Anchorage: Getting Reacquainted

Wednesday, 25 August: Part III

We left the wildlife conservation center behind around 5:00p and completed the rest of the drive up Turnagain Arm to Anchorage with just a few stops along the way. Driving into the outskirts of the city, we couldn’t help but comment once again about the city sprawl and changes since 2001. Time hasn’t stood still here, that’s for sure!

Crawling through the afternoon rush hour, we made our way to the 26-room Historic Anchorage Hotel where we had reservations for the rest of our visit to Alaska. As luck would have it, we found a parking spot in front of the hotel (free 6:00p to 9:00a). But we were out of luck as far as the location of our room was concerned. Having arrived rather late (6:30p or so), we had no option but to accept a room overlooking E Street, which I had read could be quite noisy at night. Here’s hoping things stay quiet while we’re here!

On the National Register of Historic Places, this building was built in 1936
as an annex to the Anchorage Hotel. Having survived the 1964 earthquake,
it remains on its original site.

Where Ghosts Are More than Just Stories
(click here for the today show story in which the historic
anchorage hotel was one of THE featured haunted PROPERTIES)

Our “cozy” top floor room overlooks E Street.

By the time we were settled into our room, it was well past 7:30p — time to get a bite to eat. We didn’t feel like wandering far, so we walked over to a nearby restaurant that we remembered from our 2001 trip — Orso. On that occasion, we walked into this restaurant around 10:00p and had a great meal. My lasting memory, though, is leaving the restaurant an hour later (the sun was still shining bright) and greeting passersby with a cheery “good morning” instead of the more appropriate good night … boy was our body clocks messed up on that trip!

Orso was chock-a-block with patrons and there was a long line of people waiting outside. We lucked out and found a table on the bar side of the establishment. Ordering off the same menu offered in the restaurant, we enjoyed a meal that started out with hummus and olive oil for dipping (compliments of the chef) and a couple of ice cold local brews. We continued with a couple of Caesar salads; split the seafood skewer special of the day; and wrapped it all up with an “Oatmeal Stout Carrot Cake” made with Glacier Brewhouse Oatmeal Stout, baby sweet carrots, dried apricots, pecans, and mascarpone filling. Yummmmmmmm!

No photo of the dessert? What can I say; it was so good that i didn’t
think to take my camera out until it was too late!

After dinner, we wandered around downtown a bit to get reacquainted with the city and get our bearings. After the dessert we had just eaten, the opportunity for exercise was quite welcome, too!

The sod-roofed log cabin visitor center is a familiar landmark.
(Near the door is a huge jade boulder weighing over 5,000 pounds [2,250 kg];
jade is the state gem)

maybe i should get one of these in honor of our katmai bear trip.

It was approaching 10:00p when we returned to the room, ready for a good night’s rest. Here’s hoping that the ghost that wanders the halls in her wedding dress doesn’t pay us a visit tonight!