2012 in Review: Alaska Adventures Galore - PART TWO!

Hello there!  If you haven't checked out Part One of my 2012 Alaska Adventures, please mosey on over to see a recap of January - June 2012.  (Pssst, click the "Part One" link above...)  Here's the second installment of my video and photo synopsis of 2012's adventures.  This blog features some of my experiences from July - December 2012.  Enjoy - and know that you, too, can have these awesome adventures if you just put your mind to it!

​Cleared for landing - Juneau, Alaska.

Somewhere in Southeast Alaska (near Juneau).​

Fourth of July Trip to Haines, Alaska

All aboard the Alaska Marine Highway!​

With my buddies, Ben and George.  ​

Pilot approved!

Mom's First Trip to Alaska

No trip to Juneau is complete without a stop at Tracy's Crab Shack.  She's got the best legs in town!​

Commercial fishing near the Shrine of St. Therese.​

​Whale watching with Captain Larry of Orca Enterprises.

Tracy Arm Cruise with Adventure Bound Alaska

BIG splash!

Soulful eyes.​

Quenching my thirst like a real Alaskan.

Mom and I at the Sawyer Glacier.

I love all the action in this sunset shot: cruise ship, fly fisherman, and purse seiner fishing boat.

Summer 2012 was a busy cruise ship season for Juneau.

Seen in downtown Juneau.

​Jumping for joy because I got to take this Cessna 182 from Anchorage to Palmer and back!

Icefield and Dog Sled Tour with Coastal Helicopters


Kodiak Island and a Washed Up Whale

​Saw huge bear tracks up and down the beach near the rotting whale, but the majestic Kodiak Brown Bear was elusive.

Pillar Mountain on Kodiak Island

​And When Back in Juneau...

For ONE SINGLE DAY in 2012, Juneau saw temperatures in the low 80s.  Sonny Bunny was beyond miserable, as was half of Juneau.​

One of the last cruise ships in town for the season.​

2012 was a terrific year because of new friendships shaped and old friendships reconnected.  2012 showed me I am blessed beyond measure!

Christmas Eve in Alabama

I celebrated Christmas Eve this year in Alabama, my hometown.  Needless to say, there wasn’t snow on the ground like there was in Alaska, but it was still a lovely holiday.  I cooked a herb-crusted standing rib roast (recipe below), and Mom did an outstanding job with the Christmas decorations.  It really felt like home.  And of course Momma was happier than a hog laying in the sunshine because I was finally home for the holidays.

My Momma, the goofball.

Donning my new frilly apron from Anthropologie.

Ta da!  The standing rib roast.

The holiday spread.  We are so blessed to have food on the table.

My tummy is grumbling just posting this photo.  Yum!

A Riesling toast.

Recipe - Herb-Crusted Rib Roast

This is probably the only time you'll see a recipe on this blog.  And this is also likely the easiest, tastiest, simplest recipe you've ever come across.

Ingredients
1 standing rib roast (4-5 lb)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, coarsley chopped
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Season roast on all sides with salt, pepper, and garlic (wash hands). Place roast on rack in medium-size roasting pan. Bake 1 1/2 hours.
  2. Chop parsley. Combine with bread crumbs and rosemary.
  3. Remove roast from oven. Coat roast with mustard and then bread crumb mixture. Bake 1 more hour or until roast is 145°F (medium-rare) up to 170°F (well-done). Use a meat thermometer to accurately ensure doneness. Transfer roast to cutting board; let stand 10-15 minutes before slicing. Serve.

From Alaska to Alabama: Week One

(blogging today from Huntsville, Alabama)

Today marks one week that I left Alaska for a long-awaited and much needed excursion down South.  It has been a whirlwind of a trip so far, catching up with family and close friends, eating a ridiculous amount of Southern food, and marveling at the warm winter temperatures.

Traveling from Alaska to Alabama isn’t always easy.  This trip included the “milk run” out of Juneau, which took me through rural Southeast Alaska with stops in Petersburg, Wrangell, and Ketchikan.  I then traveled to Seattle, took the red-eye to Atlanta, and a short hop over to Birmingham, Alabama.

Regardless of the jet-lag, it is so much fun being back in The South.  Here’s a photo synopsis of my trans-continental travels and my first week in Bama:

All aboard the Boeing 737-400 Combi aircraft in Juneau!  This is a combination cargo and passenger aircraft with all passengers way in the back.

It never fails.  The moment I depart rainy Juneau, the sun starts shining!

De-icing the plane in Petersburg, Alaska.

Petersburg Airport.  Not to be confused with St. Petersburg Airport.

Wrangell Airport

Ketchikan International Airport

An Eskimo and the moon.

Deplaning at the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport

First class fruit plate. 

Watching "The Dark Knight Rises" and drinking champagne during my red-eye flight to Atlanta.

First stop in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport : CHICK-FIL-A!

Catching up with my good friend, Eduardo, who wore a Nome Ice Golf Classic t-shirt in honor of my visit. 

Noshed on a Krispy Kreme Doughnut Milkshake at the Flip Burger Boutique in Birmingham, Alabama.

A little bit of Alaska at the Anthropologie store at The Summit in Birmingham, Alabama.

I wasn't expecting it to be this warm IN THE WINTER.

The weather was so balmy and hot for me, we had to drive with the windows down.

Sassy shoes!  Glitzy stilettos = a fixture of Southern couture.

I'm not sure if this is practical in Alaska, but it sure is cute in Alabama!

You know you're close to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center when you see Astronaut Ice Cream for sale.  (I think I prefer Eskimo Ice Cream now.)

Catching up with my very good friend, confidant, and mentor, Audrey, who also happens to be a big reason I moved to Alaska.  This woman has changed my life!

Finally able to wear my sunglasses - something I don't do very often in the temperate rainforest of Juneau!

Scoping out Alaska fish condition and prices in Birmingham at the Whole Foods market.

Milo's, it's been too long!  <gulp, gulp>

Shameless promotion of my site at Whole Foods.

Yes, this happened.  Why I'm not working for them, I do not know.

Celebrated my best friend Carmen's 30th birthday with a Murder Mystery Party.  Unbeknownst to me, my character was cast as the killer!

Took part in an OUTSTANDING Christmas service at a new place called Church of the Valley.  I partook in communion and was pleasantly surprised with their use of disposable communion sets.  What a neat idea.

Two Southernisms: "Bojangles" and a fast food discount for going to church.

Stopped in to see "Mr. Jerry," a great family friend.  Jerry Swanson is the founder of Alabama Orthotics and Prosthetics which provided artificial legs to my Dad throughout the course of much of his life.  It's always a pleasure visiting with Mr. Jerry and his wife, Bonnie.

Had a lovely visit with friends, Deb and Tim.  These folks ooze Southern hospitality, and I enjoy soaking up time with them.

There isn't a Target store anywhere in Southeast Alaska.  Needless to say, I was beyond surprised to discover Target is collaborating with Neiman Marcus now!

Talkin' Tuesday: How to Speak Like an Alaskan

Akutaq                                 [a-goo-duck]

noun:  a common food in western Alaska, usually made with ingredients such as Crisco or animal oil, berries, sugar, and fish.  Yupik word for “something mixed.”  Also known as Eskimo ice cream.

Example: “That Akutaq was so tasty, I’m still grinnin’ like a possum eatin’ a sweet tater.”

I first tasted akutaq in Kotzebue, north of the Arctic Circle.  I was at a public event, and a young girl approached me with an old shoebox full of small paper cups, each packed to the brim.  “Would you like some Eskimo ice cream?” she asked.  Famished, I said, “Yes, please,” and took the fullest cup.  This Southern woman never turns down ice cream.

It was then explained to me that the variation of ice cream I was so eager to spoon into my mouth was actually a combination seal oil, salmon, Crisco, loose snow, salmonberries, blueberries, and sugar.  Since trying akutaq with an open mind was the respectful thing to do, I did my usual countdown… 3-2-1… and BOOM!  Flavor explosion!  Rich, gooey, bitter, tart, saccharine, indescribable texture, and unexpectedly pleasing to the palate.  

Try it.  You just might like it.

My first cup of akutaq in Kotzebue, north of the Arctic Circle.

The tentatively first taste.

A box full o' akutaq at the 2012 Alaska Federation of Natives in Anchorage, Alaska.