Back in Phoenix

I'm back in Phoenix after an awesome vacation. Photos coming soon!

I spent last weekend in Seattle with Mike & Charlene, two very cool people. We shopped at a farmer's market where Charlene bought berries to make vegan scones (YUM!), & I bought a bluegrass CD from The Tallboys. We also shopped at Sidecar, a great vegan store, ate calzones at Pizza Pi, saw a Korean horror flick at Central Cinema, & bought crazy pop culture tidbits at Archie McPhee.

The rest of the week I was in Alaska with Michelle & JD, two more really cool people. In Anchorage, we stayed with Michelle's friends, the Reins. We had beer at the Bear Tooth, pizza at the Moose's Tooth, & shopped at Title Wave Books, where I discovered the book "Work your way around the world" by Susan Griffith. I'll definitely be reading that one! One afternoon, we saw a mama moose & a baby moose just strolling down the street in the Rein's neighborhood. Animal anarchy!

On Tuesday we headed south along Turnagain Arm, stopping in Girdwood to spend the night at Michelle's friend Rich's house. We ate dinner at Maxines, a cafe with a delicious fusion menu. The next day, we had breakfast at the Bake Shop, where the table had a sign that said "stammstisch", which basically means "the table where the regulars sit".

Then we continued along Turnagain Arm, where we saw a huge pod of beluga whales. We ended the day in Homer, where we stayed at the Seaside Farm, a great little hostel/camping spot on the water with awesome views of the mountains & a glacier across the bay. I had a yummy veggie sandwich & cup of black bean chili in town at the Mermaid Cafe, went to the Homer Public Library for an email check, & had great vegan muffins at Two Sisters Bakery.

We returned to Anchorage for the rest of the week. On Friday we took a day trip through Hatcher Pass, where we hiked up to a beautiful secret mountain lake formed from snow melt. A seven-year-old Alaska native was wading around in the ice-cold water, barefoot & bare-chested. I, on the other hand, was wearing gloves & a scarf.

On Saturday it was time to go home. I spent most of the day flying or in airports. When the flight attendant announced, "Welcome to Phoenix" my shoulders slumped slightly. At 8:30pm, when I stepped out into the desert heat, I winced.