otoh

It took me the better part of a day to get the program uploaded and working. (It’s not that I can’t afford the $25 for Flickr, I just like learning how to get these things to work on my site.) And most of another day to get the photos uploaded and most of the comments in. There’s still some work to do before I have a Grand Opening, but you can get a Sneak Peek at the Gallery now.

Technorati tags: Gallery Sneak Peek~blog~personal~otoh

I’m looking at the possibility of installing a Gallery to share my Alaska photos, but I’m also considering a Flickr account (or something similar) instead. If you have experience with Flickr or one of the other media-sharing sites I’d like to know your opinion.

I didn’t do a lot of writing while I was on the trip so I’m still going through the notes I did make and fleshing them out. I do have some stories to share with the photos; I just have to get them out of my head through my fingers to the keyboard.

Just because I could… I took my mp3 player with me to listen to on the plane. I made sure that while I was in Anchorage I listened to Anchorage by Michelle Shocked. It’s just one of those things that appeals to my geekiness. Besides, I’ve always liked that song.

Statue in Anchorage of Balto, the lead dog in the final stretch of the “Great Race of Mercy”.

Here’s more stuff you don’t care about: the itinerary we followed.

Day 1 - Travel Orlando to Anchorage
Day 2 - Hope (Dacha)
Day 3 - Seward (Primrose)
Day 4 - Seward (Stoney Creek)
Day 5 - Kasilof (Crooked Creek)
Day 6 - Captain Cook (Discovery)
Day 7 - Portage Portage)
Day 8 - Indian (Bird Creek)
Day 9 - Anchorage (hotel)
Day 10 - Anchorage (airport)
Day 11 - Travel Anchorage to Orlando

This is all in the Kenai peninsula — an area with lots to see and do, but a very small part of the whole state. We opted not to attempt Denali or any of the northern or western extremes this trip. We booked in advance the airline tickets (of course), the RV, a hotel for the night after returning the RV (long hot showers and real beds!), a boat tour out of Seward, and the fishing guide in Kasilof. We left as much flexibility in as we could.

Technorati tags: Anchorage in Anchorage~blog~personal~otoh~sydca

In honor of the summer solstice, here’s another photo from my recent Alaska trip. Even though we weren’t there on the longest day of the year, the amount of daylight threw our internal clocks out of whack; it was light pretty much all the time. The photo below was taken at about 15 minutes after midnight on [edit]13 June 2006 14 June 2006 — after midnight would technically be the next day….[/edit]. (I’m so glad I was a good camper and took flashlights. I did use one twice, actually… to look for things inside the RV….)

View across Cook Inlet from the campground at Captain Cook State Recreation Area.

Technorati tags: Midnight Sun~blog~personal~otoh

My Alaska trip (years in the making) was wonderful. We limited this trip to the Kenai peninsula. While that’s a small part of the state, it provides lots of opportunities for hiking, camping, fishing, boating, kayaking, wildlife viewing, cultural encounters, etc.

I’ve started going through my photos and here are some of my favorites:

Standing on a moving boat trying to shoot a moving animal proved especially challenging.

An immature bald eagle that let us get closer than I expected…

…before flying away.

Guess who came for lunch?

Just hanging around.

Did we make it to the end of the world?

I had THIS MUCH fun!

Technorati tags: And Are My Arms Tired….~blog~personal~otoh

Today (1 June) is the official start of hurricane season. Most of this post was published when this blog was shiny and new (and mostly unread). Oh, and we had just weathered multiple hurricanes, loss of electrical power, boil-water alerts, extensive property damage, school and business closures, dwindling home-repair supplies, gas stations that were either out of gas or had no electricity to run the pumps, and grocery stores that had to throw away all of their (un)refrigerated and (un)frozen foods and were quickly selling out of what was left. Temperatures were in the 90s while patience and morale were in the crapper. So my friend Bev and I started writing The Hurricane Diet Book:

Chapter 1: Preparation

The key to eating in the days following a hurricane is preparation. You want food that doesn’t require any. Food that doesn’t require refrigeration is good too. And if you keep your freezer well-stocked, I hope you’re hungry. You’re going to be eating a LOT of it in a day or two — or throwing it away.

Chips, cookies, and snack cakes make excellent choices for the Hurricane Diet, assuming you already had them in your pantry. If you note that these foods are generally considered fattening consider these two caveats. 1. You’ll be wanting comfort food and nothing says comfort like Twinkies. 2. You’ll be sweating off the calories anyway.

Fresh fruits and vegetables, the cornerstones of most healthful diets, get even more boring as they get warm and limp. Of course, you can always make a nice stew or soup. See chapter 4 on Cooking.

Chapter 2: Shopping

If you try to go shopping in the week prior to the hurricane you can expect most items to be gone before you get there. However, in spite of the “we’re all in this together” attitude that we are so proud to display for the news cameras, it’s not unheard of for someone to take items they need from the cart of another shopper. Technically, it doesn’t belong to them until after they pay for it.

Shopping after the hurricane is a surreal experience if your corner market lost power for the days that you did. Think more like a dry goods store — lots of boxes and cans. Forget about fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy. Well, let’s just say forget fresh ANYTHING. I’ve never seen so many empty shelves in a store that was actually open for business.

Chapter 3: WATER and ICE

“Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink.” Your street may now have a “No Wake Zone” sign posted at each end, but that doesn’t mean you have WATER. No, clearly there is a distinction between water and WATER. Sewers and septic tanks rely on water being able to drain down and away from your home. When the water level rises, so does your sewage level. Fortuitously, you can boil tap water for five minutes to make it safe to drink or to wash your hands. See chapter 4 on Cooking.

Spend a couple days in Florida in August or September with no refrigeration or air conditioning and schemes to tow icebergs down from the North Atlantic seem like really plausible money makers. ICE brings a whole new meaning to “limited shelf life”. Figure out a way to give a bag of ice the shelf life of a Twinkie and the world will beat a path to your door. (Be patient. Most of them are walking because you can’t pump gasoline without electricity either.)

Note: ICE will not keep frozen foods frozen. In a well-insulated cooler it will keep cold foods cool for a little while. Melted ICE may seem like a good source of WATER. Oddly, as logical as this seems, melted ice reclaimed from your cooler tends to taste more like water (see reference above to sewage) than WATER.

Chapter 4: Cooking

Oh, who are you kidding? Your kitchen is pretty much useless without electricity. Your grill may make delicious steaks, chops, burgers, or dogs, but it makes a lousy cup of coffee. If only you had kept that camping stove that you sold for $1.50 at the yard sale six years ago. Yeah, you’re laughing all the way to the bank on that deal.

A few pioneering souls purchased a generator and enough gasoline to run it for more than a few hours. A generator will provide enough electrical power to run a fan or coffe pot or Foreman grill. Many of them do not provide enough electrical power to run a fan and coffe pot and Foreman grill. It’s all about timing.

Technorati tags: Hurricane Diet Redux~blog~personal~otoh