Saturday, November 26, 2011

So You Think You Can Drive

As the saying goes, be careful what you ask for. The last few days I've been lamenting that I didn't have anything to write about on the blog. What to say, what to say, what to say. Things have been rather quiet as of late: no astute snow metaphors about life, no stupid human tricks, and no driving escapades.

Whoops. Hang on there. Driving shenanigans, you say? Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Plentiful Sunshine

I noticed today that The Weather Channel describes Fairbanks weather not only as "bitterly cold" but also as having "plentiful sunshine". Interesting.


Friday, November 18, 2011

Bitterly Cold

I find it hilarious that the weather description for Fairbanks and other Interior locations these days is "bitterly cold". One day last week Fairbanks topped the chart as being the coldest place in the world. Colder than Antarctica! We were all so proud.  

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Leaving Cheechako Behind

My car has Alaska plates and a plug hanging from its grill. The windshield boasts not one, but three cracks. I'm not sure what I think of all this other than should I be pulled over, the state trooper can't yell at me about needing to register my car. 

The car is looking more like a seasoned Alaskan but does this mean I've left my Cheechako ways behind? That remains to be seen -- it's early in the season yet. 

Sunday, November 6, 2011

How to Miss an Island

Here is a companion tutorial to last week's: How to miss your flight. If those steps failed and you managed to make the flight, you can still miss landing at your island destination.

It's simple:

1) Fly 3 hours to your destination.
2) Listen to the pilot tell the passengers that he has one shot to make the landing otherwise the plane is turning back to Anchorage. (Bear in mind that planes only land on this island two times a week. There won't be another flight for 4 days.)
3) Watch from your window as the plane clears the hills and starts to descend over the harbor.
4) Watch the plane getting closer and closer to the ground until you feel the plane start rising again.
5) Witness the pilot turn the plane around.
6) Land at Anchorage three hours later.

There. Now you've spent six hours on a plane and ended up where you started.