State Fair and Snoop-a-Loop

This past weekend there was some excitement in our neck of the woods. First of all, the fair was in town. I mean, c’mon…How much more exciting can you get? I kid, I kid.

The Tanana Valley State Fair isn’t much to write home about, but I’ll share it with you anyway. Saturday was the last day of the festivities so we wanted to stop by and see what was going on. Honestly, we spent most of our time sitting around and chatting with some friends we ran into. The best part about this fair, or any fair, is the livestock. We saw lions and tigers and bears (oh my!)…Okay, that’s not true. We did see reindeer, pigs, horses, chickens, sheep, and goats, though-

Before we exited, we stopped by a tent where this charming young lady was trying to sell a gaggle of meats and mustards. She really racked up when we walked by! We were ravenous anyway because it was later in the evening and we hadn’t had dinner yet. We ended up leaving with 26 reindeer sausages! They are pretty tasty, though so I suppose all is well.

Then we headed over to Chena on the River to dine with friends out on the deck of the restaurant. What a lovely evening!

Let’s back up, though…to Saturday DAY. As you may know, I recently booked a flight to Tennessee. To do so, Captain J and I decided to go to the airport to discuss redeeming our frequent flyer miles. As we pull up, park, and begin walking inside, I noticed this guy who was, I’m sure, the definition of supa fly. His suit screamed, “I’m important” and his stance did, too. Inside the automatic doors of the airport, the atmosphere seemed exciteable. It was easy to recognize that something was going down. Three other huge black guys in sweet suits were standing no where near each other around baggage claim and the gate exit. While this is perhaps commonplace in Atlanta or Chicago, it most certainly is not in Fairbanks, Alaska. In fact, I probably can’t tell you the last time I saw anyone in a suit around town or at church aside from these fellas. The norm around here is ACUs or flannel!

Anyway, I remembered Snoop-a-loop (wait, that’s not right) was scheduled to perform at a local bar that night. Less than a minute after that thought enters my mind, we see a  tall guy walking through the doors with a big teddy bear lookin’ thingy on his head. That’s the moment I met Snoop D-O-double G. Alright, I’m lying again. I actually just saw him about 10 feet from where I was standing. I didn’t want to be the girl who was like ‘OMGahhh, it’s Snoop! Can I have your autograph?” so I just played it cool. Ha!

I tried to discreetly take a picture, but I only managed to get a scary look from one of the bodyguards.

Oh, well. Next time.

Grizzlies

Forget baseball. Forget basketball. And soccer? Yeah, right.

I am a football fan. Just the other day I had on a New York Yankee’s hat and someone at Wally World excitedly asked if I was a fan. For the life of me, I don’t know why I didn’t just say, “ehh, it’s just a hat I have.” Instead I began to explain that MY sport was football….like I couldn’t like multiple sports. How weird? I’m sure I sounded like a total football snob, but that’s okay. It’s America’s REAL favorite pasttime.

Living in the Great White North keeps me from this passion of mine. Watching football on T.V. just isn’t as fun because I have to wake up bright and early Saturday mornings to watch the games because of the time difference. Plus Captain J doesn’t care much for football unless the Steelers are playing. In addition to these obstacles, it’s really difficult to find a football game in these parts as you can imagine.

Indoor football is the closest we have for any hope of getting my fix. I used to think it was kinda lame, but now I’ll take what I can get! Last weekend, Captain J, 3 of his buddies, and I went to another game. It was a big game supposedly. There was to be much excitement and lemme tell ya, it didn’t disappoint.

For the majority of the game, the Fairbanks Grizzlies were behind by a few points. There were a few awesome tackles and barely caught impossible to catch passes but for the most part, we were not emotionally invested in the game. It was hotter than a tamale in the arena and we were all pretty much trying not to move around much. We mostly nibbled on pretzels and fudge and washed that down with beer–You know…all the foods ya shouldn’t eat but feel entitled to in such a scenario. And we just chatted- only half way watching the game.

Then the fourth quarter came.It was intense and at one point it wasn’t looking good for the home team…so much in fact, that several people got up and left. The game was over. I had given up. Miraculously, with a few seconds left to play a call was taken back and the Grizzles got the ball again. They scored a touchdown that left us down by one point. We all sat there as we realized that overtime was imminent. Just as we were on the edge of our seats, they decided the’d go for two instead of kicking a field goal. Pretty cocky move, huh? Anyway, with no time left to play, the Grizzlies ran the ball into the endzone scoring two points and winning the game by one point.

And the crowd went wild!

Of course after that kind of victory, we had to go get t-shirts!

As we exited the stadium, some incredibly intoxicated middle aged woman began hitting on one of the guys. We took a video of the escapade that we often play back and laugh at. She was ridiculous! Apparently, this wasn’t the first time they met…He might just have a stalker. Thankfully, I’m pretty dang sure he can outsmart her. She’s not the brightest crayon….hittin’ on a married man like that. Tsk, tsk!

See ya tomorrow for 5QF!

Crazy Fun

This weekend was crazy, fun. I told you Captain J and I had made lots of plans, recall? Well, most of those plans happened and then some. If I were to describe each event in this one itsy bitsy blog post then, well, you’d stop reading. I mean, YEAH, it was loads of fun, but nobody likes an uber long post. Am I right? Or maybe this is an excuse to not write much right now as it is almost midnight. I’ll ponder that as I type and get back to you.

Where to start? How bout in the middle (because those are the pictures I have uploaded to my computer!)?

Captain J and I attended a wine tasting with a few spectacular friends. We were invited along by Sgt Major so and so who was attending. We heard “wine” and “riverboat” and thought, why not?! Let me start off by saying, I’m glad we went. I really am, but…

Fairbanks isn’t the place to experience the whole wine tasting on a fabulous boat scenario. If this tells you anything about it, it only set us back forty bucks…TOTAL! The wine was great, but then again we aren’t exactly wine-oes. Our house wine is Oak Leaf from Walmart…I mean, c’mon. The riverboat was named the Tanana Chief and it sat quietly beside a large highway bridge- ALL NIGHT. Yes, the boat never actually moved while we were galavanting around pretending to be classy enough to know good wine when we smell/taste it. The water in the Chena River isn’t up far enough to justify trying to take a boat that size down it so we just stayed put in one spot. That was all fine and dandy, I suppose. I’m not sure what we were expecting anyway- Fairbanks isn’t known for its boats. 

Anyway, the drinks were flowin’ and our wine list was being peppered with guys with mohawks (the wine rocked!), turtles (the wine made you want to hide in your shell), dead guys (terrible wine), and straight-faced smilies (the wine was mediocre) when the staff announced that it was time to eat. We ventured downstairs to find out that it was Taco Night on the ole Tanana Chief. Who ever heard of tacos and wine? Good grief. Oh well, it gave us a good laugh. Also, our totally legit rating scale left us chortling, too so we left the riverboat and headed over to another favorite stomping ground: The Pump House to continue our good time.

And continue our good time, we did! I can’t really explain to you how the rest of the night went down. It was one of those nights that I want to preserve in my mind yet nothing special really happened. It was just a bunch of friends hangin’ out at our favorite locations around town. It was good interesting conversation. It was laughter. It was a farewell of sorts. It was a random dance party at the close of a Greek restaurant. It was an impromptu karaoke tribute to Journey. It was old school jams and rap sessions. It was totally random…just how I like life to be.

Did you catch that farewell part? Unfortunately for me, I’m having to say goodbye to another friend as her hubby is headed off to MCCC in another state. I first mentioned her here and since then we’ve made several fun memories. I hate to see her go! That’s the way it is in the military, though. Hopefully our paths will cross again.

From the Pump House we went to Bobby’s, a nice Greek restaurant in town. We closed down the place! This light thing here in AK is pretty awesome really deceiving. We had no idea that it was nearing two a.m. as we switched the radio to Pandora and revisited some old music favorites. By the end of the night, we had sparked a random dance party in the middle of a restaurant that no one dances at yet everyone who was there participated in. It was a good time. I actually got part of one old school jam on video as we all tried to sing along but I don’t think you want to see us attempt Salt-N- Pepa’s “Shoop”.

 All-in-all, Friday was a fun day, but I left out parts that I’ll be sure to update you on soon. For example, I may or may not have caught something on our fishing trip earlier that day. You’ll just have to wait and see. The rest of the weekend did not disappoint, either. More to come! I’ve just decided that sleep actually does sound pretty good so I’m off to dreamland. Ta-ta!

Football and the Globetrotters

For the past two weekends, Captain J and I have flooded the Carlson Center in Fairbanks for its vast schedule of activities. Each time we go, the open space is transformed perfectly for whatever event that is planned next. Don’t you think that’s weird? It always trips me out that elephants can excrete their poo at the same place someone might later shoot a foul shot. Anyway, enough of that crap (*Did you catch the pun?) Hey, it’s late and I’m tired. Humor me!Moving along…

Last Friday was, of course, the Army ball. The room was turned into a dinner party, a dance floor, and a stage. Less than twenty four hours later, we were in the same room only it looked completely changed. The stadium was back in order for indoor football. I really got my dose that I had missed the previous season. I love football and I had forgotten how much energy is involved in attending a game. As you might have guessed, football isn’t big here. Perhaps it’s the cold weather that isn’t so attractive to guys in thin stretchy pants. Whatever the reason, it left me aching for the south and the good ole days at Neyland Stadium. It was pretty cool to see the game again and Fairbanks won! Here’s some photos from that day:

Today, we ventured back to the Carlson Center to watch the world famous Harlem Globetrotters. We had a good time. A lot of their tricks were pretty cool, but I think we were both expecting a little more. Still, we were pleased we went to the event. It was really entertaining. The guys were funny and they interacted with the crowd a lot. Some of the coolest stuff came from the people of Fairbanks, though. We got a really neato video of the Fairbanks Unicycle Club:

 and another of this awesome hippie in a tie dye shirt dancing to YMCA:

And here are a couple more photos from the big game. I’ll give you two guesses who won…

Are you on media overload? I hope not! Talk with you soon.

Love,

The little things

My stir-crazy brain was churning a mile a minute when Captain J’s truck pulled into the snow and gravel covered driveway of our place. Home…and early! I was so excited until he got out of the vehicle, shut the door, and proclaimed, “Hey babe. I’m going to sleep.”

I guess he didn’t get much sleep after having to catch some zzz’s outside. I understand, but I was somewhat distraught because while he was off “defending the free world” I was stuck in the house for days with no car, no human interaction, and little sleep to speak of myself.

Off Captain J goes to bed and I picked up my book again. After getting a little shut eye he wakes up and I’m (for lack of a better word) pouting. I tell him how I might pull my hair out if I don’t find out soon that there are other people that exist in this world outside cyber space. I want to see another human being. I need interaction. This coming from an introvert, he recognized my desperate plea was serious. So, at around 9:15 PM we headed out. We stopped at a coffee shop downtown and ordered up a chai tea and hot chocolate to sip on while I people watched. (Do I sound creepy yet?)

Luckily, we went on a night that they were having live music. The sounds of old greats came through the speakers with a twist of their three person band’s style. Captain J and I were enjoying each others company and I was very appreciative for the warm welcomes from the band members, the little girl with a joyful smile on her face playing with Mom and Dad, and the fresh air on the way back to the truck.

It’s hard to beat a good cup of chai tea and wonderful company! It’s the little things that make me happy.

Au Revoir,
Mrs. K