handy, because it walked right across the stoop of my cabin. That would have been a neat picture to show people where I live. . .
I was a bit surprised by the size of the bear. It was a black bear, not a brown, so I knew it wouldn't be huge, but I'm still surprised by how small it was. It's really unfortunate they're dangerous, because they're really quite adorable. One other thing I noted is the way they walk.Most quadrupeds alternate feet when they walk, meaning the front right/back left legs and the front left/back right legs move together at the same time. Black bears move both legs on their right side together, then their left, then right, etc., so when they walk they have quite a little clumsy strut going on. Very cute. I know there's a name for that walking pattern, but I can't remember it right now.
And on to the good stuff. Pictures! These are from the first time the bears came by when I got out just in time to see their rumps going into the woods.


I love this picture because you can see the paw. . . and the tree kevin chopped down with his target practice. whoops.
not the clearest picture, but I love how you can see the tongue curling out of her mouth. I'm assuming it's got something to do with helping her smell because it's in a few other pictures, too.
awwwww, the babies!
This is my favorite picture in the set. I love how one cub is looking right at the camera - those ears, I love 'em! And the other cub is nudging him! so cute.
running to catch up with momma bear

Good profile picture - it also shows what I mean about their walking.

Before they disappeared off into the woods. Make sure you check out the next picture, which is a detail of this one

ahhh! scary teeth! Bad baby cub!
And some moose pictures for good measure. This guy was in our yard right around the same time as the bears, which is why Kevin had his camera ready. Actually, now that I think of it, this moose was a girl, not a guy. These are pretty good pictures, too. Kevin is actually a professional photographer. He doesn't do it anymore because, as he says, he got sick of crouching in bushes waiting for things to happen.

And, because this post just isn't long enough yet: When the bear was roaming around this morning the neighbors got REALLY mad. the bear wandered down a neighbor's driveway and I heard a guy say, "bear, you're gonna die!" oye. He then proceeded to chase it back through our yard and into the woods, toting a .44, of course. I understand that people want the area to be safe and they don't want dangerous animals hanging out in their yards, but when it comes down to it, we're in the bear's habitat! The guy that chased the bear away lives right on the river, so the bear was probably just hungry and trying to get to the river for a meal. If the bear was hanging out in your yard picking at your trash, I could see getting a bit worried because if the bear gets too accustomed to finding meals near people's houses then they'll always hang around them, which is asking for trouble. The bears just wander on by, though. They don't hang around! Luckily he didn't shoot the bear.

Crazy Alaskan neighbors. I have another crazy Alaskan neighbor story, but I'll save that for later to avoid making this post into a novel.

BEARS!!

We have bears!!!

A mom and two cubs just walked through our yard! The cubs stayed by the edge of the woods while the mom came over and checked out the grill. I didn't get to see that part, but Kevin's sending me his pictures of it. I was inside my cabin and I heard Kevin calling my name. I got up and headed out just in time to see their little bums moseying into the woods. A lot of salmon has been cooked on that grill, so apparently she got a whiff of some remnants.

I'll be taking a look out my window before I walk out the door from now on, thank you very much. I just wish I had a peep-hole in my door so I could see in that direction - the windows are on either side of the cabin and the door is on the front, so I can't see in front of the door from the windows. I've actually been thinking I wish I had a peep-hole anyways because it's nice to know who you're opening up the door for!

I hope the bears come back so I can see them in their entirety.

Does it go vroom-vroom?

The guys that just flew in yesterday are hysterical. I'm sorta glad the 'cruise director' gave me the cast of characters ahead of time because when I met them it was immediately evident who was who from the descriptions (thank goodness for the guy with the british accent, otherwise I would have had trouble with that distinction). I posted part of his email before. Here's the link to the post in case you haven't been able to keep up with the bagillion posts I've got on here.

I could tell who Pat was when he held up a big fancy professional camera and asked me how he would go about taking it on a fishing charter with him. My answer: you don't. I let him borrow my waterproof camera. I have faith he'll take good care of it. Anybody with that many gadgets has to be pretty good at looking after them, I'd say. He was thrilled to have it, so I'm glad it made him happy.

Geoff was easy to figure out because of said British accent.

Richard was the first one I talked to and definitely had the cruise director aire about him. The man in charge! (he's also the one that's taking me flying)

Vince, I figured out only by deduction.

The sons, Ted and Wes - I'm still not sure who is who. I'll figure it out.


They're a fun bunch, so I'll probably have a good time with them this week. They showed me a picture of the halibut they caught (they stopped somewhere on the way up here and stayed for a few days to do some fishing), which was practically as big as me. Actually, now that I think of it, it weighed about as much as I do. When I go halibut fishing I need to catch one of those badboys. If you catch one that weighs more than you then your charter is free. Pretty sweet deal. All the more reason to stay in shape, I guess. . .

These guys actually arrived a day early becaue they gave themselves a weather day and didn't end up needing it. When they got to the Soldotna airport they were looking for a car rental place and none of them had cars. I called around a bit for them, too, with no luck. Finally they called Rent-a-Wreck and were practically begging for a car. With six men they needed a van or something, too, which limited their options even further. Rent-a-Wreck said they miiiiiiiight have something, but. . . and Richard told them he didn't care what it was, as long as it goes vroom-vroom! He then heard the girl say to the other person working, "he just wants something that goes vroom-vroom." That's classic. And this is my favorite part - They ended up with a van that was hit by a moose! How hysterical is that?! The rental agency is aptly named. They keep saying the car was hit by the moose, but I'm thinking it was probably the other way around. Anyway, the windshield is pretty smashed and the hood is a bit dented, but it definitely goes vroom-vroom.

Lookout airways. . .

I get to fly, I get to fly, I get to fly. . . .

That's me being extremely excited and jumping up and down inside. I was talking about flying with one of the guests that just arrived and I told him I had considered getting my pilot's license in the past but wasn't able to do it. He asked if I had ever been in a small plane and when I said no he said he'd be glad to take me up! woooohoooooooOO!!! He's part of the 6 man party that flew up in two small planes from California, so he's got a little plane here at the Soldotna airport.

Oh man, you have no idea how excited I am. I actually get to fly the plane while up there, too. Now we just need a nice day within the next week and I'll be all set.

Minnesota Mantown

I finally figured out what the deal was with the Nestles booking. I was confused because it was booked for 4, but I kept seeing different people at different times. I was really wondering if I was starting to lose my mind or something. Turns out Nestles sent some guys on a fishing trip as a pat on the back and they had a big pow-wow here one night. After the pow-wow, the Nestles guys couldn't stay for the remainder of the trip because something came up. The boss, however, could stay, and he did. He also called his Father, Stepfather and Uncle and told them to come on up to do some fishing for a few days in Alaska because the cabin was paid for anyways, so why not? They were all from Oregon.

The uncle made me laugh because he was sort of incoherent. I was sitting at their table figuring out their bill and he was the only other one in there at the moment, sitting in a chair across the room. He said something I didn't hear, so I replied, "what was that?" and he looked confused that I was asking him what he said. We had one of those awkward exchanges where we What-ed eachother back and forth until I finally said, "I thought you were talking to me, but I didn't hear what you said, so I was just asking you to repeat. . ." His reply was, "I was talking just now?" He was genuinely surprised that he had just been talking. oooooookay then. He was a little odd, but all in all he meant well.

Right now the party animals from Minnesota are sitting by the fire. It's a family trip for the men of the family. The Grandfather, his three sons and two of their kids (The kids aren't little kids, though, they're probably 20 at the youngest). The Grandfather definitely has a favorite Grandkid, though! I see them rolling together often. The other day they knocked on my door just to chat, which was colorful. They're a bit crude, but I kinda like it. They actually remind me of a sector of my own family which I thoroughly enjoy. The grandfather definitely qualifies as a dirty old man, but nothing I can't handle. The other day one of his sons was over asking me about the grill and the grandfather saw from across the way that he was talking to me so he said, "hey! That's my girlfriend!" Yesterday he said, "I like the way those pants are fitting. . ." I gave him a dirty look and shot back, "You're a dirty old man." What a way to talk to a guest, right? His sons got a kick out of that one. They told me I'm absolutely correct and also gave me permission to smack him if I'm so inclined the next time he says something. He's all talk.
Don't worry, all you high anxiety parties out there that are worried about my safety - If he isn't all talk, I'll douse him with pepper spray in a heartbeat!

Bubba Gump. . . Salmon?

You know that scene in Forrest Gump where Bubba is telling Forrest all the ways you can prepare shrimp? That's how I feel about Salmon here. These days I constantly feel like I'm in a movie of some sort. In the past week I've come into contact with (haven't eaten all of it, thank you very much) Salmon spread(eww), Salmon Dip(eww), Smoked salmon, salmon with butter and dill, salmon with spinach feta and sundried tomatoes, salmon with coconut batter crust, blackened salmon, salmon pasta salad (eww), and one other type I can't remember the preparation for. I mean, really, people?! I realize this is the salmon fishing capital of the world, but can we calm down a bit? With all the salmon I've seen I'm actually somewhat surprised there isn't a large group here that doesn't like salmon because they're just plain sick of it.

I do have to say, though, that the salmon with feta, sundried tomato and spinach was delicious. I was told it was blue cheese when it was given to me, but that was a lie. I was happy it was feta. Very delicious, which I was a little surprised by because I've been quite limited in my salmon experimentation in the past.

That said, I'm thinking of making some salmon using some ginger I have tonight. Deeeeeelicious. The super fresh salmon here is really just so good. Not a trace of fishy taste at all, it's more meaty. It's possible to get fresh salmon elsewhere, but it's usually frozen, etc. I think the key difference goes beyond freshness, actually. One of the fishermen here was talking about one particularly nice salmon he caught that he'll cook and then some others whose coloring wasn't as great so he would end up smoking those. The guys here catch so many fish that they just pick and choose which they want to keep based on quality, which makes for some damned good eatin'!

Kayak.com to the rescue!

This is a little update in regards to my previous post about Cheaptickets.com

The airfare I found on Cheaptickets.com that turned out to be crap, I initially found on and was referred by Kayak.com. They have a little blurb on their website that says if you find a possible bait and switch situation, they'd like you to report it to them because they're working on making their site as accurate as possible and they can only be as accurate as the other sites they search. (For the unfamiliar, Kayak.com doesn't sell airfare, they just search most of the other travel sites at once then when you click on the fare you want it'll take you to the site that's selling it. They also have better search features than other travel sites). Pretty much you tell them and they get on the jerky sites' asses!

I clicked the button to report the problem to Kayak and then afterwards proceeded to contact Cheaptickets because I thought what they were doing was scummy and they should know it. I got a reply from Kayak today and it was actually from a real person who was genuinely interested in getting to the bottom of it. Her name was Karen. She also gave me the email address and phone number for Cheaptickets customer service in case I wanted to go that route. I replied that I had actually already contacted them and even sent all of my correspondence to her. I figured it couldn't hurt because in there they tell me they're looking into the issue, so that way when Kayak contacts them they can't act like it's news to them that there's been a problem. She said in her email to me that the Kayak engineers frequently get on the phone with airlines and travel sites to get to the bottom of these issues and that she'd pass the info I gave her on to them. She actually also asked a few more questions about the issue, and I could tell she had read my entire email by the things she was asking (wasn't fully expecting her to, I've gone back and forth with Cheaptickets more than a few times, which makes for a lot of reading).

It's refreshing to have human contact when dealing with a substantial company. I mean, they actually care. I've not recieved one scripted line or brush off from them, which is something else! I was really just informing them of something they had asked to be informed of and wasn't expecting to hear much more about it. I'm getting from Kayak what I was hoping to get from Cheaptickets.

Thank you, Karen from Kayak.com
(And, hello, BillO. I'm the nerdy girl from Massachusetts)

avoid Cheaptickets.com

Cheaptickets.com is exceptionally stupid. I thought I finally found a reasonable flight to Austria so I clicked on it with the intention of buying. Once I clicked a screen came up telling me it was "confirming my fare and flight details." When it was done the flight had magically jumped hundreds of dollars! That's just not okay. It came along with a message telling me:

We're sorry. Due to changes in airline availability, the fare for your selected trip is no longer available. We have adjusted the fares for all affected flights. The fare for your selected trip is now $ 877 total. See below. (Message 1048)

I checked in their FAQs and it says this:

During the time between your flight search and purchase, the airline may have changed the fare or the fare may have sold out. Airfares change throughout the day, based on demand for the flight and the airlines' right to modify them at any time.

CheapTickets monitors these changes closely and makes every effort to keep our fare displays as current as possible. Sometimes the fare difference is the result of a technical issue. In that case, clicking "Select" will display the most up-to-date fare.

That's nice. Just the fact that it's in the FAQs means it probably happens more than it should! I don't know, I just find this ridiculous. The first excuse is null and void because I searched for the airfare several times, so it wasn't like it sold out or changed in the time it took me to press the Buy button after searching. If it happens more than once, it's an issue. The second excuse is dumb, too, because if they were monitoring closely, their system probably should have picked up on the fact that the price for this flight had changed and it should have corrected the information. This same flight has been doing the same thing for days now! C'mon, you can't be making every effort to keep the fares as current as possible if something is happening for this long.

It seems odd to me that the only time they can show me the up-to-date fare is when I click on the button to buy the ticket. So if I want any accurate prices I'm expected to click on all the fares? What a waste of time. This just makes me think they're doing a bait and switch! Think about a person researching airfares who is checking out all the sites they can before settling on a fare. They'll undoubtedly find that Cheaptickets.com has the cheapest fare (because the fares they show don't even exist!) so they'll come back to that ticket in the end and just assume they waited too long and now the price went up, when in reality Cheaptickets never had the cheapest price! Chances are they'll buy it there anyways because it's probably the same as all the other prices and they're there and all set to buy anyways. So wrong.

I emailed them to tell them about their little problem and how I feel about it. It's actually turned out to be quite a correspondence I've got going with them. In their last reply they told me that I should call the hotline instead of emailing because of the "intricate nature" of my question. I don't know, I think it's a pretty simple question. Why aren't the prices on your site correct, and why have the same exact ones been wrong for several days now? That's fair, right? I'm assuming they want me to call the hotline so that I'm not wasting their time replying to their emails about the same topic over and over. I hate having my time wasted with the same problem over and over, too, Cheaptickets.com! If they only knew who they're dealing with. They basically just invited me to email them all day every day and waste their time in return for wasting mine. I haven't sunk that low, yet, though. It really isn't that big of a deal, but it just seems sleazy to me what they're doing and getting away with.

I'm also a bit more mad than I would have been because the very first reply to my issue gave the usual scripted apology, which I expected, but then they tried to SELL ME their services in the next breath. That's horrible customer serivce, that is. Why would I want to register for one of your crappy services if you can't get the very essence of an airline search right? The price, dumbass! The reply I got spent just as much time explaining this newfangled service as it did addressing my issue. Wow, what nerve.