July 03 - Anchorage, AK

A totem in the new Anchorage Museum ... we ate lunch way below this raven.


07/03/2008
- Granola and green tea for breakfast, and tv watching
- we eventually amble down to the Anchorage Museum, BH remembers the old museum in its old location, in his words "It did not amount to much" ... the new museum is much larger ... it even has its own restaurant "The Marx Bros. Cafe", which is doing a fairly brisk business, (which is where we are sitting, because BH is famished ... practically ready to faint, he tickles my funny bone when he whines ... I recommend the Portobello Mushroom Sandwich, very tasty)

- The new museum has an entire Iditarod Sled Dog Race collection donated by the founder's family "Joe Redington Sr.", a large display of artifacts and how Alaskan's have looked through the years, an art gallery, and native housing examples

- BH is highly irritated by the urine smell in every doorway we've passed in Anchorage, he wonders what the city is going to do to clean it up
- We are walking along, trying to find something to eat, the Brewhouse has pizza for me but considering our previous experience BH doesn't want to chance it; the Orso has an expensive Vegan pasta dish but we've seen all the seafood dishes at home; and we continue walking to this little hole in the wall called Ginger, a Thai restaurant located at 425 west 5th, between E and D streets, which has delicious upscale food

- We've seen a lot of tourist trinkets the last couple of weeks, both high end and low, and we're surprised at the changes we've seen over the last twenty or so years ... the useful, basic items made by first nations members are nowhere to be found, everything has been spiffed up for the tourists, the natives would never have used this floofy junk ... another unique crafting gone in the search for money, sigh
- A lot of the ivory pendants I've seen have little gold nuggets glued in the middle, kinda like a seasame seed stuck in your teeth, ruins both items ... what a waste and a total turn off
- BH is really disappointed by restaurants that serve grocery food, you know, the kind that you pick up and heat and eat ... we've seen a couple of these along the way