Leaving Anchorage Saturday 27 February 2010 - 10.00am

After driving back from Homer I packed my bags, Patrick and I went to the gym, we ate two kinds of chocolate ice cream (dark chocolate and chocolate mousse) and with a pleasantly ruined body (heavy back-squats followed by heavy deadlifts) boarded my flight to Seattle. In Seattle airport, while drinking a coffee, I met a woman whose husband was the principal of an english speaking highschool in Taiwan. In Taiwan the students come from all the most privileged parts of Asian and the middle east to study harder than is good for them (by the sounds of it).  They then go on to high powered jobs all over the world.  The woman I met was from Canada (Vancouver Island) originally and found the extreme population density of Taiwan difficult to adjust to.  She also noted that when her husband was a principal in Canada he held a fairly ordinary place in society in Taiwan they are regularly invited to national events by the president of Taiwan.  Very nice woman.  Her daughter arrived to meet her (the mother was on her way up to Canada and the daughter, by happy coincidence, was there to pick up her boyfriend) and I left them to catch up and went to sleep on a bench somewhere near the entrance of the airport. Mood: Happy

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One more missed memory Saturday 27 February 2010 - 10.00am

On my flight into Anchorage there was a team of cheerleaders on the plane.  This counts as another genuine American experience. Mood: Happy

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A missed activity Friday 26 February 2010 - 12.32pm

After reviewing my journal entries I realise that I have forgotten to mention an important activity.  On the morning that I bought my laptop Patrick and I also went skiing.  We drove about 15 minutes out of town and ascended a small mountain called flat top mountain.  This was my first time on touring skis with skins for going up hill.  I loved it.  Skining about on skis is a great way to move about on the snow.  Something that is really great about Alaska is the lack of development in their outdoors.  I asked Collette, who is a keen skier herself, if they have any lift skiing in Alaska.  She said that they did but she couldn't remember where it was.  Backcountry skiing is the norm here and on our trip we met a number of hikers and skiers just getting about in the Alaskan mountains.  Much better than being crowded out by teenage snowboarders on Ruapehu in my opinion. Unfortunately my touring boots were not made for any kind of downhill work at all.  They resembled basketball boots in size and material construction.  I was completely unable to ski downhill in them and had to develop a technique of simply sitting on the skis to get down.  That was great too. Mood: Happy

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More on Homer Friday 26 February 2010 - 11.00am

After the meal we drove down to the mooring where Patrick and Rebecca's boat lay.  The boat was excellent, and warm as we'd been there before the restaurant to turn the heaters on, we watched a film about people with difficult lives in Mexico and had a very peaceful night's sleep.  In the morning it was very cold but I was warm in my sleeping bag with my down jacket around my head. We had breakfast and attended to some boat maintenance.  I wandered off and spent a good part of the day stalking the American Bald Eagle which live in great number in Homer scavenging fishermen's waste.  They are quite pretty birds and fun to stalk, but this was the one time in Alaska where I got truly cold as stalking birds is mostly a process of standing still.  I enjoyed this alot. Toward the end of the spit, on which the Homer Mariner lies, sits a row of attractive beach holiday houses.  They are very tall, thin and colourful which somehow looks oddly out of place in such a rugged location.  At the very end of the spit is a small hotel which serves coffee and other less important things.  I was still struggling with the US hospitality system and in confusion sought out a till at which I could place my order.  After standing awkwardly for a spell I finally took a seat and was immediately attended by a waitress who brought me my coffee.  The Americans like to drink filter coffee which is cheap and the cups are bottomless.  I like this too, especially on a cold day. Nearer to the mariner is a small bar which is built into an old lighthouse.  The ceiling inside is so low that I can't stand up straight while inside.  All of the walls and the low ceiling are covered with signed dollar bills attached with staples and pins.  I only went in to ask if I could get access to a building behind in order to photograph birds, but they said the person who owned the building behind was not around today. During this day I managed to take 490 photos on my large Nikon and probably about 50 on my small Lumix.  Unfortunately the hard-drive on my laptop has failed and the photos are at present trapped on my old laptop.  So it may be some time before I can adorn this journal with holiday photos, of which there are a great many.  There is one more task to do today, take my laptop to a repair store.  Glad I got the Vaio when I did. After Rebecca and Patrick had finished on the boat we took a final walk around the spit and saw a large group of Bald Eagles fighting over a scrap of something.  That was quite a sight. We left the mariner and headed into town visiting some clothing stores on the way.  The second one we went to had a gun raffle where for $50 you enter for the chance to win up to 50 rifles.  They had one .22 rifle but it was miniature and had a bright pink stock.  In Alaska a .22 rifle is for your 12 year old daughter everything else is more powerful. We went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner that night and met two of Patrick and Rebecca's friends Mike and Colette.  Colette is a commercial pilot who Patrick and Rebecca met in San Fransisco while living on their boat.  Mike is her partner who is a carpenter and he owns a beautiful old husky mongrel who I met after we had finished our meal.  Mexican food is not at its most Mexican as far north as Alaska, but it was good and the company was excellent.  Mike used to be a trapper in Alaska living in the wilderness and making a living from furs.  He said that although the lifestyle was lovely he grew tired of the killing and gave that up.  Mike's dog was particularly lovely. We returned to the boat for another peaceful sleep.  On the boat it is quite dark and the gentle rocky and watery sounds are conducive to very sound sleeping.  We got up the next morning and left around 10 to head back to Anchorage. One final message: Judith and I now have a blow up mattress.  When we get a bed we will be ready to receive visitors and we hope there will be many. Mood: Happy

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Homer Wednesday 24 February 2010 - 10.48pm

We arrived at Homer some time in the evening.  It gets dark around 6 at this time so it was after 6.  We went to a restaurant with a collection of giant cups and saucers above the entrance.  I ordered Cod with Scallops, Patrick ordered a lamb shank and Rebecca ordered the clam entree as a main.  It was delicious and stands out as a truly exceptional meal in my life. At this stage I have to go to bed.  I will finish this entry tomorrow - or maybe the day after. Mood: Happy

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The pleasures of consumption Wednesday 24 February 2010 - 10.00pm

Prior to leaving NZ I was looking into buying a new laptop.  My old one was breaking down and my mother had generously offered to give me some money for my student loan.  So I thought I would put to toward a new laptop.  Obviously. So it seemed like a good idea to have a look around in the US while I was there.  It turns out that laptops (like everything else) are extremely cheap over there.  So we went to a store called Best Buy to have a look.  I got carried away and rather than, wisely, getting an adequate laptop at a reduced price I simply, and foolishly, picked up the most expensive laptop in the store and bought a camera tripod to go with it.  At this stage I had neared a purchasing frenzy and was looking about the store to see if there was anything else I might want to take with me. So I decided to leave. I am now the proud owner of a brand new Sony Viao with a keyboard that lights up if the room is dark (which is obviously worth any amount of money).  It also has a battery life of 3 hours brand new, because it's like a V12 Jaguar with the gas tank of a Toyota Corrolla.  I like it a great deal. After that we went to a store called REI.  This is like Kathmandu except instead of only crappy gear they have a range from rubbish all the way to excellent.  They had a sale on (what are the chances?).  I bought a high-tech sweatshirt and a high-tech balaklava.  I also got a very nice white softshell jacket for Judith.  Rebecca and I found a tall girl in the store to try on clothes for me.  All a great success and luckily it also lacked the giddy thrill I had at Best Buy so it was safer too. After REI Rebecca and I had lunch next door and I had a delicious chicken sandwhich and a fresh fruit juice with ginger in it.  Excellent. After shopping we drove to Homer, which is where Patrick and Rebecca have moored their boat.  It is, I think, four hours drive away. Mood: Happy

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Having Reached York Wednesday 24 February 2010 - 10.00pm

Judith and I are now in York.  We will be moving into a new flat and were very lucky to get a spacious one on the ground floor by the river.  It's like a normal house - not an attic apartment.  Very happy.  Insulation, gas central heating, double glazing.  Not inexpensive - now I must come out of retirement to help support our new lifestyle. Between Alaska, Germany and the UK I get the impression that NZ has taken out a patent on wind.  These countries are not paying the license fees.  It is very nice.  Also when the temperature drops below zero the air is dry and without the wind it's actually comfortable (provided you are not naked). Back to Alaska - next entry. Mood: Happy

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More on Alaska Friday 19 February 2010 - 10.00am

Although I did end up with an M16 and a smaller bolt-action rifle in my bedroom for most of my stay in Alaska I never fired a shot.  Although an assault rifle would be fun to fire, it is by far the least exciting part of Alaska. On the second day I hopped on my bike and followed Patrick into work (at the University of Anchorage Alaska).  I spent a bit of time tracking down their computer science department.  Unfortunately cmp-sci at UAA consists of two professors who spend only one hour a day in their offices.  So I gave up on them and headed into town. One of the best things about Anchorage is an enormous network of trails running through, and outside of, the city.  These are organised into mixed use, Nordic skiing, walking, and mushing trails.  The mushing trails are for dog sledding, which is truly awesome.  There is probably over one hundred miles of these trails in Anchorage and the residents are all over them, skiing walking and cycling.  I didn't see any dog sledding unfortunately but I did see a baby's pram with a single front wheel and two skis instead of back wheels. For the last year now I have had glandular fever (some might know it as mono).  This has meant that although I did continue weight training I haven't done a single piece of aerobic exercise this whole time.  As a reintroduction to endurance exercise I spent more than three hours riding over hard packed snow.  I was very slow and my ass ached for two days afterward from the hard seat.  It was excellent. I reached town, after having gotten lost and riding in the wrong direction for a while, and went straight to a cafe called 'Snow City Cafe'.  Having met the mother of a struggling Hollywood actress and a gun enthusiast I was looking forward to experiencing the famous American serving size.  I was not disapointed. I ordered an americano coffee and an eggs benedict with bacon and spinach.  The coffee was enormous and the meal was fairly large but not extraordinary.  Possibly sensing my disapointment the waiter returned to my table and with the cryptic message "There is another one.  It is for you" gave me another plate of eggs benedict.  It is clear that American portions have become so large that the meals are served on seperate plates, in shifts!  I left feeling uncomfortably full, but very satisfied with my third genuine American experience. Mood: Happy

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Alaska Thursday 18 February 2010 - 7.03pm

So now my journal entries do not match the passage of time.  My previous entry has me in Germany and now I am writing about Alaska. Rebe and Patrick picked me up from the airport at about midnight and we went home directly where I promptly slept for 12 hours.  The next day I wandered around and used the bicycle that had been kindly lent to me by Patrick's neighbour cycle around the neighbour hood and take endless photos of suburban streets covered in snow.  At this point every street was exciting and white, later I looked at the photos and they are universally boring, but the sheer novelty on that first day was completely overwhelming for a wee boy from NZ. That night I got to meet Patrick's neighbour (Brian), who will now appear as my second real American experience.  Brian has a great many guns and a wall for displaying them.  The first thing that Brian said to me as we entered his man-room (a room which mostly contains many guns and a flat screen television) was that he was sorry that he had lent his 50-cal sniper rifle to someone because it was the biggest of all his guns, I said that this was ok.  I was alarmed when he said that his pump action shot-gun was loaded with catridges designed to kill people.  But I was excited when I offered to lend me his M16 to shoot rabbits.  If you don't think too much about it you could almost convince yourself that the M16 was designed to hunt rabbits. Mood: Happy

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Having Reached Germany Thursday 18 February 2010 - 5.00pm

I have recently left New Zealand inteding to settle in York for a spell with Judith.  I have now been in Germany for a few days and have time to write about my journey so far. Before flying to Germany I spent 6 days in Alaska with two friends Patrick and Rebecca.  My time there was fantastic and, I think, a great introduction to the USA. I first flew into L.A. where I got to spend 7 hours laying about the airport waiting to be able to check in to my next flight (Seattle and then on the Anchorage).  L.A. was not so aweful as I had expected it to be and the extensive (shoes and belt off) security checks are a fine way to pass the time in transit in my opinion. On the flight from L.A. to Seattle I had what I will call the first of my true American experiences; I say next to a woman who was flying out of L.A. having just finished visiting her daughter who was eking out a living in Santa Monica trying to become an actress!  I was most pleased by this as I had only been in the country for about 8 hours and already I felt I gone right to its very centre.  The struggling actress's mother was very good company and pointed out the more interesting parts of Seattle as we flew in. Having had such a good time on the way I couldn't wait to get to Anchorage and catch up with Patrick and Rebe. Mood: Happy

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