So, we made it to Alaska! We arrived in Anchorage on a windy evening, and drove up to the little town of Palmer just as the clouds began to break to let the sun stream down. This breathtaking view was definitely one to be remembered, so we stopped at a viewing point for Greta to pose for a picture before we went to settle in at our B&B for the evening.
The next day, we had our first performances at the fair. We were lucky that the weather held out for us on the first couple days, so we were able to go and play out in the audience during our song "Midsummer Jigs." I love the ferris wheel in the back of this picture.
Our Bed and Breakfast was called "The Cookie Jar B&B." Every night when we returned from the fair, we found a plate of freshly baked cookies waiting for us on the table from our kind hostess, Valerie. She even left us a bowl of watermelon on two of the nights!
Here's a long shot of the Colony stage where we spent the week performing at the Alaska State Fair. I think the roof of the stage looks similar to a Dutch hat. This picture shows one of the beautiful sunny days that we got to enjoy near the beginning of the week.
As we neared the end of our performances, a problem arose. We were almost out of CD's! By the very last show, Solana and I were selling the last few Story Girl CD's from a backpack on the stage. People were very nice and patient as we rummaged around to find the remaining CD's and DVD's.
The Powerhouse dancers, Matt, Haley, Addison, and Brian, were all great performers. We collaborated with them and came up with some combo numbers to perform together near the end of the fair as a surprise for the audience. They do all kinds of percussive dance- clogging, tap, Stomp, and even a bit of Irish. Check them out at Powerhousedance.net.
Check out this gigantic pumpkin! It won first prize in the 'largest pumpkin' category, and for good reason. It is ginormous!
"Drink up me hearties, yo ho!" As we walked through the fair to find something to eat to warm us up one afternoon, we came upon some Pirates who were wandering the grounds and cheering people up with their witty comments and excellent costumes. The pirate on the left was actually in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean movies! Captain Jack Sparrow was so believable that I was sure I'd just met Johnny Depp.
After the fair finished, we had two days to explore and sightsee before returning to Seattle. I begged to drive up through the town of "Willow," and look what I found there... a jail named after me! There was a gas station, this historic jail, and some houses far off the highway on dirt roads in Willow, and that was about it.
It was fun being tourists in Anchorage for a day with our Alaskan Irish dancing friends Owen Barrington, and Emily Bliss. Emily found these amazing animal hats for us all to try on in a gift shop and we posed for this picture.
We tried to glimpse as much wildlife as we could during our stay. Although we caught sight of a bald eagle, several ducks, a mountain goat, and a few reindeer in a paddock, we never did come across a real moose. Ah well. Perhaps next time!
Near the end of our Anchorage tour, we strolled along a path through some woods to find the reindeer, and came across something quite different. Solana and Owen were swiped up into the arms of a big ol' mountain bear! They were terrified, as you can see!
We hope to come back and visit Alaska soon, to visit both old friends and new.
The inspiring landscape, the friendly people, the dramatic weather, and places we got to visit all contributed to making our first trip to the "Last Frontier" a memorable one, and a thoroughly enjoyable experience both onstage and off.
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