The debate over food last night ended up with 14 of us - the extended Hicks/Warren family (not counting Ryan's mum and grandma) and us - ending up at Moose's Tooth for some fabulous pizza and home brew. Ryan started a debate loosely about the difference between the casually styled Alaskan fashions, including Polar fleeces and practical but comfy footwear, and the more severe East Coast sophisticates, who according to Bob (predictably provacative) "dress mostly in leather and other black clothes". Whilst it is still early days, I had to pointedly ignore the woman in the smart red dress who walked behind him precisely at that moment, or the group at the table to our left dressed in standard office attire - shirts, ties and business suits for the ladies. Ryan has now rendered his theory unprovable, since my eyes will from now on always be drawn to the exceptions - just like when you are considering buying a particular make of car, and from then on it appears (to your eye) to be the most common car on the road.
Day 2 dawned with our hardy group of yesterday - plus Tom - determined to right the serious injustice of what has become known as 'The Flattop Parking Lot Scandal". We rose early, and were on our way back by 7am to ascend Flattop. "A reasonable 30-45 minute hike..." Ryan had told us. The climb got progressively tougher, the last 150-200 feet was little more than a frenetic clamber over a craggy rockface, and I was heart-bustingly proud of the way Thomas stuck at it to reach the top - 2 hours later. There are no words to describe the views, so take a look at some pictures instead.
Lunch was at the Arctic Roadrunner - I had reconciled myself that today was the day I would actually eat something healthy - a nice salad, maybe some fruit - I ended it with a fabulous cheese and bacon burger and some onion rings. Food is unsurprisingly and welcomingly beginning to be an important feature of this vacation. There are so many reasons to think long and hard about what and where to eat, and it's not just because we are in a unique part of the world. Linda had a Reindeer Dog (yes, a hot dog made with Reindeer sausage) at the zoo yesterday, while we look forward to Alaskan King Salmon, fresh halibut and moose meat. But then there is the nostalgic resonance of visiting Ryan's (and Shane's) old feeding and watering holes, allied to the fact that there is a far higher percentage of unique restaurants here, and a far lower percentage of chain restuarants. Having an abundance of 'local knowledge' with opinions we trust makes for a great opportunity, and I for one am relishing the 'fieldwork' ahead of us.
This evening Linda and Amy had arranged a Stamping Party, and somehow Linda had managed to smuggle supplies, card, stamps and stuff for 19 people to make 5 cards. Whilst this enjoyable social event was underway, the men were relegated to the basement with a case of beer and the Nintendo Wii. Unfortunately the after effects of this mornings climb rendered my knees unusable, so I sat nursing several beers while watching Ryan crush all-comers at Wii Boxing.
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