These are the things which have consumed my life for the past three days. It has been a wonderful vacation in Anchorage… feels like a working vacation, but vacation nonetheless. Hold on, let me refill my Dixie-cup-sized paper-hotel-cup with a cocktail…
Okay, so we arrived in Anchorage at 10am on Thursday, grabbed the keys to the rental car, loaded our 2 Rubbermaid tubs and empty cooler (aka luggage) into a cherry-red Toyota Tercel and headed straight to Sushi-Ya for lunch, after searching for the DMV for an hour to collect a title history on my car (another blog waiting to happen). Lunch consisted of an incredibly fresh variety of salad, miso soup, rice noodles, sesame chicken, more salad, sushi rice, those little fried Chinese dumpling things, tempura shrimp and vegetables, and ahi tuna sushi. … ahhhh… heaven. (wait! I just realized that we never got our fortune cookie!)
Then, we spent the afternoon at the Dimond Mall, Sarah shopping her heart out and me carrying the bags. LOL. We made a quick run through Wal-Mart for hair dye and make-up… lots of make-up… before we headed to the hotel to check in and color our hair side by side in the bathroom – a true mother/daughter moment. We met my friend Ann (with our new hair) for 6 o’clock reservations at Orso’s – an amazing Italian restaurant in downtown Anchorage. Fried Calamari, Caprese Salad (fresh, homemade mozzarella and vine ripened tomatoes), Seafood Pasta (Alaskan Halibut, Salmon, King Crab, and shellfish) proved to confirm Orso’s incredible reputation for great food in a terrific, calming atmosphere.
After dinner, Sarah’s friend, Stephanie, and her mom, Lori, met us back at the hotel. They had driven up from Homer just for the night to spend time with us. Stephanie and Sarah went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter at the new IMAX Theatre while Lori and I enjoyed cocktails, laughter, and shared stories of our crazy lives. The girls took a cab home, but Lori and I were in bed long before they arrived. LOL.
Friday, Sarah and I were up in time to enjoy a delicious lunch of Jambalaya Pasta (for her) and Strip Steak over Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes (for me) at the Glacier Brewhouse before heading to meet my attorney (see above mentioned “car” blog waiting to happen) at 1pm. We then headed out shopping once again.
We walked into Sullivan Arena just as the National Anthem was being sung. The UAA Seawolves Hockey team beat the St. Cloud Huskies 3-2 in sudden death overtime. It was a great game and we ate dinner (chicken tenders and fries) in our seats and also enjoyed flavored coffee and caramel apple cider. Leaving with UAA Seawolves hoodies in tow, it was a good night.
Saturday morning, we ate a leisurely breakfast in the hotel before heading out for day three of shopping – this time to Costco, where we filled two carts, packed the goods into tubs and mailed them back to Kwethluk from a nearby Post Office. Then, we headed to Wal-Mart, filled another cart and left it in the Bush Delivery department for them to pack up and mail to us. After that, we headed to the 5th Avenue Mall where Homer kids were killing time while in Anchorage for the All-State Band and Choir competitions. I got to spend a quick hour chatting with my dear friend, Amy (band director), before they left to go back to Homer. After leaving the mall, Sarah and I went to Target where I actually found a couple of pairs of jeans long enough to fit my tall frame. We were back at the hotel, exhausted and hungry, by 8 o’clock so we just ordered dinner to be delivered – gyros and Caesar salad – what a perfect way to end a busy, shopping weekend.
Sunday morning found us packing up and heading to the airport. It was a busy week, but a so-needed respite from village life. We went home rejuvenated, anti-frumped… hoping that attitude will take us to Christmas.
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