alvin's blog

When I told a nice lady at the Cosmic Kitchen that I was thinking about staying at the Land's End at the end of the Homer Spit, she suggested I stay at the Jenny Lane Cottage instead. And I have to thank her, the view from here is incredible, and I like being able to easily walk this area of town.

The Cosmic Kitchen has quickly become my favorite place for lunch in Homer, Alaska. The blackened halibut tacos are incredible!

Cafe Cups comes highly recommended for dinner in Homer, but I've never been able to get in -- they keep closing for the winter before I get here in late September! They're located almost next door to the Pioneer Inn on Pioneer Avenue.

In case global warming eventually melts every glacier on the face of the earth -- or you just don't get a chance to take a vacation in Alaska any time soon -- here's a picture of what Exit Glacier looked like in Seward, Alaska, at least on my vacation on September 21, 2008.

Seward, Alaska pictures: Should you happen to be driving around Alaska in an RV, I highly recommend the Resurrection North campground in Seward, Alaska, which is located directly on the waterfront of Resurrection Bay. Here's a view of some of the RV's parked in the campground:

The thing that always blows me away about Alaska is how beautiful the country is, even in areas you just think you have to drive to in order to get from Point A to Point B. Take my drive today from Anchorage to Seward. Should just be a workmanlike drive to get from where I am to where I want to be, right? Not in Alaska.

Here are just four of the many, many pictures I took along the way that show you what a mind-blowing view Alaska has to offer, even on your "driving days."

With Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin now being Vice President Candidate Palin -- and also being the Mayor of Wasilla just two years ago -- I thought it might be a good time to share my thoughts on Wasilla. I think I have a relatively unique perspective of having lived 44 years in The Lower 48, and five months in Alaska last summer.

The things that stand out about Wasilla are:

Ahh, just getting ready to hop on a plane tomorrow and head back to Alaska. I'm going to start this trip in the south, either in Seward or Homer. Hmm, let's see what the southern-Alaska weather looks like in mid-September:

"Rain...heavy at times. Highs near 50. South and east wind 10 to 25 mph. Through Portage Valley and Turnagain Arm...east wind 40 to 55 mph with gusts to 80 mph, decreasing to 30 to 50 mph late in the afternoon. Evening lows in the upper 30s to mid 40s."

This is gonna be fun!

In 2007, when I lived in Alaska, I asked a lot of people what the best restaurant in Anchorage was, and I often got the same answer: Villa Nova, an Italian restaurant on Arctic Avenue in Anchorage.

Don't let the simple strip-mall location fool you: as soon as you walk in the Villa Nova, the Italian atmosphere kicks in, starting with the water fountain in the main entrance. The service has always been terrific, and the food was as good as any Italian food I've had anywhere, and I've spent to in over 40 states by now.

Well, it's been a long time since my last update. How things have changed. One day I'll get around to filling in all the details, but here's the spoiler: I'm back in Louisville, Kentucky, very refreshed, enjoying the holidays, and ready to get back to work in 2008.