Tags
Airplanes, Alaska, Alaska King Crab, Anchorage, Earthquake of 1964, Hendersen Inlet, Hilton, How to Eat an Oyster, Moose, Olympia, Oysters, Quicksand, Reindeer Hot Dogs, Sacks Cafe, Seafood, Sleeping Lady, Spenard Roadhouse, Super Tots, Turnagain Cove
June 10, 2013 – Anchorage
Kelle and I got an early start to Anchorage on a 7:05 am flight this morning. Luckily for me the drive to the airport is only 15 minutes away at that time of day. Poor Kelle was coming over from Poulsbo and left the house around 4:30 am. Needless to say we both slept en route.
Once we arrived at the airport, I happened to see a friend for who we had just had a going away barbecue yesterday since he will be fishing in Alaska for six weeks. He happened to have a connection in Anchorage while I was passing through. Small world!
We enjoyed a brief tour of Anchorage on our way to the Hilton. We drove through the private airstrips. At least 1 in every 5 families own a plane here, as many small communities in inland Alaska can only be reached by plane. Many homes even have dirt landing strips near their homes. We stopped to watch a few as they took off out of the water.
We stopped at Turnagain Cove where Beluga Whales are often spotted. However, it was low tide, so they were most likely feeding farther out in the ocean. From the viewpoint we could see downtown Anchorage on one side of us and the Sleeping Lady on the other, a mountain range that resembles the figure of a woman sleeping on her side. The legend is that there was once a woman whose husband had to go out to sea, and she vowed to wait for him on shore until he returned. She fell asleep waiting, and though some of the other fishermen heard he had perished, didn’t have the heart to wake her, so she continues to wait.
After a few photos, we jumped back in the van and I explained to our guide how, after four years of traveling to Alaska for college basketball, I still hadn’t seen a moose or the Northern Lights, to items on my bucket list. She was astounded I hadn’t yet seen a moose, and was sure she could find one at our next viewpoint. Sure enough, right around the corner was a moose grazing on the side of the road! The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Check! Northern Lights, please? That will have to wait until winter, when I also cross off a new item on my bucket list of attending the Iditarod.
We continued through the park while our guide talked about the great earthquake of 1964, which had a magnitude of 9.2 and lasted for 3 minutes, the second largest earthquake recorded in history. The only reason it is not well known is because not a great deal of people were affected (about 143 people perished). However, there were many homes on the land that fell with landslides along the Knik Arm. We drove along a craggy cliff with what looked like beaches at the bottom. However, our guide explained that these aren’t actually beaches, but more like quicksand. It is very dangerous, and though there are warnings all over not to walk out there during low tide, there are always a few people who dare to try and don’t make it back. It reminded me of how Matt and I just went kayaking a few weekends ago in Henderson Inlet in Olympia with my Uncle Dave. It turned out to be a full moon that night, causing the lowest tide of the year. When we attempted to come back to shore, our feet sunk about a foot into the sand, making it nearly impossible to get out. If that was scary, I can’t imagine what it would be like in the much more dangerous “beaches” of Alaska.
Driving into downtown Anchorage was bizarre, because I have only experienced Anchorage in the darkness of January. We somehow hit the jackpot and arrived during some of their best weather, with 70 degrees and sunny skies, the forecast looking similar the entire week! It is nicer up here than in Seattle! There were vendors selling reindeer hot dogs (I am dying to try one), people roaming the streets, shops had their doors open, flowers were blooming everywhere… it is like a whole different city than what I have seen up here! I can see why many love to come to Alaska during the summer, and probably end up staying if they experienced weather like this!
Settling into our hotel, Kelle called me over to the mirror in a panic. After we disembarked from the plane we had stopped by the restroom to freshen up for the tour, and Kelle had put in some eye drops and her contact lenses. Since then, her eye had been irritating her. Once we returned to the hotel, she looked into the mirror and noticed her irritated eye was completely dilated, while the other was a pinpoint! It was pretty freaky, and I have a lack of a poker face that probably showed complete horror. I get pretty squeamish about eyeball issues, and can’t even touch my own. She ended up calling around and was able to get a hold of a doctor who tracked it back to the eye drops she put in. Luckily it was only the drops and it wore off later in the afternoon. Phew! We were a little worried a hospital visit was in store.
We ate a delicious scallop salad outside of the Spenard Roadhouse, a funky little restaurant that features specialty bacon dishes and super tots – tater tots covered in melted cheese and bacon bits. We of course had to order a sample of their specialty dish! It took me back to the good old days of Jake’s on 4th, Saturday night drag shows with an order of tots and Oly beers with the girls.
For dinner, we ate at Sacks Cafe for what we heard was some of the freshest and most amazing seafood in town. And boy, it did not disappoint. We had the crab cakes and oysters as an appetizer (my first time trying them!).
For those of you who don’t know how to eat oysters, here is what I learned:
1) Pour the butter/sauce over the oyster, and make sure most of it gets in the oyster. I accidentally missed my oyster and most of the sauce went on the plate.
2) You can either pick up your oyster with a fork, or go for it, pick up the shell, and dump the butter-soaked morsel down your throat. I picked the former, as I was wearing a nice blouse (of which I did not bring many), and since I couldn’t even pour the butter into the oyster, I figured I would not take my chances oyster to mouth.
3) Some people chew them, some people swallow. I got a little nervous looking at its rubbery texture and figured I would let the little sucker slide down my throat. However, this way I didn’t really get a chance to taste what butter ended up making it onto the oyster.
4) Pretty much anything tastes good covered in butter and garlic (like escargot!), so you can’t really go wrong!
I also ordered the most amazing King Crab I have ever tasted. They even cut it in half so I didn’t have to dig for it, and it just slid right out of the legs. It was PERFECT! The locals told us that if you want fantastic, Alaskan seafood to go to Sacks, and I can second that recommendation!
Later in the evening, when it still felt like 7:00 pm due to the sunlight but was really about 9:30 pm, my cousin Ellie and I were talking about the possibility of meeting up for a drink. However, she told me she had burnt her hand cooking and had her hand stuck in a bowl of cold water (yikes!). Luckily we will still have Thursday night to get together.