2009 - Friday, July 24 (Alaska)

MEM-FAI
Alaska
July 17 - July 25

• In the morning, we went to a dog sled demonstration. It was pretty interesting, despite the absence of snow...the sleds were modified with small wheels so that the dogs could pull them. We departed Denali N.P. and headed north/east to Fairbanks, where we were flying from to Memphis the following day. Once in Fairbanks, we checked into the Hampton Inn off the interstate (well, highway).
• A nice lady on the plane from Memphis to Fairbanks had told Nick about the University of Alaska Museum. She recommended going if we had time. So, since we had time today, we opted to check it out. The newest addition to the museum had quite the assortment of exhibits, ranging from Native Alaskan art to a room called "The Place Where You Go To Listen," which was essentially a light and sound show tuned to the seismic activity of the Earth in real time. The older part of the museum was really just a mess, we thought. It appeared that everything that was in the museum before the addition had been shoved into one gallery and then signs and placards were placed on the stuff to try to teach you things. Not to mention the extreme oldness of the busload of people that were there. They enjoyed walking in front of us and stopping to look at an exhibit...right in front of us. Multiple times. We couldn't handle it anymore, so we went outside for a photo op.
• After leaving the museum, we went downtown to find out what there was to do. The answer is 'not much.' We walked around for a while and finally went into a bar called Mecca. The locals there stared us down while we ordered and drank a beer. They were all buying pull tabs (a version of the lottery) and swearing/yelling loudly. We had only one beer - that was plenty of time spent there.
• After that we decided to go back to the Pump House bar/restaurant that we had gone to the first day of the trip. We had several beers and played pool for a while before heading back to the hotel.
  
• After getting back to the hotel, we ate and then watched television. The next morning we packed everything up, headed to the airport and back to the god-awful heat of the Memphis summer.
  

2009 - Thursday, July 23 (Alaska)

MEM-FAI
Alaska
July 17 - July 25

• We took the 9:30 AM green bus to Eielson stop 66 miles in. During the trip, we saw 3 grizzlies and about 5 cubs, lots and lots of caribou and a couple Dall Sheep. No moose...
• Our driver was Elton Parks - he was quite a storyteller. He had been driving the summer buses for many years, and was pretty knowledgeable on the animals, plants, and geologic formations in the park. At any time, if a passenger wanted to stop to take pictures, or view wildlife, you just yelled "STOP" and he would stop the bus and everyone would take pictures or ask questions about whatever it was that we were seeing.
• Overall, the drive to the Eielson Visitor Center was beautiful - the scenery alone was pretty amazing. We were at the Visitor Center for about an hour, then got on the bus back to the park entrance. While boarding the bus, we became aware that some rednecks in the back of the bus had brought a cooler (which was ok) but it was full of beer and they were pretty inebriated. A ranger (gun included) was brought on to escort the gentlemen off the bus. Apparently alcohol and drunkenness is discouraged on national park-sanctioned vehicles. Go figure.
• Mt McKinley (Denali) is the tallest mountain in North America at 20,000 feet. It is generally not visible due to weather - clouds, rain, etc. However there are days where even just a few minutes of visibility is possible. This is still pretty rare though. We were on the bus, returning to the park entrance, and suddenly a passenger yelled "STOP" meaning there was something to look at! Sure enough, we turn around toward the way we were coming from (the visitor center, in the direction of Denali) and the north face of the mountain had suddenly come into view! We got some pictures (we were about 60 miles from the mountain) and then headed off again.
• Back at the campsite, we cooked dinner (potatoes and beans).
• It was very cold and windy. We didn't pack enough warm clothing!
• BOD: leftover Alaskan
• Mileage: 0 (132 on the bus)

2009 - Wednesday, July 22 (Alaska)

MEM-FAI
Alaska
July 17 - July 25

• We left Anchorage at 10 AM via Highway 1. Drove through Wasilla (home of you know who), and headed toward Denali National Park via George Parks Highway.
• We arrived at the park around 2 PM. We found a campsite in the park for $28/nt, paid our entrance fee of $10 per person. Then we ate lunch ($25) at the cafeteria/restaurant at the visitor's center.
• At the visitor center we also watched a short film on the history of the park, the mountain after which it is named, and this area of Alaska.
• In Denali, cars are not permitted to drive through the park. Auto access is limited to about 15 miles in. This is a park the size of the state of Massachusetts, covering about 6 million acres. In order to see the interior of the park, visitors must purchase a bus pass. The park operates buses that take visitors in to different points along the 92 mile park road. We decided to go to the Eielson stop, about 66 miles in. We purchased tickets for the ride, at $32 per person. The trip to Eielson takes 8 hours, round trip (the innermost point in the park, Kantishna, takes 13 hours for the 92 mile [184 RT] trip).
• Mileage: 1190
• Gas: $25
• Beer of the Day: Alaskan White, Moose Drool

2009 - Tuesday, July 21 (Alaska)

MEM-FAI
Alaska
July 17 - July 25

• We left Skilak Lake around 10 AM via Seward Highway and grabbed breakfast at Sunrise Cafe in Cooper Landing.
• Drove Highway 1 along Turnagain Arm to Anchorage. We got to Anchorage around 2:30 and checked into the Hilton downtown.
• Walked around downtown to check out the sights. We decided to rent a couple bikes from Downtown Bicycle Rental and go for a ride. We chose the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, which goes from downtown, through a park, and around the airport and then back. We rode about 10 miles, during which a rogue biker stopped along the trail and Nick crashed into him, resulting in a banged up knee and leg. Everyone survived though, and we made it back downtown where we stopped at a gift shop to buy some stuff for Amanda, who was watching the doggies back in Memphis.
• Had dinner at Orso then headed back to the hotel and watched a movie (Adventureland).
• Mileage: 940

2009 - Monday, July 20 (Alaska)

MEM-FAI
Alaska
July 17 - July 25

• Departed Primrose at 10 AM and on the way to Skilak Lake, we stopped in Moose Pass, AK so that Nick could mail his mom a package of stuff.
• We took the Sterling Highway to Skilak Lake and set up camp at Upper Skilak Lake campground. Found an excellent site (C6, $5), pitched the tent, then headed to Kenai.
• In Kenai, we found an old Russian Orthodox Church that overlooked the Cook Inlet. The priest tried his best to sell us trinkets and other junk that the church was selling, but we resisted him

In Soviet Russia, junk sells YOU

• Walked next door to a cafe (Veronica's Coffee) and had the best food we've eaten so far on the trip. There were a lot of fishermen salmon fishing on the shoreline outside the area where the church and cafe were located.

• Stopped at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (.pdf) visitor center in Soldotna and ended up reading a lot of material about the wildlife and checking out all the interpretive exhibits.
• Saw TWO black bears! Separate sightings, but both times they ran across the dirt road as we were driving. No time to get the camera out and snap a quick photo.
• That afternoon at the campground we went for a hike (Vista Trail). The trailhead was in the campground, about 4 miles round trip with an elevation gain of about 800 feet. Very steep, but there were some amazing views of the lake at every turn. ...M C A
  
• At the very beginning of the hike, we came across bear scat, so throughout the walk, we were pretty vigilant about keeping an eye out and making noise to ward off a nasty bear mauling.

Really? You couldn't have walked 2 feet off the trail to do that?

• After that the weather was moderately shitty - rain on and off all day and pretty windy. We ended up cooking over the fire (first cooked meal of the trip - a record!).

Nick, exploring bear proof storage

• An island several hundred yards off the lake appeared to be home to hundreds of water birds that screeched and squawked all night. Very odd.
• Mileage: 817 Gas $31
• BOD - Blueberry Lager

2009 - Sunday, July 19 (Alaska)

MEM-FAI
Alaska
July 17 - July 25

• Packed and left Lake Louise at 10 AM. Took Glenn Highway (AK 1) to Anchorage. Had Mexican for lunch. Left Anchorage via AK 1 and 9 (Seward Hwy), which was an amazing, scenic drive. The highway runs down the coast of Turnagain Arm, part of the Cook Inlet around the Kenai Peninsula. Going south, Chugach State Forest is to the left. The drive was a slow one - drizzling rain and RVs poking along held up traffic. The good thing was, it was a Sunday, so most of the traffic was coming back north toward Anchorage. Plus we didn't have anywhere to go and were in no hurry to get there.
• We had read in the guide book about a private area of the forest where camping was allowed, so we started looking for it. There weren't any clear markings (even road signs), so it was a bit difficult to find. Eventually we drove into the forest far enough (after not driving far enough initially and turning around) and spotted a great site to throw down camp.
• It was still pretty misty and cloudy, so we decided to drive to Exit Glacier, located outside of Seward in Kenai Fjords National Park (about 15 miles away). It's hard to describe, but 'massive' sums it up in one word. It was a nice hike to the base of the glacier - just about 1/2 mile or so. Once at the base, we walked around (no touching; only looking).
• After exploring the glacier, we drove into Seward and did some junk shopping, then had pizza and a couple beers at a local eatery. The town of Seward is a port of call for cruise lines, so everything in the stores tended to be overpriced, but it was a nice town.
• Still drizzling/raining so we called it a night. Only had one beer today (this is very rare)...BOD was Alaskan Coffee Porter and IPA. Headed back to camp to plan the next day's travel.
• Mileage 670. Gas $30.

2009 - Saturday, July 18 (Alaska)

MEM-FAI
Alaska
July 17 - July 25

• Went to Wal-Mart for some supplies. We only spent $60 compared to the $150-200 that we usually spend at the beginning of our summer trips.
• We got on the road out of Fairbanks on the Alaska Highway around 9:30. It was one of the most scenic drives we've been on. We saw lots of moose (7) and other wildlife, in addition to the oil pipeline that followed the highway. We drove through North Pole, Alaska ("Where the spirit of Christmas lives year round"), where there tallest Santa in the world resides. There was very little traffic on the road.
• We stopped along the way and picked up some firewood from a long-fingered lady at Birch Lake. Ate lunch in Glenallen - a place the guidebook says that "the best thing a tourist can find to do is leave." Wich was the truth. Even the lunch was bad. And expensive. We got gas there as well for $41 (@ $3.40/gallon).
• A couple hours later, around 3 PM, we came up on Lake Louise State Recreation Area and decided to camp. Camping was $15/night. We had a great spot away from other people. The scenery at the lake was beautiful. Took a small hike down the shore of the lake and came across moose droppings. They're much smaller than one would think, coming from a massive animal. Kinda disappointing, actually. Yes, the moose poop disappointed us.
• Beer of the day was Alaskan IPA and Amber, along with Natty Light.
• We went to bed around 1:30 and it was still pretty light - just getting dusk.
• Mileage - 320

2009 - Friday, July 17 (Alaska)

MEM-FAI
Alaska
July 17 - July 25

• Depart Memphis (first class, bitches!) at 10:30 through MSP then on to Fairbanks.
• Alaska! From Netstate: On January 3, 1959, Alaska, with a land mass larger than Texas, California and Montana combined, became the 49th state in the union. It is a large state, 1/5 the size of all the other states together, reaching so far to the west that the International Date Line had to be bent to keep the state all in the same day. It's also the only U.S. state extending into the Eastern Hemisphere.
• Arrived in Fairbanks around 6 PM and went from the airport to the Hampton Inn to check in.
• We got a recommendation to check out the Pump House, a restaurant and saloon overlooking the Chena River. It's a National Historic Landmark with lots of very old furniture and decorations - some as old as 150 years old. On the menu (and complimentary postcards) there was a local artist's illustration of a bear tending bar and a patron yelling, "hey beartender" which we thought was the most clever thing all day. The Pump House claimed to be the northern most oyster bar in the US. Which isn't really a stretch, since we were pretty far north, as far as northern-ness is concerned. In addition to oysters, fresh Alaskan salmon is delivered to the restaurant's dock by floatplane. We were in the mood for a couple beers after a long travel day, so we did just that. A few games of pool and several pints later we were ready to head back to the hotel.
• In bed by 11 PM, and it's still very light outside. Midnight sun, indeed.
  

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

MEM-PHL
May 28-30, 2009

• Brad flew into Philadelphia early Thursday for work and Nick came in on Thursday evening. After arriving around 9 PM, he met Brad at the Embassy Suites hotel, which was located at Ben Franklin Parkway and 18th St.
• Brad had to work Friday morning, so Nick explored the area, walking from the hotel down to City Hall.

view of City Hall from hotel

• From there took Market St to the National Constitution Center at 6th and Arch. The experience was a bit frightening - hundreds of school kids, screaming and running around the place. The Center itself was really interesting - a very detailed look at how the US Constitution was created, its purpose and how it has functioned from the creation of the United States to the current day. Visitors start with a presentation from an actor about the history of the Constitution and how the definition of "We the People" has changed over time. From Wikipedia: The main exhibit hall is circular and presents three concentric rings of exhibits: the outermost a chronology of Constitutional history featuring artifacts and original documents, the second ring of interactive exhibits based on the preamble to the Constitution, and the inner ring featuring "talk backs" and ways to participate in the Constitutional dialogue.
• After touring the NCC, Nick met up with Brad at Independence Mall State Park, just down the block. After touring the Liberty Bell Center, we walked to Christ Church Cemetery, where Benjamin Franklin is buried. We then went through Christ Church, which was built between the 1720s and 1740s, and was the tallest building in North America.
• After touring the church, we went to a bar in the Old City district and had lunch and a couple beers, where we experienced a sighting of Danny Bonaduce and a skanky lady friend. Life: complete.
• After having a couple drinks (and lunch) we headed back to the hotel and got ready for a Phillies baseball game. First we got in touch with Nick's friend McKenzie and she came downtown to pick us up in the pouring rain. We went to her place and had a couple beers and hung out with her and her boyfriend. It was still raining on and off, so the game was starting to look questionable. After a while, though, it cleared up so we took the subway to Citizen's Bank Park. It ended up being a great game. After that, we were going to take a cab back to McKenzie's but no cabbies seemed to know that we were actually speaking English when describing the area of the city in which she lived. So we hopped back on the subway and hit up a bar next to the hotel, where McKenzie and John met up with us for a drink.
• On Saturday, we got up in the morning and went downstairs to the hotel restaurant (a TGI Friday's) where whilst eating, Nick noticed a hair in the eggs and a wood chip in the potatoes. Yum.
• After that delicious breakfast, we walked to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Nick ran up the stairs (you know, like in the movie Rocky) while Brad worked hard at making a video of the event (video may be linked here soon if we find it - it truly is spectacular). The museum is fairly large, and we got 'misplaced' a couple times. When we left, we walked down Ben Franklin Parkway to the Academy of Natural Sciences to check out a gecko exhibit that we noticed. After walking through the first 3 floors, Brad started getting anxious, because up until then, it was essentially an elementary school field trip - dinosaur exhibits, cheesy stuffed animals in glass cases, etc. Finally we found a door that was for the gecko exhibit and we were relieved to see that there were LOTS of different kinds of geckos that we could stare at and learn about.
• Back to hotel, packed, and walked down the street to a restaurant called the Mexican Post for lunch - where Brad was promptly shit on by a bird immediately after sitting down at the table on the patio. Luckily he had his bag with him, as we were on the way to the airport, so he was able to change.
• On to the airport, and back to Memphis!
  

Utila, Honduras

MEM-RTB
Roatàn, Honduras - Utila, Honduras
Dec 20, 2008 - Dec 27, 2008

• Nick, Brad and Angie flew through ATL to RTB, arriving in the early afternoon. We hired a cab to take us from the airport to West End, on the western coast of Roatàn. After the 20 minute drive, we met up on the dock with the captain of the catamaran scheduled to take us to the neighboring Bay Island, Utila. The Bay Islands (las Islas de la Bahìa) are comprised of three major islands (Utila, Roatàn, and Guanaja) and a few smaller islands closer to the Honduran mainland.
• We were a bit early for the boat ride, so Captain Vern went to secure beer for the 4 hour journey, and made arrangements with someone that would meet us in Utila to take us to the house that we had rented. Meanwhile, we ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking the harbor and had a few drinks.
• On the boat, we were joined by a few older couples that were really friendly and chatted with them during the trip to Utila. We drank beers and watched the sun set behind Utila, which was steadily getting closer and closer. Also getting closer was Captain Vern...to Angie. He was certainly an admirer, making not-at-all-subtle overtures and being very flirty. Anything Angie said, there was quick innuendo thrown back at her. Angie says that he was humping her back...and his young Guatemalan girlfriend was on the boat.  A symbol of class and nobility, that guy was. 
• Finally - we arrive at the dock on Utila, and it just happens to be a bar/restaurant called the Driftwood. We had a few beers and then out of nowhere the caretaker, Angel, showed up on his scooter to show us where the house was. Nick went with him on the scooter and checked out the house and then drove the golf cart (Club Car) back to the bar to pick up Brad and Angie. Throughout the week, Angie and Nick discovered that Brad was quite an outlaw on the Club Car. Scared for their lives.  Also, midweek we discovered that the CC had a slight "exhaust problem."  Namely, that the muffler under the seat tended to get WAY too hot and at one point started burning the plywood under the seat and melting the vinyl seat cover.  Classy ride!
• We all got to the house and got settled. An odd Mary Poppins statuette was in one of the rooms, so we gave her a tour of the house. Adding to the Odd Things Found in the house category was a vast collection of hats, visors, fanny packs and jackets. We amused ourselves for quite a while. The rest of the evening (it was already pretty late), we dranks beers and hung out on the deck of the house. There were a couple hammocks on the deck that we took advantage of.
• We went to get groceries at the local market the next day. Cooked dinner, went to the beach, and hung out at a beach hut near the house. Rum was flowing (to Ang) and lots of beers that day. The Belmont menthol cigarettes were plentiful.
• Hanging out on the deck, it quickly became obvious that there was a major insect problem, namely thousands of tiny sand flies that bit incessantly. And the bites ITCHED like crazy. Everyone got bit pretty bad whenever we were outside, but for some reason they attacked Nick more than anyone else. Bug spray did not help; within a couple minutes they were back on us. After suffering for a few days we went to the town pharmacy, where the shelf stocking person suggested using the lotion bug repellent instead of the spray. Glad to take anything that might work, we bought a couple bottles and sure enough, it worked wonders compared to anything else we tried.
• We decided to do a sea kayak trip. We rented a couple kayaks and were off...Angie paddled solo in one and had a gimp paddle, but she ended up making it ok. We went from the southern coast of the island through the mangrove canal to the northern coast. It ended up being several miles, but it was a nice workout. Before leaving, Nick popped a couple Benadryl to relieve the intense itching from the sand flies. About halfway through the canal, he started to fall asleep in the back of the kayak. Should have read the label ('may cause drowsiness'). We hung out on the beach for a while before heading back through the canal.
• The following day we went to an iguana sanctuary called the Iguana Station in the interior of the island. It doubled as a research facility where several students helped conduct research on the lizards, their mating habits, and their habitats. A guide (a student from the U.K.) gave us a pretty educational tour. She showed us how they fed the iguanas (a pair of tongs and live crabs - iguanas won't eat dead crabs).
• On the northeastern side of the island was a large hill called Pumpkin Hill. We had wanted to do a hike up the hill, so we drove the CC up to that area. Started on the hike, but somehow got turned around, as signs marking the trails did not exist. Several trails were intersecting other trails, and some were running parallel to each other. We couldn't tell which ones we were supposed to be on and which ones were private property. We ended up just hiking on a trail next to the beach. Which was COVERED in trash. We had learned from the iguana guide that the island does not have a garbage dump. It was pretty bad - the entire beach was covered. Needless to say, we didn't summit the peak of Pumpkin Hill, but we did get a decent walk in, trash and all.
• The next day we found some blowup floating rafts in the lower level of the house and blew them up and got into the water at the house. Problem was, we had to walk out beyond all the shallow water (covered in seaweed) and then could finally get on the rafts once we were a good 50 feet or so off the shore. We floated farther out where we could get in the water and swim. The water was surprisingly shallow - we had to go several hundred feet off shore. At one point, Angie ended up off the raft and her foot struck some coral on the bottom which instantly opened a nicely sized gash and began gushing blood. It took a lot of attention once we were back on shore and in the house to get it to stop bleeding.
• The next day was Christmas! That afternoon we decided to take the club car into the town (for whatever reason) and came across some traffic...foot traffic. Child-sized foot traffic. Immediately behind, and surrounding, the children was a caravan of golf carts, decorated in tinsel and garland with drivers dressed as Santa's helpers. And in the last cart, Santa himself. Everyone on the carts was throwing candy to the children. The children, meanwhile, are going insane with excitement and a frenzy was building among them. And in the middle of this chaos? Us. In our golf cart. Frozen in fear, as we were getting shoved around by the children (yes, ON the golf cart), who were scrambling to collect their candy . It was as though we had run head-on into a cattle stampede where the cattle don't notice you but they know that you're there and they don't like it. Truly frightening. We finally got past the parade and swore we would never forget the tragedy that almost took place on this holiest of days.
• That evening, we went to an Italian restaurant in the town for Christmas dinner. The food was great and the woman that owned the restaurant was very friendly.
• On the 27th, we met Captain Vern at the dock around 6 AM for the ride back to Roatan. The ride was anything but smooth. It began raining and the wind was blowing very hard. The sea started to swell and soon we were being tossed around in the water. Up a 20 foot swell, down 30 feet. Up 15 feet. For nearly 5 hours. It was difficult to stand, but if we sat down or went inside the boat, sea sickness took over. Worst boat ride ever. We made it safely to the airport, however, and back to Memphis/Chicago.