One Last Anchorage Day

Rainbow!

pretty flowers in downtown Anchorage

We're off to Anchorage for the day.  Our first stop is the Home Depot, so I can pick up some paint chips to contemplate. I'm thinking about repainting the house when we return to the US.  Right next door is the Joann's superstore...and I find my elusive tailor's ham!  Luckily there's room in the suitcase to pack some more goodies. (Side note:  It was in use on the last few versions of the tunic I wrote about previously.)   We have lunch at one of the (many) sausage stands around central downtown. I have the reindeer sausage, but it doesn't really taste different from any other sausage. 

One puzzle, but you're in multiple rooms.

Then we're scheduled for the Anchorage Escape Room!  It's not affiliated with the Tokyo ones, but there are some similarities (such as no obvious red herrings). One difference is they limit you to three hints. The four of us come close to solving the puzzle in time, but we don't quite make it. It's still fun, though!

Next we send the guys to the Glacier Brewery with the complimentary $20 gift card we receive from the Escape Room, and Mom and I visit the The Quilted Raven and some of the gift shops.  I find a unique pottery mug that comes with a fitted rubber lid - that will make it nice for travel or quilt retreats!  I resist buying any more earrings from my favorite designer, though I do get another t-shirt.  I also hold back from buying anything else for Tie-Dye - I've got quite a stash for him since I feel bad that he's had eye problems since we've been gone. 

The starting line of the Iditarod!

We have time to stop by the hotel and relax for about an hour before our final activity - the Anchorage Culinary Tour.  Jared is a fantastic guide, and we discover some new places.   I'm bummed that it's our last night when we go on the tour - normally we go at the beginning in case we want to revisit a restaurant, but it didn't work out that way this time. We start out at the Kobuk Shop for tea and doughnuts. I'm not a big fan of either one, but they are both excellent! The tea is a cinammon/orange/cloves blend, with no added sweeteners, but tastes wonderful - perfect for a cold night.   I rarely eat doughnuts, but these are very tasty! Steve runs to the cafe to buy two more so we have breakfast for the next morning.

Look at all those oyster choices!

We then stop at The Bubbly Mermaid, a restaurant we wanted to try but didn't have time.  Big mistake!  It's fantastic! They have about 15 different varieties of "cold" oysters you can order and about 15 different varieties of "hot" (cooked) oysters. We would have sat down and ordered one of everything!  It's very busy, and Jared tells us the owner is planning to open two more restaurants on the same street in the near future.

I've missed Greek food!

The next location is a food cart back near the Visitor's Center, for reindeer gyro.  It's another fantastic item. We should have had lunch here.  Interestingly, I just read in a book that reindeer was introduced to the Alaskan native diet by the US government in the late 1800s, after whaling ships spent decades depleting the mammal life in the area (their traditional food source).

The closest salmon fishing to Anchorage.

We walk down the big hill towards the railroad station and go to the Bridge Seafood Restaurant, which is packed.  I've never heard of this place, but it's right on the river and we can watch people fishing for salmon while we wait a couple of minutes for our table to be ready.  Once we're seated, we have a full entree of salmon steak, Alaskan veggies, potatoes, and bread.  Oh, and we can have a glass of wine or beer, too. It's the first food tour I've been on where we had a full meal (versus lots of little plates). It's all good, and I think my parents might return 
                                                                             for the all you can eat crab over the weekend.
 

It's a full dinner plate!

Here's the shop!

We hike back up the hill for the final spot - Wild Scoops Ice Cream.  This is another shop owned by a local (actually, all the places have been locally owned), and it's been open just a few months.  She creates flavors that usually have an Alaskan influence (Mom and I both have the coconut-birch syrup ice cream. Very good!).  It's incredibly popular - the line runs all the way down the sidewalk. Jared goes inside to see if we're able to get our treats without waiting, and we are, though we don't get to meet the owner - which we've gotten to do at all the other locations (another nice "extra" that doesn't always occur on a food tour).  Previously, the owner had run a test kitchen for a few years in a nearby location, and on Thursdays people could go to try the ice cream and give their opinions, and she sold quart sizes cartons. Then she decided to go ahead and open the shop, and has had great success.  She's already been written up in the New York Times.

Here's my ice cream!

Here's part of the line!

Then it's time to say our goodbyes and for Steve and me to go to the hotel.  We have a 3:30am wake up time so we can catch our 6:00am flight the next morning.  Our travel goes well, and even though we wake up early, it seems easier to do the long flights during the day versus trying to get a night's sleep on the plane.  We're glad to have Tie-Dye returned to us, so we can see how he's really doing.  He's seems okay, and we'll have his eyes checked out at the eye clinic next week.  He still manages to have lots of fun playing at the kennel!

Will jump for treats!

Poodles are his favorite!  Who knew Tie-Dye has a type??

He even makes a "big dog" friend!