What do two-year-olds and roosters have in common? Well at least in the case of Tom and Misty's generally adorable two year old, they wake you up just before sun-up with loud, shrill noises that don't stop. So since I was planning on leaving this AM anyway, I'm taking it as a sign and rolling out in a few minutes, heading south towards Prince William Sound. Not sure where I'll be tonight, but I'm sure that it'll be interesting.
Yesterday, Tom, Misty and I went out to Chena Hot Springs and spent some time relaxing in the hot spring pool there. Two foreign tourist gals were the only other ones there (and they didn't stay long for some reason) and when I heard them speaking in their native language, I was overjoyed at getting to try out my long=dormant conversational German skills. Alas, they were just Swiss and spoke German about as poorly as I do. No score. Pity, because one was borderline cute.
I also got my first up-close glanced at the Alaskan state bird, the ptarmigan. This came about after Tom whacked one with his mini-van at about 80mph, causing it to become deeply embedded in the van's grill. Naturally we didn't know it was there but when we got back to their house, the kids who rushed out to meet us spotted it instantly and were duly traumatized and amused by the morbid hood ornament.
Last night, I went out with Tom and played Alaska State Trooper again. Other than spending most of the early hours responding to domestic violence calls that were always 20-30 miles from wherever we were and locking up a drunk native for stealing liquor from a store, it was pretty quiet. The Aurora Borealis was barely out but the star view was incredible once we got outside of town. Alaska definitely has the spectacular sunsets and night scenes. Pity that there's no actual crime to fight.
So now it's outward and onward, off towards the next adventure. (As if spending four days in a house with four pre-teen children hasn't been adventure enough...These are great kids, but to someone like me, that's like a mongoose saying that they're great snakes. I'm really not a kid person. But if one must be trapped with a batch of kids, these four would be the best choice by far. I've enjoyed my time around them as they're intelligent, exceptionally well-mannered, mature and engaging, and not obsessed in any way with the sort of TV, video games or pop culture that rots most kids' brains. And yes, they're home-schooled by two parents who make all of the time in the world for them.
So I'm off. Next post to follow when I find internet again. Until then, amuse yourselves by watching these two attractive twins play Led Zepplin on a matched pair of harps:
I'm glad you're having a good time. You've already done things that most tourists don't ... and that's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteFrom all the smack talk you'd think you did something besides chasing tail lights and harassing motorists trying to get to work. That's ok, I saw how excited you were to see a speedometer north of 55.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a safe trip back!
Good luck with the next segment of the trip! And glad you got to see some interesting country up there!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. So much of it made me laugh out loud...LOUD!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you are enjoying the trip. I hope someone qualified and a good sitter is watching Murph for you!!!!
Didn't know I was a harp fan until I watched those two! Wow! Couldn't quit watching.
ReplyDelete@ Tom: Yeah, like I ain't never drove over 100mph before. At least the baby mama drama was interesting.
ReplyDeleteButI'm thinking that you guys need a new slogan. Maybe: "Join the Troopers and get a lot of reading done."
See ya next time, my friend.