It's May 4 here in Anchorage as I sit down to recount my trip to Coachella, I cannot escape the irony of having playoff hockey on the television and a steady spring snow coming down outside while I tell you all of my trip to the desserts of Southern California. As most of you know I make an annual trip to a different music festival every year. Usually this trip is in the fall, but this time I chose a spring festival as a way to thaw out after a long winter up in Alaska.
The other difference between this and other festivals that I've gone to in the past was that this time I went by myself. In the past, I've always had my trusted compatriot, Bird, along for the ride as well as usually a few other characters as well. While the presence of my friends was of course missed, it did make this a more focused music experience. I was free to roam around not worrying about where anyone else was or if they could find me, or having to periodically meet up with anyone; I could just go and explore and take in all there was to see and do.
The Lineup
Blur, The Stone Roses, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Jurassic 5, Modest Mouse, Grinderman, Bassnectar, Dog Blood, How to Destroy Angels, Passion Pit, Tegan and Sara, Band of Horses, Beach House, Metric, Phoenix, The XX, The Postal Service, Sigur Ros, New Order, Hot Chip, Grizzly Bear, Knife Party, Benny Benassi, Franz Ferdinand, Two Door Cinema Club, Moby, The Decendants, Yeasayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Vampire Weekend, Social Distortion, Wu Tang Clan, Pretty Lights, Eric Prydz, Tame Impala, The Lumineers, Dead Can Dance, La Roux,
James Blake, Excision Grimes, Local Natives, Of Monsters and Men, Infected Mushroom, The Japandroids, Divine Fits, Luciano, Stars, Johnny Marr, FOALS, Seth Troxler, Wolfgang Gartner, Nicky Romero, Modestep, Tommy Trash, Thomas Gold, The Shouting Matches, Dillon Francis, Four Tet, Aesop Rock, Alt-J, TNGHT, Jake Bugg, Earl Sweatshirt, Polica, Sparks, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Purty Ring, Youth Lagoon, Lee Scratch Perry, Dam-Funk, DJ Harvey, Jamie xx, Deathfix, C2C, Beardyman, Lord Huron, Palma Violets, Skinny Lister, James McCartney, The Neighborhood, Raymond Roker, Mario Cotto, Violent Femmes, Simian Mobile Disco, Spiritualized, Pucifer, Cafe Tacvba, Portugal. the Man, The Make-Up,
Bat for Lashes, Richie Hawtin, Major Lazer, Freddie Le Grand, Dropkick Murphys, Ben Howard, 2 Chainz, Janelle Monae, Danny Brown, Wild Nothing, Booka Shade, Trash Talk, Julio Bashmore, Bingo Players, Allen Stone, El-P, The Selector, Pusha T, Kill the Noise, The Evens, Biffy Clyro, Theophilious London, Baauer, Zane Lowe, Birdy Nam Nam, Action Bronson, Jason Bentley, The Wombats, Guards, Mona, Savages, Shovels and Rope, Reignwolf, Cassy, Kids These Days, The Colorist, Vintage Trouble, Been Trill, The Gaslight Anthem, The Faint, Hardwell, Paul Okenford, Dinosaur Jr, Raider Clan, OMD, Roni Size and Dynamite MC, Kurt Vile and the Violators, The Airborne Toxic Event, Father John Misty, Tanlines, Rodriguez, Alex Claire, Paul Kalkbrenner, Jessie Ware, Loco Dice, Jamie Jones, The Three O'Clock Disclosure, Mimosa, Cloud Nothings, Thee Oh Sees, Dub FX, Maya Jane Coles, Jeff the Brotherhood, Smith Westerns, Dirtyphonics, Joris Voorn, Danny Avila, Ghost BC, DIIV, Little Green Cars, Mord Fustang, Robert DeLong, White Arrows, Deap Valley, Wild Belle, Adrian Lux, Ladies Night, JDH and DAVE P
Day 1
My biggest concern about Coachella was the sun. I have the pasty white skin of an Alaskan at the end of winter and stepping out into the California dessert for 12 hours, I had the potential to get dangerously sunburned. I of course took precautions with the strongest sunscreen that I could find, but I still had to worry. I wanted to make an effort to spend the early part of the day in the covered tents as opposed to standing outside at the two main stages during the heat of the day. With that in mind, I made my way to the Sahara Tent, which would feature EDM acts all weekend, to watch C2C.
C2C
Here's my thing with EDM, I enjoy listening to it, but I don't necessarily enjoy seeing it live. It always has cool light shows, but is not otherwise all that interesting and the crowds that they draw generally annoy me. The fact is that at a festival I want to see a rock concert not go to a night club. I understand the appeal, but it's just not for me. That is why I wanted to make a point of getting to one of the early shows at the Sahara Tent, before the crowds got too out of hand. And I'm glad that I did. The French turntable quartet was an early crowdpleaser. Lost in the whole EDM explosion in recent years has been the efforts of DJ's who still actually scratch records, which is why it was so unique to see four DJ's step up and do what they do best, which is get crowds jumping.
The silhouette of The Shouting Matches in front of a beautiful backdrop
After C2C finished up I was killing off some time before Jake Bugg started, I purchased a frozen lemonade and wandered into the Gobi Tent to gave a listen to The Shouting Matches. They were playing an easy groove that just sounded like California, and for the first time the thought finally set in that I had arrived.
As I listened, I noticed a guy sitting crosslegged in the grass and hopelessly scratching away at his copy of the festival lineup and trying to plan his day. There is an inherent flaw in trying to bring order to your day at these things, believe me I've tried. The fact is that maybe you see the band you want, maybe you don't, maybe you get there and get there and can't see shit, maybe you get distracted along the way. It's better to live in the moment and keep your plans loose. The only planning that I did was to find two or three bands per day that I really wanted to see and let everything else just happen.
I applauded for The Shouting Matches and then walked over to the next tent to hear Jake Bugg, who I have heard a lot about. He has a folksy rock sound and a truly distinctive voice.There is no denying Jake Bugg's singular talent as a songwriter and on guitar as well, but I have to say that he is not the most entertaining showman. That's probably the only chink in his armor, because other then that Jake Bugg is an impressive rising talent.
Metric
Now it was time for one of the bands that I was really looking forward to, Metric. It was interesting that the band that preceded Metric was a great example of a band for whom the main stage was just too big. They may have been good on a smaller stage, or a more intimate setting, and to be followed by Metric made their poor booking all the more obvious. Emily Haines dominates the stage in a way that only headliners can, she had more stage presence than anyone I had seen all day. Their music is infectious and their show was awesome.
The Palma Violets
Throughout the day I spent most of my time at the Mojave Tent which had a stellar lineup, and whenever I didn't know which way to turn, the Mojave was my crutch.
"Chilli" Jesson takes the plunge into the crowd
That is how I found myself hanging out near the front of the stage for a band that I had only vaguely heard of, The Palma Violets. In the Darwinian world of music, some bands succeed because of their musicianship, their performance skills, their dance moves or what have you... But some bands are able to survive through sheer force of will. Such is the case with the Palma Violets, who possess a bruising intensity that announces in no uncertain terms, "we are unstoppable." This was without a doubt the best show of the day which included the headliners. "Chilli" Jesson thundered through their set like a pissed off Matt Smith and whipped the crowd up into a frenzy with his unbelievable intensity. It was a unexpected treasure of a show. I only bought one t-shirt at the merch stand at this festival, and it was the Palma Violets, what else can I say?
Nick Cave of Grinderman
As far as headliners go, I decided to stick around the Mojave Tent for the headliners, as that I was just more interested in them as opposed to the larger Main Stage or the Outdoor Stage. So I just hung out where I was and got to the front row for Grinderman. This weekend was to be a Nick Cave double feature, with his band, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds playing as a headliner on the third night and his dirty little side project band, Grinderman, playing on this first night, with me in the front row! I'll tell you this much, there are few entertainers as energetic on stage as Nick Cave, and this was a rawkus and furious paced show, the highlight of which being "Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars)" which I posted a video of above.
How To Destroy Angels
The final show of the evening was one that I had been very curious about for some time. The side project of Trent Reznor, How To Destroy Angels had only performed live on two other occasions and their fantastic show had been much buzzed about.
How To Destroy Angels
The majority of the performance featured the band, fronted by Trent Reznor's wife, Mariqueen Maandig, behind a semitransparent screen to an awesome effect. It was less like a rock concert and more like a performance art piece. The whole show seemed like watching an exhibit in some alien menagerie. Even when the screen was pulled to the sides the lighting intentionally avoided emphasizing the band members, which was an effect that I found fascinating. Mariqueen Maandig is a striking figure, and Trent Reznor is a musical genius, but I simply could not get past this performance on the stagecraft level which was absolutely brilliant. This was a perfect way to cap off a wonderful first day of the festival.
Day 2
Fire up the Tesla coils!
The second day of Coachella was a lot more up and down. The highs were higher and the lows were lower; the bands that were good were crazy good, but the bands that were not crazy good were thoroughly mediocre. The weather was the same, the sky was clear and the sun warm, but the grounds where the festival was held were becoming overly trampled and the dust was beginning to get out of hand. Every time the crowd began to dance, every time a mosh pit broke out, it kicked up a dust cloud that made the venue look like a stockyard. My lungs were so caked with dust that I felt like I did when I used to smoke, though, I suppose, it's good to have a reminder about why I quit.
The day started off with a bang... or rather a savage, bluesy snarl. Most bands that play early in the day have the chore of cajoling the crowds out of their hangovers and back to life. But not Reignwolf, they were not there to stoke the embers, they were there to light the fuse. Jordan Cook took the stage alone, with nothing but his gritty, growling guitar and a kick drum, and opened an explosive set that left the crowd howling for more. Make no mistake about it, this band is the genuine article. If this band happens to be traveling through your town (especially my Seattle friends where the band hails from) don't walk, run, to get tickets. Reignwolf is a rising talent and a worthy show to see at any venue.
Unfortunately such a pace could not be sustained and the next couple bands that I went to were really average. I don't want to say that they were bad, because they were definitely talented, but I just felt like I had seen dozens of bands just like them before, or maybe it was the high number of bands that I had already seen that made them look plain, or maybe it was the heat.
Whatever it was, I found myself walking aimlessly around the festival grounds feeling unsatisfied, so I made my way over to the Main Stage a little earlier than I had planned. Again the old adage proved true that it is better to be lucky than good, because I had managed to bumble into maybe the better stage performances of the festival.
Vintage Trouble
The music scene has seen a resurgence of neo-soul acts in recent years, and while Vintage Trouble may fit into that category it is terribly unfair to pidgeonhole an act this talented. Their lead singer, Ty Taylor, whose vocal stylings brought to mind the memory of Wilson Pickett, managed to dance his way right out of his pants...literally. Approriatly enough, he managed to rip his pants from knee to crotch during the performance of their song "Pelvis Pusher."
Dropkick Murphys
As soon as Vintage Trouble wrapped up their set, the front of the Main Stage began to fill up with sweaty, thick necked hoodlums clad in Celtics jerseys who were getting themselves juiced up for the huge mosh pit that would be generated by veteran brawlers, The Dropkick Murphys. There is nothing like some good natured thuggery to stir the Irishman in us all. By the end of their set a fog of dust had settled in on the festival grounds so thick that I expected to see Hunter Thompson wander through the cloud covering the Mint 500, and searching for Horatio Alger.
The heat, the dust, the mosh pit all got to be a bit much for me and I had to retreat to a shady spot to listen to the next band, The Violent Femmes, from a distance, which was a terrible disappointment to me because I was really looking forward to seeing them.
The Make-Up
How lucky for me though that Coachella is full of great options, while I was let down about the Femmes, it did allow me to bumble into one of the most unique bands that I saw all weekend, The Make-Up. I'm not really sure how to describe the performance of D.C. post-punk legend Ian Svenonius other than to say that he's like a kooky, confused, microphone swallowing prophet. The Make-Up stands as a good reminder to us all that music doesn't always have to be technically superior, and it doesn't always need to speak to your soul. Hell, it doesn't even have to make sense, it just needs to be fun. That's it. That's all that matters.
The Selector
After that little gem, I watched the sun go down with the ska band, The Selector. I'm not going to say that The Selector was particularly outstanding as far as ska bands go, but I will say that of all the live shows that I've ever seen, ska shows are always my favorite. The crowds there are positively infectious. You can't see any ska act and leave upset. It's just too much fun.
From there I went over to the Mojave Tent and watched the EDM act, Simian Mobile Disco. Which, while not the most entertaining performance, I did like their sound. But more importantly I went to that show so that I could get a choice spot to see headliner, Franz Ferdinand, from.
Franz Ferdinand was always one of those white whale bands for me. It seems like I always just missed out on seeing them, or there was a scheduling conflict or something always just came up and I just couldn't make it happen.
Franz Ferdinand
Which is why I was so excited, and made such a special point to see them this time. And I was not let down. My original plan was to get from Franz Ferdinand back to the Main Stage to catch Phoenix, but it just wasn't to be. The oppressive heat and the dust had taken too much of a toll on me for the day, and I had to call it quits a little early. What can I say, I felt like I had inhaled an entire sand dune.
Day 3
For me, day 3 was the most intriguing lineup on the Main Stage and Outdoor Stage which would mean that I would have to brave the dessert heat for most if not all day. Fortunately they gave free water bottles for anyone along the front rows of the two main stages. So that is where I chose to camp out for the day. There was really only one band that mattered to me, The Airborne Toxic Event. To make sure that I got the best spot for them I made a point to show up early for the act that would precede them.
Ghost B.C.
That act was one of the most curious bands at the festival, Ghost B.C. They were curious because having a theatric , Swedish, goth metal band in the middle of a perfect summer day just seemed wrong somehow. I'm sure the festival promoters had a tough choice, either a) put them on a side stage after dark (where they would have been awesome) or b) putting them on the Main Stage during the day. They opted for the latter and for Ghost B.C.'s part they did fine, but I would have rather seen them light the braziers at night. But I do have to say that if my intent of attending a music festival was to experience music that I normally wouldn't, this band definitely filled that purpose for sure.
While I was amused by Ghost B.C., I was outright giddy for the next band. This would be the third time that I've seen The Airborne Toxic Event live, and the thought of seeing them again was like a much anticipated visit from an old friend.
This band is everything that I love about music: great musicianship, brilliant lyrics, and first class showmanship. The first time that I saw them was in Austin, Texas, at Austin City Limits Music Festival, and the second time I saw them was in Boston, Massachusetts while they were on tour with a string quartet. I can honestly say that this is probably my favorite contemporary band touring today.
Once Airborne had wrapped up I picked up a quick lunch and some more water, then made my way to the Outdoor Stage to enjoy the remainder of it's lineup. And that lineup began with another band that I had previously seen, Dinosaur Jr. I saw them once in San Diego, where Henry Rollins did a live interview with them for his radio show before they took the stage. In that interview, Rollins said that the only way to listen to Dinosaur Jr is monstrously loud. And indeed, that it the way they prefer to listen to themselves, as they barricade themselves amongst a huge wall of deafening monitors.
As Dinosaur Jr thundered away I kept noticing these rough looking, band t-shirt and bandanna wearing, long haired roadies popping up out of the wings to snap a pic on their iphones. It happened so often that it begged the question: what does it say that you are the band that all the roadies make a point to see? I'm pretty sure that the guys in Dinosaur Jr would take that as the highest form of compliment.
Tame Impala
Following Dinosaur Jr was Tame Impala, who was the best band that I didn't know that I knew. Throughout the show, as I listened to the Australian jam rockers, it seemed like I kept saying to myself, "Oh, they wrote that one too?" The other thought that I had, according to a note to myself was, "this shit would be great to get stoned to." Take that for what it's worth.
Pretty Lights
Next up was an EDM act appropriately named Pretty Lights. Derek Vincent Smith, who performs under the name Pretty Lights has a stage show that is very comparable to a fireworks display set to music. My feelings about EDM as a live performance still applies however: I just have a hard time putting a computer generated audio beats and a pre-programmed laser/light show on the same level as a live musical performance. Sorry.
Wu Tang Clan
The final show of the festival was a reunion of the legendary rap group, Wu Tang Clan. I feel a certain journalistic responsibility here to confirm all previous reports that "Wu Tang ain't nuthing to fuck with."
I was a little bit surprised by this show as that it was up against the festival's main headliner, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and I did not expect the crowd to be this big, or nearly this crazy. And make no mistake about it, this crowd was crazy! The crush at the front was unbelievable. And just in case nine of the illest MC's in the world throwing down on stage wasn't enough they topped off their show by having a full orchestra backing them up.
The Playlist
1) Breezeblocks Alt-J
2) Float On Modest Mouse
3) Micky Mouse and the Goodbye Man Grinderman
4) Welcome Oblivion How to Destroy Angels
5) Becoming Insane Infected Mushroom
6) Wu Tang Ain't Nuthin to Fuck With Wu Tang Clan
7) Gimme Sympathy Metric
8) Save Yourself The Make-Up
9) Best of Friends Palma Violets
10) Fields of Athenry Dropkick Murphys
11) Lightning Bolt Jake Bugg
12) Nobody Told Me Vintage Trouble
13) Elephant Tame Impala
14) No You Girls Franz Ferdinand
15) There's No Other Way Blur
16) Start Choppin Dinosaur Jr.
17) Timeless The Airborne Toxic Event
18) Happy (feat. Derek Martin) c2c
19) End of the World Deap Valley
20) Red Right Hand Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
On our recent road trip through Canada, Ursa and I made a special point to give ourselves an extra long stop over in the provincial capitol of Ontario, the exciting and beautiful city of Toronto.
Our arrival was met with lovely autumn weather, and light city traffic. And what we found was a thriving, bustling, metropolis. A city that is beautiful and artsy, full of culture and buzzing with activity.
Toronto graffiti
Around every street corner seemed to be some new fun sculpture, fascinating architecture, and especially graffiti art. I recall being at Seattle's Bumbershoot Music and Arts festival in 2010 where they had a whole exhibit dedicated to graffiti artists. I was amazed and enthralled by the skill and vision of these talented artists; but while those were on display in a gallery setting, the graffiti art that graced the walls around Toronto were every bit as good, if not better. Only the difference was seeing these pieces of art in their natural environment, the feeling of discovery that the viewer gets by noticing a clever and skilled mural on the crumbling brick of a random alley's wall.
The Sites
Koilos, by Michael Christian
With the opening of the Gooderham and Worts Distillery in 1837 the section of town now known as the Distillery Historic District began to take shape. This distillery had remarkable success until 1914 with the onset of both World War I and Prohibition which brought production to a standstill.
Toronto's Distillery Historical District
After that the distillery saw a rebirth as well as a new owner who focused on producing their very popular brand of whiskey, Canadian Club. They continued production at the distillery until 1990, when, after 153 years of continuous production the distillery finally closes down, but the buildings take on a new life as a film studio. During the 90's, more than 1700 films use the site. In 2001 the 40 buildings of the distillery district were purchased and transformed into a pedestrian only villiage dedicated to arts and culture. It is full of quaint shops, art studios, microbreweries, and fine dining.
CN Tower
Art wasn't just to be found on the walls of the buildings, sometimes the art was the buildings. The largest and most iconic piece of Toronto architecture is the Canadian National Tower (CN Tower). Completed in 1976 the tower, which stands an impressive 1,815 feet, was named after the railway company that constructed it, Canadian National. It is the tallest free-standing structure in the western hemisphere. From a visual perspective I would like to applaud the designers of the CN Tower who managed to build this style of tower without having it look overly phallic (I'm talking about you Las Vegas Stratosphere, and Calgary Tower). I know that sounds funny but it's true, it's hard to build something like this without having that look, Seattle's Space Needle is another good example of getting it right.
Yonge-Dundas Square
Another revitalized district of the city of Toronto was opened in 2002, Yonge-Dundas Square or, more familiarly, YD Square. The square resembles London's Piccadilly Circus, or New York's Times Square mostly because of the glowing billboards and naked commercialism. YD Square is built on a slight incline in order to more effectively play host to live events such as live music, festivals, outdoor cinema showings, and a variety of other local events.
Destination Libation
Toronto, like any number of other major cities, is full of great brewpubs and they're all worth a try. But Toronto will forever be best known for it's most iconic brew, Molson. While the original Molson brewery was first opened in Montreal in 1786, the company expanded to Toronto in 1955 and has subsequently moved it's headquarters there. Personally I like the idea that there are two types of beers: "nourishing" beers and "quenching" beers. Molson is a quenching beer like many mass produced lagers like Coors or Budwiser. While it's flavor may be pretty predictable, it remains one of the quintessential Canadian beers. This beer makes me channel my inner Bob & Doug McKenzie, eh!
One other very notable place that we visited on our trip to Toronto was their Chinatown. Many of the cities that we've visited throughout Canada have had Chinatowns, most of them featured some form of Asian themed architecture, but not here. This was just a cultural district. But it did have all of the really fascinating things that you'd expect to find in a really good cultural district. Where our hotel was strangely on the third floor of a mall in Chinatown, which, while it was a little odd to have a view out of our window being that of a shopping center, it did have the advantage of having some of the most fantastic, and authentic food downstairs. Our dinners were delicious and cheap every night. But the real treat was the boba. Ursa and I are both huge fans of bubble tea and there was this lady downstairs that made the absolute best lychee flavored bubble tea that I've ever had.
We'll be taking some time off from our travel schedule this winter, which should give me some time to get caught up on my Destinations posts, and our recent road trips should give me plenty to write about. So, depending on how well my motivation holds up, I'll be in touch soon. Bye!
Commercial fishing boat setting out from Homer, AK
Hello everybody; sorry that I've been doing a poor job of posting this summer. Ursa and I have been enjoying being in Alaska for the summer months, but we've also been enjoying some peace and quiet, relaxing in our apartment as well. Part of why we've been such homebodies is because Ursa has been hampered with a back injury, and also I had to serve a week of jury duty which, while interesting, is also rather tedious. But we did manage to find enough time to explore our Alaskan back yard with a couple of road trips down to the Kenai Peninsula. The first trip was during last r&r when Ursa's aunt and uncle, Herman and Jenny, were visiting from Boston. We had a great time taking them down to Seward for a whale watching trip. The second trip to the Peninsula was this r&r when we traveled down to Soldotna to visit my aunt and uncle, Bill and Tracy.
The Kenai Peninsula lies just to the south of Anchorage, with Cook Inlet on it's west and the Gulf of Alaska to it's south and east. The center of the peninsula is filled with the Chugach Mountains and the Chugach National Forest. At the base of the Chugach Range is the massive Harding Ice Field which is responsible for creating the stunning glaciers that have carved out the fjords that make up Kenai Fjords National Park. The geography of this entire area is everything that you've ever read in a travel brochure. It was interesting to see the diversity of the little towns in the peninsula, from the cute, tourist-centric port towns of Homer and Seward to the more rustic sport fishing towns of Kenai, and Soldotna.
The Sites
The Boardwalks at Potter Marsh
The scenic Alaskan highway that takes you south to the Kenai Peninsula is the Seward Highway. And the first stop on the Seward Highway, just outside of Anchorage is Potter Marsh. This beautiful wildlife refuge is a man-made wetland created by the construction of the Alaska Railroad embankment in 1917. An elevated boardwalk has been added to allow people to move about and view the wildlife without impacting the delicate ecosystem.
Arctic Tern
Potter Marsh is one of the best places for birdwatching that you will find anywhere, and I've enjoyed birding there on multiple occasions this summer. For those of you who don't know, I've been participating in a birding program run by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, called Wings Over Alaska, where birders receive certificates based on how many species they can identify within the state during the course of the year. The first level is at 50 species, which I've already passed (I'm at 63 at the time of posting) my goal is to try to get to the next level which is at 125 species. The fourth and highest certificate of participation is given for identifying 275 species, and is signed by the Governor of the State of Alaska.
Savannah Sparrow
As far as birding goes, you would be hard pressed to find a more perfect locale to view birds from. On any given afternoon you'll find arctic terns, mew gulls, bald eagles, canadian geese, yellowlegs, a variety of swallows, an assortment of ducks, as well as smaller birds like song sparrows, black-capped chickadees, and redpolls. It's a wonderful morning stop en route to the Kenai Peninsula.
Humpbacks bubble netting
During the first part of June, Ursa's Aunt and Uncle came to Alaska to attend and astrophysics conference in Anchorage. At a break in the conference we took them down to Seward for a couple days.
Whale watching with Herman and Jenny
The biggest highlight was taking a whale watching tour onboard one of the Kenai Fjords Tours catamarans. I've been on whale watching trips before and they've all been great experiences, but this one also featured a menagerie of other wildlife such as sea otters, dall porpoises, sea lions, puffins, and other sea birds. But the real attraction is the humpback whales who we got to observe using a technique known as "bubble netting" in which a group of whales swim in an increasingly smaller circle blowing bubbles to herd a school of fish closer together, then suddenly one of the whales swims up through the middle of the "net" and is able to swallow tons of small fish in one gulp. It was a fascinating view at the feeding habits of one of natures most amazing animals.
Ursa at Exit Glacier
The next day, we drove over to Exit Glacier and took the short hike up to it. This is a great opportunity because you can walk right up and touch the glacier itself! It is also compelling to look at the barren mud flats that lie along the base of the valley where the glacier used to be, and to see the road signs marked with dates which denote where the glacier used to be at various points of the last century, which go on for miles before you get to where the glacier is now.
Dip-netting for salmon on the Kenai River with my Aunt Traci
After being holed up for a few weeks in Anchorage during our more recent r&r, Ursa and I made a point to get out and explore the state a little more by driving down to visit some of my family in Kenai. My Uncle, Bill and his wife Traci live there as well as my cousins, Molly and Billy. It was great to see them all, though we did miss out on seeing Billy, who had some scheduling difficulties.
The towns of Kenai and Soldotna are a pair of quaint little fishing towns cut out of Alaska's boreal forest. They are not as touristy as the port towns of Seward and Homer which play host to a lot of cruise ships. The real draw for Kenai is the fishing, particularly in the silty waters of the salmon rich Kenai River. We had a great time dip-netting for red salmon. There is not much science to dip-netting, I would love to tell you that it took a tremendous amount of skill and perseverance to perfect this technique, but that would be a lie. Just wade into the water, drop in net, when a fish hits in it you'll know. Then drag said fish to shore and repeat. I got 10 which was more than enough to fill our freezer to the brim. But more important than the fish was the community involvement of it all. Standing in the river, talking to your neighbor, waiting for a fish to hit your net makes you feel a part of this community in a way that I hadn't before. Dip-netting on the Kenai River is an activity that just feels distinctly Alaskan.
Sea Otter floating in Cook Inlet
We also got another opportunity to do some fishing, this time in the more conventional method with poles and bait. My Uncle, Bill, has recently purchased a new boat and we decided to take it out into Cook Inlet for a little bit of halibut fishing. It really wasn't the best time to be fishing, and we had very little luck, catching only one halibut, but it was mostly fun just to get out on the boat and have some quality time with loved ones. It was also great to see all the wildlife; the sea otters were adorable and plentiful, and of course (me being a bird nerd and all) I was excited to see the sea birds. Lots of murre, pigeon guillemot, and short-tailed shearwaters.
Downy woodpecker
And speaking of birds; every morning that we were in Kenai I made a special point to wake up extra early and go for a hike in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. It was a beautiful place to go explore nature via a very well kept system of trails. There was some great birding to be done there: I saw a Harlan's Hawk, red-breasted nuthatches, plenty of bald eagles, a pair of gray jays and this busy little downy woodpecker.
The Food
Kenai and Soldotna are rather small towns, so consequently my expectations of what to find there in the way of fine dining were rather low, but as it turned out I was pleasantly surprised by the places that we ate at. Our first night in town we had a lovely dinner at Mykel's, which was good but like most of the places to eat during the tourist season, is overpriced. The next night, we had a wonderful dinner of steak and smoked salmon with our friend, and Ursa's old boss, Joe Conte. Thanks Joe, it was all fantastic and we look forward to seeing you guys in New York, hopefully sooner as opposed to later.
Our favorite place to eat on this trip was at St. Elias Brewing Company where we had sandwiches wrapped in the best pita bread I've ever had. And yes, the beer was delicious as well. I sometimes wish that I was more of a beer nerd, and could better appreciate a good microbrewery but unfortunately I'm only a nerd in every other sense of the word. Ursa knew that she would love St. Elias before we even sat down, based upon the mural on the wall of Bieres de la Meuse, which was originally painted by her favorite artist, Alphonse Mucha.
Destination Libation
The Salty Dawg Saloon
Every Alaskan that I know, and I do mean EVERY, has at least one t-shirt or hoodie from the iconic Salty Dawg Saloon. I don't think they let you into the state without one. Located on the Homer Spit, the cabin portion of this landmark was built in 1897, and was one of the first buildings constructed after Homer became a town site. This building served as the town's first post office, a grocery store, a railroad station, a school house, and a coal mining office. In the late 1940's it was used as the office for Standard Oil Company, until in 1957 it opened as the Salty Dawg Saloon. After the "Good Friday" earthquake in 1964 the substructure was moved to it's current location on the Homer Spit, and the distinctive lighthouse was constructed to cover a water storage tank.
For this week's Destination Libation, I would have rather included something new or exotic or especially something regional, but it just didn't work out that way. By the time that we got to the Salty Dawg, we had just come in from a long day of fishing and I just wanted something familiar, so I ordered my go-to drink, a whiskey and 7up. I suppose that I could give you the recipe, but the ingredients are kind of in the title. . . add whiskey, add 7up, and keep 'em coming.
All said, we had a wonderful time getting to see some of the attractions that Alaska has to offer. Because of Ursa and I's work and travel schedule whenever we are at home, in Alaska, we tend to just skulk about around Anchorage, and relax in our apartment. It sometimes takes a concious effort to force yourself to treat your back yard like a tourist would and apreciate it for all that it has to offer. It was refreshing to get a chance to see more of Alaska than we typically bumble into.
It was also Ursa's birthday this r&r, so I would like to say, happy birthday Ursa, I love you so very much! We had a wonderful party for her at her favorite sushi restaurant in Anchorage, Sushi & Sushi, and our friend, Autumn, did all the decorating and made a fantastic, 3 tiered cake, sugar cookies, and homemade truffles, it was such a great time, and a stellar effort from Autumn. Thanks again, Autumn.
Looking forward, I will be having a bunch of new posts coming up this month. Ursa and I will be driving my car up from Idaho to Anchorage, making stops in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, as well as Calgary, AB, and then a lovely drive through Canada. I'll be keeping everyone posted on here with a travel log during the trip, and later converting that log into my more conventional posts. I'm especially excited to see some of my old friends in Boise and Twin Falls. So we shall see you all soon. Bye!
This trip was intended to be Ursa's birthday present. Her birthday however is in July, and I thought that Mexico in July would be oppressively hot, so we went in March instead. Happy Early Birthday, Ursa! I love you!
While it is always wonderful to get a chance to thaw out in the tropics, Ursa and I have to be very careful on trips like these. The change in temperature between work in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico was a difference of 109 degrees F (74 F in Puerto Vallarta and -35 F in Prudhoe Bay), so it can be hard on your body to acclimatize, and while in a weakened state, your body can be susceptible to all manner of illnesses. Also, 4 months of Alaska winter will make you a nice shade of pasty white, so sunburns can get nasty, very fast. And lest we forget about the infamous traveller's diarrhea known as "Montezuma's Revenge". An uncomfortable cross section of these is what awaited us on our arrival in paradise.
The view of Banderas Bay from our patio
We took a nice stroll along the beach, and splashed in the waters of Bandaras Bay just long enough to get our sunscreen good and worn off. Then we went back to the resort and sat under a beach umbrella to read our books and drank some sangrias. The next morning when we woke up, we both had ridiculous sunburns (Ursa even had blisters!), as well as a cough, runny nose and a mild fever. So the bad news was that we spent the next 4 days recovering in the condo, but the good news is that we had an outstanding place to recover in. Our room was on the 16th floor of the Holiday Inn Resort, and had a breathtaking view of the whole bay! If you're going to be holed up sick for a few days THIS was the place to do it, with the patio doors open and the ocean breeze blowing on you, and the sounds of the waves lapping on the beach all night.
The Sites
The most notable area of Puerto Vallarta is it's endearing boardwalk, El Malecon. It is home to a unique array of restaurants, clothing shops, street artists, bars, tequila tastings and junk shops; seemingly all of them offering time shares for sale. Ursa and I bought a lovely Catrina Doll for our condo in Anchorage and before we had a chance to even pull out the credit card the guy behind the counter had flopped a book open and was trying to direct us to attend a sales pitch. No gracias.
Amongst the usual charicature artists, singers, and extraordinary living statues the local street artists also have the option of working with another medium, sand. The sand sculptures up and down El Malecon were outstanding. Each of the sculptures had a small donation box in front of it, and I kind of used the rule of thumb that if it's cool enough for me to photograph, then it's cool enough for me to drop it a couple of pesos. That seemed a fair policy to me.
El Malecon is also the heart and soul of Puerto Vallarta's nightlife. The boardwalk is lined with bunches of bars, clubs, and tequila tasting rooms. Great spots for afternoon cocktails or dancing the night away.
As a consequence of having a bunch of down time at the beginning of our trip, all of the activities that we had booked got pushed together during the second half of our vacation. So we had one week of laying about followed by one week of run, run, run. It all worked out though.
To start our activities off, we went swimming with wild dolphins. It was an exhilarating experience to get in the water with these amazing animals. Seeing a shadow pass in front of you through the murky water, so close you can nearly touch it, then in a flash it's gone. When they appear on the surface you realize that they were farther away then you thought, because they were much larger than you understood them to be. These are large and powerful animals, and sharing the water with them has a way of making you feel very small. Sadly, the dolphins were not feeling terribly playful on the day that we were there, though they showed some curiosity towards one of the other people in our group. But even for him, they really never stuck around very long; they mostly would approach the boat, then swim away as soon as we got into the water. Which was a little unfortunate, but we had a wonderful time swimming in the ocean nevertheless. On the way back we got to see a female whale with her calf swimming in the bay which was an awesome bonus to the trip.
Our fun in the water did not end with the dolphins, we also spent an afternoon snorkeling at the Marieta Islands. These islands are best known as a bird sanctuary, and are an important nesting site for more than 90 species of marine birds, in particular the Blue Footed Booby, which is more famously associated with the Galapagos Islands, but is known to nest here as well.
This archipelago is also home to a wide variety of fish. It is this biodiversity that made the Marieta Islands one of the favorite destinations of famous oceanographer, Jacques Cousteau, who was instrumental in helping this refuge be designated as a protected natural zone. The water was frankly much colder and cloudier than other places we've been snorkeling, but it was still a great location. There was a huge array of vibrantly colored fish. However Ursa was the only one that got a look at the rays which were playing around in the sand, I unfortunately missed them.
The island had the beautiful Playa del Amor (lover's beach), where we had to swim through a volcanic archway and to the hidden beach where we could take a rest and explore a secluded and romantic sea cave. It was a very good trip, which was made better by the wonderful family that were on the tour with us. Good times are always made better by good people.
Our next tour took us away from the ocean and into the scarcely populated areas in the Sierra Madre Mountains. Our guide, Juan, took us via Jeep back to a little pueblo in the hills were we visited a local home with a garden that was unbelievable. The family cooked us the best meal we ate on our entire trip, a lunch of home made blue corn tortillas which were ground by hand and cooked on the back patio.
Aside from a plethora of tropical fruits and vegetables, they also had the strangest looking chickens running all over. The chickens had no feathers on their necks or faces, but did have a little tuft of feathers on the top of their head like Moe, from the Three Stooges. The family also had about a dozen fighting cocks in cages out back, and a little boy training them by holding another rooster in front of the cage to prompt it to attack. The strange thing about the roosters was a box that one of them came in which sat nearby; it read "Fighting Fowl, Best Quality" which was strange not in it's message or it's presence but in the fact that it was written in English. I'm not sure what I make of that.
photo by Ursa Davis
After our experience at the farm, we got back in the Jeep and continued our trek through the jungle. What made our tour so much fun was that Juan was so endearingly obsessed with the local plant life that the tour might have been called a "Botanical Tour". Regardless of whether or not botany is your bag, when someone is that excited about the topic they are talking about, you can't help but be sucked into what their talking about. Juan was just awesome. At one point, while he was explaining the inner workings of a termite mound, he flagged down a passing pickup, and persuaded the passengers to lend him their pet macaw then proceeded to give a full lecture about the breeding habits of the Military Macaw.
Lost in my description of this tour was the most special activity. Juan had made sure that we all picked up a bag of candy to hand out to the local children. Every village that we passed through the kids recognized Juan and came running. It was a wonderful touch for the day.
Masked Tityra photo by Ursa Davis
After all of this running around we were pretty worn out. Even to the point of considering cancelling our final tour. Thank goodness we didn't, bird watching was just the pace we needed. The area around Puerto Vallarta is home to over 350 different species of birds.
Crested Caracara photo by Ursa Davis
I've got to say though that this was one of those rare occasions where I had a serious case of camera envy of Ursa. Her and our guide, Fernando, both had awesome cameras with great lenses and zooming capabilities, well suited for photographing small specimens at a distance. Fortunately, the tour included the use of binoculars for assistance, but my camera was a little outmatched. In one afternoon, Ursa and I managed to see 64 species of birds. It was a fascinating excursion, where we got to take our time and spot large birds like turkey vultures and brown pelicans, and small birds like the vermilion flycatcher and the blue grosbeak, and raptors such as the crested caracara and the collared forest-falcon.
Brown Pelican Photo by Ursa Davis
Every tree seemed to have two or three new species of colorful, tropical birds that we had yet to see. After several stops to view the tropical birds we finished our birding expedition by going to the shore and seeing how many of the sea birds we could identify. The most common in the area were the pelicans and the frigate birds, but I was surprised by the wide variety of herons, seven different species of them. All in all it was the most interesting and relaxing tour that we took on our whole trip.
The Food
One reoccurring theme of our trip to Mexico was that, above all, Puerto Vallarta is a resort town. Every resort is going to have at least a couple of nice, albeit overpriced, restaurants, our favorite of which was a beach restaurant called Si Sinor which featured outstanding traditional Mexican fare.
But for all the glitz of the resorts, we still felt a little underwhelmed by all the places that were supposed to wow us. Far better were the restaurants a little off the beaten path, not associated with the facades of the resorts. Our favorite of these places was Las Adelitas which was a delicious local barbecue restaurant. Delicious BBQ, good drinks and the best chili rellenos we had in Mexico.
blue corn tortillas getting fried up
Honestly though the best meal that we had was, as I said earlier, eating a homemade lunch at a farm on our jeep safari tour. There is simply no high end restaurant anywhere that can compete with authenticity. Grinding corn into maize on the back patio and cooking blue corn tortillas over a wood fire was one of the best culinary experiences that I could have hoped for.
Also, the street vendors have some awesome eats. While we were laid up with sunburns and sickness, we hit a nearby rotisserie chicken vendor that was fabulous.
Destination Libation
I've decided to forgo the "Home Cooking" segment of my blog, in lieu of a "Destination Libation" segment. While I still love to cook, let's face it, I'm a better drinker than I am a cooker. So these will henceforth highlight a wine, beer, or cocktail that reminds me of this particular destination.
So I know that this being a post about Mexico, I should be dropping the ubiquitous margarita recipe but to tell you the truth the margaritas just weren't doing it for me in Puerto Vallarta. I pretty much stuck with sangrias and my new favorite warm weather drink, the Ron Collins. Collins drinks are a pretty simple idea featuring your favorite flavor of alcohol mixed with lemon and soda water. The traditional version of this mix is the Tom Collins which is a gin drink, another common version is the Vodka Collins (betcha can't guess what's in that), but I was feeling rummy and went with the Ron Collins, which uses Ron Bacardi rum. This recipe is courtesy of everyone over at Drunk Man's Guide.
Ron Collins
2 oz light rum
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 Tbl sugar
3 oz club soda
Lime slice
Maraschino cherry
Add the first three ingredients to a mixing glass and stir with ice. Strain into a tall glass and garnish with the lime slice and the cherry.
To be perfectly honest, what appeals most to me about travel is getting a taste of local culture. Unfortunately we ended up renting a condo at a resort, and resorts by their very nature are designed to insulate people from getting too much local culture. It's nothing against resorts or cruise ships, it's just that we vacation in a different way. The room did have a stellar view though, which we were grateful for.
I don't want to disparage Puerto Vallarta though. The beaches were amazing and the drinks were frequent, the tours were fascinating, the food was good, and overall we had a great trip. Relaxing at first, exciting at the end, and overall a great break from winter in Alaska.
I can't believe that it has taken me this long to bring up our last day. On March 20, 2012, Ursa and I were sitting on our patio on the 16th floor of our building, having some morning coffee and doing some reading on our Kindles. I started getting a strange sensation, almost as if the whole building was swaying. My immediate reaction was to chalk the feeling up to vertigo or perhaps a head rush from too much coffee. Then I looked over at Ursa who was staring at me with a terrified look on her face, and that's when I realized "Oh shit! That wasn't vertigo!" Little did we know that a magnitude 7.4 earthquake had struck to the south of us in Acapulco. Fortunately the epicenter was far enough away from us that the effects were not to bad, other than to give us a little scare.
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