St. Patricks Day in Alaska!!!

Here I am in front of the shop on St. Pattys' Day. I set the camera on a ladder and used the self timer. Hard to see but I'm wearing my Shanahans' Pub shirt that Nate gave me at the farewell party. After all I did take a shower this morning...so time for a clean shirt!

After playing Words With Friends for way too long....I sauntered across the lot to the Harley shop for a free beer brat courtesy of the local HOG. It was actually pretty good.  There was quite a large turnout. Some hardy souls even rode their trikes! Nobody brave/stupid enough to  venture out on two wheels though. A group of cute young Irish dancers showed up and clogged about a bit. Unfortunately the only gal that talked to me was just there to get in out of the cold while waiting for her bus to come. She was happy after winning a free blanket by spinning the wheel of fortune!  A fella actually bought a bike while I was there! As the sign says all 2011's gotta go! Word is this is one of the top dealerships for HD in the whole USA!

It was a beautiful day! Wanting to get some exercise I went on a walk-about. Headed west on Spenard Road towards the airport which took me past a row of Motels that cater to travelers. One of them was the Anchorage headquarters for the Iditarod. So on the way back I stopped in to take a look finding my way to the Fancy Moose Bar inside. I enjoyed a locally brewed IPA while doing the crossword and conversing with Capt, the amiable bar keep. Lots of talk of the impending "break-up" which is what they call spring around these parts.

On the way out I passed the gift shop featuring items commemorating the 2012 event and picked up this. Most of you know I can't pass up a pin when I see one.

While walking back to the shop large chunks of snow and icicles were falling off the rooftops causing me to watch where I was walking. I guess many inattentive pedestrians end up in the ER every year due to this phenom! 

As mentioned previously, it was a beauty of a day! Here's a couple of shots to prove it.

It's kind of like living in a ski resort. Except there are no skiers or lifts There is a resort down the road 45 miles in Girdwood.  http://www.alyeskaresort.com/index.aspx   It sports 9 lifts and a tram but with less than 4000 feet rise. A days lift ticket runs $60.00. The tram ride is $20.00. I might check it out this summer!

Returned to the shop just in time to say goodbye to Phil, Brenden and Jim as they were loading up for a week-long snow machine trip up in the interior. They are driving about 450 miles north then 50 miles more on snow machines to the  Gracious House Lodge. http://www.alaskaone.com/gracious/ There they join up with a group and head out on a winter adventure!

Jim Kohl is the official photographer for Motoquest and knows his craft well! Check out his website. http://jimkohl.com/

The dinner special at Gwennies was corned beef and cabbage with all the fixins! So that's where I headed. What a plate of food! Large portions are the norm at Gwennies and I cleaned my plate! Washed it down with a tall Alaskan Black IPA. While I was dining five cars full of Ancorages' finest amassed in the lot outside. They attracted quite a lot of attention. Consensus was they were preparing to surprise someone up the road. Locals tell me this can be a sketchy part of town at times.

Back at the shop, phone conversations were had with family and friends. It was nice to hear familiar voices. Afterwards I watched the latest episodes of The Colbert Report on the Comedy Central website. That guy cracks me up! The eyelids were getting heavy by then and I turned in for the night.

Ended up sleeping in "big time" Sunday morning an awoke to another crystal clear frigid day! Had some toast with coffee and got caught up in another marathon WWF session. It's a fun way to pass the time and gives me a chance to "chat" while playing.

Weary of cooking on my camping stoves, I ventured out on a quest to buy a hot plate. Walmart was out of them. as was Sears and JC Penney. Finally located some single burner units at Fred Meyers of all places. Not the view of the Freddies I was used too for sure!

Purchased two of them on the company credit card as directed by Phil. Being the weekend and the day after a major party night for all the "Irish" Alaskans traffic was light. I took the opportunity to drive downtown and was impressed by the park and surrounding environs.

The snow is pretty but when it melts the roads area mess! Full of standing water which some dastardly drivers aim for when they see an opportunity to splash pedestrians on the sidewalks! I witnessed this more than once! 

Back at the shop I set up my new "kitchen" and began to prepare a proper meal. Take a look.

Tonight  the menu included steak with sauteed shrooms, mashed red tators, steamed broccoli  accompanied by a fine Cabernet! Not bad with what I had to work with. Don't you agree? Tasted pretty damn good if I do say so myself. Like my wine glass? More time spent on the computer then time for bed. my first weekend in Alaska comes to a close. Back to work tomorrow for week number two.