Goodbye, Denali - Hello, Anchorage.

After a somewhat difficult time the National Park brought (physically, that is), we (my I-somehow-saw-your-hand-pitifully-trying-to-keep-the-door-open-and-only-a-foot-above-the-ground hero and I) trekked a few hours west to the largest city the state has to offer. We had plans the first night we were there to go to an Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zero’s show (I know, right?) at some pub in the Fresno-sized town. It turns out it was an actual theater, with both a balcony and a standing room floor with a conveniently located beer and wine bar in the corner. A band came on prior to the eclectic and trancelike influencing group, and after the first song we both looked at each other, and Nick made a comment along the lines of, “They must be a local band.” True enough, they were voted the Anchorage Daily News Band of the Month for June. Sitting here trying to recall their performance, I can vaguely hear the repeated (on every song, no less [it signaled the end of each tune]) teen-rock screech, a lot of aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh’s. Nick and I had a lot of fun – regardless of the slowly increasing temperature upstairs and the middle-aged men and women grooving to the modern day melodies.

The next day, we awoke from our incredibly hospitable boutique hotel with the receptionist Douglas giving us a list of local hot spots for a decent combination of food, atmosphere and authenticity. It’s been nice, now, since we’ve been able to have a full day to relax and not have a driving schedule blocked out for 8 hours to keep. We did a walking tour of the town, which Douglas had a good laugh out, that led us through the main square, seeking out random sculptures and giant planets. We went to dinner at a fancy restaurant, and, for the first time being here, felt like I didn’t belong. It’s like that sensitivity when you’re at a pool party and the only one without a suit, yet this time consisted of greetings not returned and two orders of burgers weren’t worth a water refill. I know that this is rare here, and can confidently hypothesize that the larger the population, the more room and desire (from some) to feel the need to reside above others.

There wasn’t too much to do in Anchorage, but far more than Fairbanks (and far less mosquitoes). Our next destination is Homer – a place I’ve been dying to see for a long, long time.