View from plane

My first glimpse of Alaska was expected but surprising – about an hour out from Anchorage, large mountains began to appear in the window of the plane. Sitting in the middle seat, I had fought the older man beside me, for not only armrest but shoulder space, all the way from Seattle. So I didn’t think he would let me take a picture, however, he took my iPad and did it for me, finally sparking some conversation. This was about his fiftieth time up here, he said, for work mostly, some trouble they’d sent him to sort out. He never elaborated but the two bottles of neat Jack Daniels hinted at his mindset. A character and one of many we meet in this part of the country. No one seems to be born in Alaska, they’re all from somewhere else.

Finally, the seemingly endless array of mountains and glaciers gives way to a flat, coastal area and we land in Anchorage. The terminal is largely burrowed into the ground with tunnels connecting you to the outside, evidence of the cold I guess. A large, stuffed moose greets you and there are several souvenir shops selling regular ephemera like Alaska tshirts and mugs with bears. But I’ve never seen a shop selling camouflage, hunting and fishing gear at an airport before.

The drive to downtown is an easy 6 mile (that’s about 10km for the rest of the world) trip on a motorway. Streets are numbers north south and letters east west…a simple system that makes it very easy to get around. Our hotel is on 5th avenue and K street. Parking is $15 per day in a large lot over the road. Parking seems to be at a premium but there are large lots everywhere. Sim City, says Gordon, and he’s right, no particular architectural merit anywhere, just square buildings plopped down on a grid. A park here, parking lot there and that’s the city.

My guide book, Anchorage Now : an opinionated, three buck guide to the best and worst, lists the Beartooth Grill and theatre pub as its all time favourite place to eat. So, back in the car we jump and head over the lagoon. The restaurant is easily found and consists of two sections – one is the cinema, with a bistro style eatery and the other, the grill itself. We order burritos and local beer and are not disappointed when the biggest, tastiest Mexican dishes arrive. Even though we can’t quite finish our meals, we find room for some warm churros with chocolate dip.

Whilst eating at the restaurant, we notice the cinema is showing an independent film about the father of BASE jumping, Carl Boenish, Sunshine Superman. The next showing is only twenty minutes away and the tickets are $4…sold. On entering the theatre, with our complimentary cups of ice water from the convenient filling stations, we notice that every second row of seats has been removed and benches stand in their place. There is a bar in the rear and even some cosy booths that cost an extra dollar or two to reserve. The bar takes food orders, not that we need any more food, you can have pizza, drinks or other fare delivered right to your table during the film. Anchorage is delivering so far…two thumbs up for day one.