In my last Alaska post, I had checked into my cabin and rested. Next, I drove into tiny downtown Hope, AK. It was only a few miles and I could have walked, but I decided to drive. I knew that things would be hopping there since it was the solstice weekend. I also knew that the Seaview Bar would have music on the deck outdoors, and I discovered from another guest at the cabins that a restaurant up on the main road was having a weekend music festival. Had it been any other place or time, I would have gone to the festival but I had been imagining, all winter, a light-filled evening on the deck listening to music and watching people. 

So the town was abuzz with people and activity. People set up tents on every single scrap of space. The official campground filled up and people spilled onto the tidelands, riverbanks, and empty lots.

Beautiful downtown Hope:

Tents everywhere:

After I walked around I headed into the bar and ordered a craft beer. I call these beer smoothies because they are so thick and filling. After one I am stuffed. They bartended greeted me! “Hi, Jane.” I was flabbergasted. Did he remember me from last year? How could that be? I only ordered a beer a few times and once I ordered dinner in the bar instead of eating it in the restaurant. I must have looked stunned because he said, “I am Jamie, the guy who was at the cabins when you checked in.” Ahhhhh. I had not recognized him, but I was flattered he called me by name. It cemented my feeling that Hope is a home away from home. It also reminded me about how many irons people have in the fire in terms of earning money. He and his wife own the cabins and he works as a bartender. They may do other things as well to earn as much as possible before Hope is socked in for the winter. That is life in Alaska. 

Anyway, for the music, I watched a hardcore blues guys. He played an odd electric guitar and kept beat on a drum via a foot pedal. He was good but a bit coarse and unruly. No matter. I was sitting on the deck in Hope and enjoying the evening. I had only planned on one beer, but a guy came up to the microphone and told a story about the last time he was in Alaska, 20 years ago. He was happy to be back and had been drinking a few beer smoothies already, and he offered to buy everyone in the house a beer. So, Jamie poured me another and I stayed longer than I might have, otherwise. Why not! It was a perfect solstice evening. 

Next day, I met RVing friends in Seward, AK, about 2 hours away. The drive is through stunning mountains, and Seward is perched along the coast. We did something I rarely do: take a tourist boat to see wildlife (humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, seals, puffins, etc) and a glacier. That was thrilling. Although pricey for my budget, it was well worth the expense. Seeing a glacier up close and watching/hearing chunks drop off is simply sublime. As we watched, small icebergs floated by. I had intended to head back to Hope that evening but the Dramamine made me sleepy. I laid on my bed back at the cabin and instead of resting, I fell asleep to the next morning. 

So, I explored for the remainder of the trip. Driving in Alaska is extremely satisfying because the terrain is gorgeous. One of the highlights was driving through a 2-mile mountain tunnel to Whittier, another small coastal town on the Kenai Peninsula.

Next stop: Anchorage. Last summer, I just drove through Anchorage on my way from Fairbanks to the Kenai Peninsula, stopping only at the Walmart for groceries. This time, I spent several days in Anchorage, staying at an Airbnb hostel. I dropped off my rental vehicle and then took the bus around. It is so easy now, with Google Maps, to figure out bus routes. If you put in an address, you will get the route, as per usual. However, if you click on the bus icon that is just above the route map, you will get bus numbers and bus stops. I then googled the bus website and checked the schedule for the bus route Google Maps suggested. I had previously gotten a stack of one dollar bills since it costs $1 for seniors on each segment.  

A master of the bus system, I visited the art museum downtown and walked around. It was fun to get a feel for the city but lots of other tourists were there as well. Cruise ships bring busloads of people in for the shopping. I am not a shopper, so the highlight of that portion of my trip was stumbling onto a lunchtime concert in the park and eating a hotdog from a street vendor. 

You can see in the photo below that the museum has several pianos near the entrance. I dinked around on one while I was waiting for it to open. Kids played on one of the others. The only other place I have seen outdoor, public pianos is in Denver!

I am happy to say I did not have any close encounters with a moose this year. I did see quite a few statues and this stuffed guy. Even these made me nervous. Moose are not my friends.

Then, time to fly home. The return flight, as I mentioned in my last post, was quiet and uneventful. I got home by driving through Seattle to my ferry terminal and then driving to Sequim after that wonderful little boat trip. I picked up Tango and life was back to normal, at least for a while. 

A new haircut for my furry buddy:

Next up: Tango and I start our camp host gigs.