Bravo for Brewskis

Before I moved to Alaska, I didn't really care for beer. Okay, I'll be honest: I hated the taste of it.  But having now lived in Juneau for six years, I've discovered that my taste buds just weren't well developed enough in the Deep South with all that Coors Light and Budweiser floating around (no offense, Clydesdales).

The exciting thing about Juneau is that it's home to the Alaskan Brewing Company, an internationally recognized, award winning craft brewery founded in 1986. And I must say, I actually like beer now!

This evening, our hometown brewery hosted an invitation-only event at the Twisted Fish restaurant downtown near the cruise ship docks.  It felt like half of Juneau showed up to sample different flavors and welcome in summer. 

I sampled the (new to me) Icy Bay IPA, but Raspberry Wheat is still my favorite.

Thanks, Alaskan Brewing, for rolling out the red carpet for your fans! 

With co-founder, Geoff Larson.  Learn more about the founders, Geoff and Marcy, in this Craft Beer feature.

View fullsize

My good friend, Gretchen, was visiting from Anchorage. She runs an awesome blog - www.gretchenlovesanchorage.com - which I encourage you to check out!

Cinco de Mayo

Winter in Juneau this year was practically nonexistent. We didn't get a lot of snow, which made the winter days drag on and on. What I've discovered through my years of living in Alaska is that sometimes you just have to get out of town. And get outta dodge we did!

Along with two good friends who joined me for a Mexico adventure, I traveled to Puerto Vallarta for some much needed rest, relaxation, and sunshine. 

Mucho gracias to the Westin Resort and Spa for a truly memorable and luxurious stay.  

Here are a few snapshots from our time South of the Border.  

That Time Again

It's that time again, folks. Cruise ship season, Juneau's bread and butter. Time to roll out the red carpet for nearly one million visitors coming to our fair city from all around the world.  

Today, we welcomed our first two cruise ships of the year - Holland America's Westerdam and Celebrity Cruise Line's Solstice.  The MS Westerdam measures in at 833 feet long, and the MS Solstice is a whopping 1,033 feet in length. Simply put, the presence of these massive ships cruising down Juneau's Gastineau Channel is a sight not hard to miss. 

For me, it's always a delight watching boats - large or small - as they dock downtown. But on a bright and sunny day like today, with temperatures reaching 60+ Fahrenheit, I was especially excited for our first round of new visitors. Tourists certainly got a treat today with perfect weather, calm seas, and golden sunlight. 

Here are just a few snapshots from this spectacular day.  

Million Dollar View

A week ago, I went on a spontaneous camping trip "out the road" here in Juneau. Our tents were set up near a rocky cliff high above the water, and after midnight, we watched orcas in the moonlight as they swam through Favorite Channel. The next morning, I awoke to this million dollar view. 

I think I need to go camping more often.