Wild About Anchorage

Tee-shirt row

This is a summer to remember for sure. The weather has been perfect. Activities abound, and my personal recovery from double knee replacement is almost complete. However, I read in local news that the tourist business is down, and those that are here are spending less. Downtown appears to be pretty crowded with these tourists, and all the restaurants have waiting only during the dinner hour, so who’s to really know the stats.
The baseball season is half over, and the Anchorage Bucs, my team, is near the to of the Alaska Baseball League. Today is Bastille Day, and the traditional show at Jens Restaurant is sure to draw a crowd as always.

The big Petroleum Club golf tournament finishes the week . . . the field draws over 400 golfers, and their charity remains the First Tee Program. . . there’s always plenty of partying as the club hosts the players, volunteers and guests to a steak dinner under a triple tent on the grounds behind the club, and dancing indoors.

Anchorage knows how to throw a party, and this could be called party week by me, anyhow, as I’m going to test my new knees and try to get to all of the above.

Those who chose to leave the big city often head to Spencer Glacier, which is accessible by train only. It’s a beautiful place, and rafting and kayaking are popular there. This is midway between Anchorage and Seward, and the route is much more beautiful than the drive, altho’ I will say the road has been improved and you can reach Seward (from Anchorage) in two hours now.

Beautiful Summer in Anchorage

My blogs have been minimal this month since I’m recovering from double knee surgery, and no one wants to hear about ‘pain’ . .. in fact, every time I mention it, the reply is, “Well, you elected to do it”, so I’m suffering in silence. The bright side is that my neighbor/caregiver/friend has brightened my condo, deck, and rooftop patio with flowers galore and the image above is one of the “Salmon on Parade” from downtown. You see, each summer Anchorage displays like salmon with themes around the downtown area so the tourists, and locals too, can follow the map to see them displayed, and at the end of the summer there’s a big charity auction to spread them around. This is just one of the joys of walking around downtown Anchorage, as they have music concerts, fairs, markets, and constant activity. The restaurants are abundant, and they’re all crowded, it seems. I have my favorites, but you can’t go wrong just walking into one blindfolded. The ‘downtown’ salmon fishing in Ship Creek just ended, but they pulled some big ones out of there, and it’s faster, easier, cheaper than traveling to the many lodges scattered throughout the state. This is also the time for baseball and our fireworks display followed the double header between the two local teams, the Anchorage Bucs and the Glacier Pilots. They always have a full house for this, and soon we’ll have another big draw – the San Diego Chicken.

There are golf tournaments almost daily, but the big one, with over 400 entries is the Petroleum Club Tournament, which is also a benefit for First Tee Program, which is now thriving in Anchorage. It’s a great opportunity for future golfers to get into the game. Check back soon, and I’ll tell you more.