June 24 Day 38 Anchorage, AK (Two days, one posting, Dean's been using the computer for fix things and I didn't want to ask for it)
We enjoyed the drive through the pretty Mat-Su Valley to Anchorage. We stopped at several Denali viewpoints that are closer to the mountain than we were at the national park, 75 miles from it. However, after parking the coach and walking the trail to the viewpoints, we see that it is shrouded in clouds today. During the summer, you only have a 20% chance of seeing it clearly, so we feel blessed that on both our bus tour days we could see it quite clearly, with no clouds.
We got into the park at 5:45. I don't remember many of the RV parks we've been to, but I did remember the "uniqueness" of this one. Last time, the GPS got us lost. We ended up at Elmendorf Air Force Base. The lady sentry told us we had to turn around where we were. Dean said the area was too small. She assured him that he could. Well, we couldn't. Dean blocked traffic entering and exiting the base while he unhooked the toad, maneuvered the RV, and then re-attached it.
We called the RVpark for directions. The lady had us driving in circles for 15 minutes, as I relayed her directions. Dean became frustrated, but he was ready to shoot the messenger, not the dingbat whose directions I was relaying. I gave him the phone so he could listen to her himself. In our conversation, I had learned that they were across the street from Costco. So, I saw a nice-looking passerby, had Dean stop the coach, and asked for directions to Costco. He didn't know, but the second time we stopped, we found someone who did, and we managed to get to the park.
This time I had everything under control. I Mapquested directions before we left Denali. I made an on-line reservation and followed up with a phone call to verify. However, I was not at all surprised when Dean told me that when he went in the office they didn't have our reservation. Thank goodness they weren't full! They have kept their reputation as a loony park, but they are nice people. As we pulled into our 2 spaces (the spaces are short, and Dean paid a $4 surcharge to buy the second space), Dean tried to line up the sewer and couldn't find it. He got out and searched. Meanwhile, two neighbors came over and commiserated with him about their problems getting hooked up and positioning. He found a sewer connection in the second space, but it was too far away for our hose (which is long) to reach. Dean walked up to the office, and the intelligent, nice, young lady walked down and told him to enter from the opposite direction that they had marked on the park map. Dean hooked up the Cable TV connection. No reception. Back up to the office. They have the connection, but they don't subscribe. Surprised? No!
We were trying to get set up quickly because we wanted to meet RVForumers Henry and Margaret. Dean wanted to take a shower after he dumped tanks (at Denali the sewer was by our front tire). It was 8:00 before we made it over there. We hadn't eaten for 8 hours, but we really wanted to talk with them. They were leaving early tomorrow morning, so it was now or never. We decided to share where we'll be next so others can give us helpful info. I should have thought of that a long time ago. We really enjoyed meeting them, and we hope to cross paths again. Hopefully, we'll be able to spend more time. I'd stutter step a day or two to be able to listen to more of their stories. Out of all the states, including my own, Texans are my favorite people.
By 9:00, Henry had been standing on his gouty toe for an hour and my stomach was rumbling, so we left for Vallarta's, a favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant we discovered in '09. We have a coupon from Northern Lights for buy one dinner/get $8 off the second dinner, but we'd eat here even if we didn't have a coupon. No ambience, great food. The nice owner saw us pull up and came out to the car to tell us he closes an hour early on Sunday and Monday (8:30). So, we'll go back another time.
Fortunately, we had our Northern Lights coupon book with us. We found another Mexican restaurant, Pancho's Villa. When we drove up, we couldn't figure out where the front of the building was, and we passed it up. We figured it out only because there was junk stored on the backside. The outside was large, bizarre, had no windows. It was made of painted bricks, and it had two tiers of steps surrounding the whole place. We tried entering one door that was painted just like the bricks, but it was padlocked on the side. We found the next door would open, and it took us into the kitchen/rear dining area. When we left, we left through the front door (the back door was now locked), but we had quite a walk to the car. The decor was nice. The dinner was great--very delicious--the best relleno and tamale I've had in many years. The combo was large, but only $11.95 plus $1.95 for the second (with our $10 NL coupon), our cheapest meal of the trip, as well as our best. We only ate half, so we'll have it for another meal, too. I splurged on flan, my second favorite dessert. It was as bad as the dinner was good. We have another coupon, so it's likely we'll be back. I
knew I was right in eating in at the beginning of the trip and saving our food dollars for Anchorage and Homer. So far, so good!
Staying at Golden Nugget RV Park--$42--2 spaces (upcharge of $4, but the second one doesn't have a sewer connection), FHU, slow WiFi, TV from the air that we can't seem to get--probably us, not them, close spaces, conveniently located, no mosquitoes!!
June 25 Day 39 Anchorage, AK
Today was dedicated to getting our lives back in order. Our satellite still isn't receiving and our bird-on-a-wire for Direct TV needs for the satellite to work and to be readjusted to a new setting, and we are trying to find out what that setting is. If we can't get this stuff working, we will stop the monthly service charges on all of it, which will save significant money. Last time, we didn't have it, and I rather enjoyed going into the libraries and cafes to try to find internet. The coach needs a thorough cleaning, inside and out. Washing and shopping need to be done.
We worked all morning. At 12:30, we set off for brunch. I have lots of buy one lunch/get a lunch or dinner free coupons in my Northern Lights coupon book, and they have on the back of the coupon descriptions of about 20 items from their menu. Dean has been working so hard problem-solving, I let him pick, but I agreed with him.
On our way to Rumrunners, we passed The Lucky Wishbone, a favorite restaurant from our last visit that is on our Must Visit List. We enjoyed talking of our memories as we drove to downtown, where both Rumrunners and the Visitors' Center were located. We found Rumrunners address, and the storefront was vacant! I always look up restaurants on Trip Advisor before we go, but my apps are all frozen and I can't use them--another problem Dean will try to solve. If I had looked it up, I would have found the first item there said it was closed. Dean had been using the computer to solve our other electronic problems, and when we decided to go to lunch, I was so hungry that I skipped looking it up. I won't do that again.
So, back to The Lucky Wishbone we went. The Lucky Wishbone was founded in 1955 by George & Peggy Brown. He was a bush pilot who flew out of the tiny Anchorage Airport, right across the street. They started with "Fresh Air Pan Fried Chicken" and milkshakes. They now are famous for their onion rings, homemade chili, extra lean ground beef, strawberry shortcake with homemade old fashioned buttermilk biscuits, corn muffins, malts, and sundaes with 10 different toppings. When we were here in '09, Peggy had passed away, but we got to talk with George, who was 87 years old. He was bussing tables, carrying a large, heavy tub of dirty dishes, serving customers ice water, and chatting with other patrons. This restaurant seats well over 100 people. At age 87, he still flew his airplane in his spare time! He has rules. You can't come in and order to-go. You must go through the drive-through. No one waits very long because everyone hustles, even George. The American work ethic leading to success worked quite well for him. He won a place in my heart.
This time, the first thing I did when I got to Anchorage, was to call TLW and find out that George was still alive. So, I was disappointed when we came in today and found that George had left just 5 minutes before. He is at the restaurant every day for hours, and sometimes he comes in twice a day. Oh, well, the good food was still there, and maybe we can come back in again and see him while we are here.
The restaurant is laid out efficiently, but comfortably. The tables are lined up in a row, with menus in a holder at each table. The couple at the next table were "snowbirds", have lived in Alaska since 1966 (he moved from Fullerton, CA, our neighbor) and birth (she). They are our age, so they live in Wasilla (Home of Sarah Palin) in the summer, and they now spend winters in Yuma and Hawaii. I love listening to Alaskans! When they are gone in the winter, they have the house wired to notify them if there is a burglar, temperature drop, or increase in humidity (indicating a water leak). Neighbors also check on it. Neither moose nor bear are their biggest problem--pack rats are. They chew up the hoses on his truck and make their nests in the engine area. Alaskans are problem solvers. After trying several methods to keep them out unsuccessfully, he now places a salt lick by the rear tire of the truck. He figured out that they wanted the salt on the hoses in his truck. They haven't destroyed anything or made any nests in his truck since he started doing this.
They also told us that global warming is here. They have had more days over 70? this year already than they normally have in 3 years. In a normal year, 300,000 acres burn. Right now, over 500,000 are on fire, and it is just June. They really rely on their rain. Winds dry out trees very quickly, and with the lightning striking, they ignite immediately, with wind blowing the embers into dense undergrowth. Almost all of their fires are caused by lightning. They let them burn unless there are homes or people endangered, thereby renewing the forest.
The Anchorage Visitors Center is a busy log cabin in downtown. Street parking is metered, and we bought an hour's worth. We got lots of good tips. I really want to see beluga whales, so we picked up tide charts (they come in chasing the fish at high tide), information on what's going on, etc.
Then I asked what had happened to Rumrunners. The 3 ladies exchanged meaningful looks with slight smiles. They are supposed to promote tourism, not discuss negative aspects of the city, so I had to play detective and ask direct questions. It seems that it is very, very difficult to lose a liquor license in Alaska, but they did it, AND they were closed down by the city. They not only served to minors, but repeatedly broke every liquor law on the books. Police were frequently called to keep order. But the final straw was "all of the shootings." And, of about a dozen choices, this is the place we chose to have lunch! So much for our choosing.
There was an Audubon-led walk at Potters Marsh that I would have like to go on, but Dean wanted to go see a movie, "Monsters University," at Regal 16. While I enjoy some kids' films, like "Ice Age", this one didn't entertain me. I'd give it a "D"; Dean would give it a "B." The popcorn (Tuesdays $2) was our dinner.
We came back home, and Dean worked on my phone until 1:30. He has restored 7 of the 13 apps. WiFi here is really slow.
Staying at Golden Nugget RV Park--$42--2 spaces (upcharge of $4, but the second one doesn't have a sewer connection), FHU, slow WiFi, TV from the air that we can't seem to get--probably us, not them, close spaces, conveniently located, no mosquitoes!!
Headed to Homer, Sodoltna, and Seward
