The Buckner Building

A couple of weeks ago, Jeff and I took a little day trip to Whittier, Alaska. To get to Whittier, we had to pay $12, and drive through the "longest combined vehicle-railroad tunnel in North America." We drove 2.5 miles on railroad tracks directly through a mountain, and arrived at the weirdest place I've ever been-Whittier. It's a cruise ship/ferry port/fish processing/railroad town. At least I think that's what it is. There weren't clearly marked roads, and no identifiable "downtown" or "main street." We were often driving on what felt like parking lots or private drives. We were never quite sure.

The strangest part of the town was the enormous abandoned building high up on the hillside that overlooked the town. Jeff said he thought it might be an old sanatorium for tuberculosis patients in the 1940s. We drove up to the old building, parked right next to it, and began exploring.  

 There were no signs or fences or anything to keep people from entering the building. We were nervous the entire time, thinking we would get arrested, but no one seemed to notice us out-of-towners. 

 We walked briefly into the building. There were sounds of dripping and plenty of decay. Stalactite had formed on the ceiling, and it stunk of mildew.We found out that this was actually an enormous housing unit during World War II, when troops were stationed at Whittier. In its prime, it was known as "the city within a city." It had a shooting range, jail, grocery store, etc.

This is a loading dock that led directly into a...

 Theatre! I only had my camera phone, so this photo is obviously horrible. But if you look closely you can see the edge of the stage, and the audience seats. Jeff found the old dimmers, and declared they were a lot like the ones he had in his high school. I was thrilled. I stood for a long time on the stage and wondered what kind of plays they put on. I went into the audience and thought about teenagers on dates and men in military uniforms. We even wandered back stage, and checked out the dressing room. I thought about the actors putting on make-up, and wondered if they were nervous. I thought about who might be the star. I wondered if she was well known in the building. Did people recognize her from the plays she starred in, in that little theatre in Whittier? Did she go to the bar, down the hall, and float on the high from her performance? Was there a man in the audience who quietly fell in love with her acting, and pursued her? Did she have a fling with the stage hand?

I bet she did. :)

I feel so lucky to have stumbled into that theatre. I feel generally titillated and scared at the enormity of this abandoned "city." Some people say bears are spotted in there sometimes. I wonder if they ever wander onto the stage...

I love that I got to check out this weird old building in Whittier, which I now call "Weirdier." 

We explored the rest of Whittier, but the Buckner Building was definitely worth the $12 tunnel ride.

xo
Alli

PS-We told Jeff's boss about our Whittier trip, and he said, "Ya know what they say-nothing's crappier than being in Whittier. But they don't say 'crappier'. " :-)

My Best Friend

My best friend, Meredith, brightened my whole day with a perfect little phone call. Nothing special. Just comfortable conversation. All is right in the world.

xo

Alli

PS-I am working on making my blog lovely, and it's a slow process. Bear with me. :)

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

We are only in Anchorage until December, so we like take advantage of where the road can take us. On Saturday, we drove about thirty miles out of town to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. We saw elk, wood bison, grizzly bears, moose, muskox, caribou, and more. This wasn't exactly a zoo, though. They were fenced in, but they were mostly in their natural habitat-trees, water, grass. Ya know, "nature."

The very first animal we saw was this hungry moose. He was right up against the fence chomping on a huge pile of tree branches. He was so content with his lunch, and did not even acknowledge the crowd of people that was fighting to get the perfect photograph. I wasn't concerned about getting a "good photo" because I only had my phone to take pictures. I think you can get the idea of how close we were to this guy. I even broke the rules and pet his antlers. Yes, he could have killed us. I know. But he didn't.

We watched this little bear cub for a long time, and I could have stayed there with him all day. He played in the water, dug in the dirt, and even did a couple of "tricks" with the bear trainer (lifting his paw, standing on hind legs, etc...) And look, he totally smiled for us!

I feel pretty lucky that I got to see all these animals, and my heart is grateful that they were all behind fences.

Here are a few more of my favorites-

oscar (he was in the car, so he's included)

two baby caribou

wood bison

harbor seals (from the Alaska Sea Life Center)

xo

Alli

PS-I started knitting a secret project, and I'm finally in the last season of "Friday Night Lights." Don't even think about watching it. You will get addicted.

GAAAaaa 1-3

Here is a peak at my newest project. I've decided to make the Great American Aran Afghan, and I'm only three squares in. This project will probably take me a couple of years, but in the end I will end up with something heirloom-worthy. I hope.

The first square was fun. See the spider on the bottom right, crawling up to his web? I love tree/leaf/nature themes in knitting.

cute "xo" cable pattern. one of my favorite arans...

The second square was a pretty straight forward cable pattern. Not mindless, but no real surprises either.

little bobble inside a cable opening

The third square was, well, crazy. It was based on an "80s pattern" and I guess nobody knit in the '80s, because this pattern was all over the place.

I think I have about 17 more squares to go, then I have to block all the squares and sew the dang thing up. This is an epic project, but I'm excited to continue to share my progress.

(BTW-it is customary to refer to the Great American Aran Afghan as the GAAA, but one must include as many additional aaaaa's as possible. Ala-GAAAaaa. I'll add more and more aaaaa's with each square I complete.)

xo

Alli

Happy as a Raven

photo taken by me. quote: unknown.

Bike rides and sunsets.

Street festivals and farmers markets.

Huge heads of lettuce and heaps of kale.

A local play and a rock concert.

Vacation planning and "Friends" episodes.

Blog renovation contemplation and online shoe shopping.

Cable knitting and project pondering.

A cute boy and a sweet pup.

Oh, and a kitty.

Happy Weekend!

xo

Alli

Gull Rock

After our lovely afternoon in Hope, we decided to hike and camp at gorgeous Gull Rock. This backpacking trip was my favorite of all the backpacking trips we've attempted (and this was still pre-fail). The trail was well maintained through the trees, there was barely any elevation gain, and the sun was shining brightly the whole time.

PS-Jeff asked me why I "always make the color all weird on my photos." I said, "Cuz it's fun!"

Hope

A couple of weekends ago, we decided to take a little weekend trip to Hope, Alaska. Hope is a teeny tiny town. I'm serious-population 137. Gravel streets, a gift shop that welcomes dogs, and quaint, hidden log homes fill the town.

After a 90 minute drive from Anchorage, we garbled some lunch at a cute little waterfront cafe and wandered the cottonwood covered streets of the wee village.

See 'em? They're there.

Talk about my kind of place-loads of trees, good people, easy feeling, very few tourists.

What a treasure.