We took a quick jaunt to the Texas Hill Country this weekend and decided to try some new roads, instead of the usual trip to the 3s. Biker, his friend Dave and I set out Friday around noon in the blazing Houston heat and were ever so happy to have a cooling rain shower just north of Fayetteville mid-afternoon. The temp dropped 10 degrees to a tolerable mid-80s range and stayed that way as we arrived in Austin to visit Jake for a little home repair project.
Home repairs complete, we took Jake and his girlfriend, Jasmine, out for dinner and reprised one of our favorite pictures from an Arkansas trip a few years ago. This one’s for you, Misty.
Original 2013
Redux 2016
After dinner we headed over to west campus to have a beer, stopping first at Jake’s frat house for a game of beer pong. Jake and some random pledge barely beat the powerhouse team of Biker and Jasmine. 
Biker quickly got into his old fighting college form, seen here.
The next morning, Biker, Dave and I had superb breakfast tacos (thanks, Taco Deli) and set out to try some new roads. We had a great ride getting out of Austin. I love FM 2222 heading northwest out of Austin for its sweeping curves and dramatic bluffs, and Lime Creek Road offers great curves and views of Lake Travis. From there we wound our way to Marble Falls and up to Llano for lunch, then found some small goat-trail-like roads that took us through the middle of nowhere down to Fredericksburg and into Kerrville for the night. Sunday morning was a quick breakfast at the ever-tasty Cracker Barrel, then the usual trail home. As we hit the outskirts of Houston, we got pounded by some of the biggest drops I’ve ever seen. Made for a wet ride from about Katy to Highway 6.
Two thoughts on this trip overall:
- The reliance on ride sharing and the shock when it’s not available. We’ve gotten to be regular users of Uber – it’s great for heading to the airport and for going out to eat when you know you’ll drink and want to be safe. Imagine our surprise to find it’s not available in Austin. Uber and Lyft aren’t there. There are some smaller ride-sharing options, but we didn’t know enough about them, plus there were five of us which would make for a tight ride. So we actually rode a bus to go to the frat house and get back to Jake’s. A bus! I haven’t ridden a city bus in … well, ever. Seriously, ever.
Then, in Kerrville, we asked the hotel desk to call a cab for us, knowing we would drink margaritas at the restaurant and not wanting to ride the bikes back to the hotel. There is exactly one cab in all of Kerrville. One. And when the lady showed up, there was a baby in the backseat. I’m not kidding.
See pic of me, Dave and said baby. He was a sweetie. But c’mon. That’s weird, right? - The importance of Velcro in motorcycling. It’s everywhere. It’s all over the clothes, it closes my boots fully, it holds the radar detector onto the bike, etc. I started to wonder how Velcro was invented. Was it what the inventor was TRYING to do? Or was it a happy accident? So I Googled it. Here’s what you need to know … In 1948, Swiss engineer and amateur mountaineer George de Mestral went hiking in the woods with his dog. Upon arriving back at his home, he took note of the burrs that clung to his clothes and he wondered if such an idea could be useful in commercial application. He studied a burr under a microscope and discovered that they were covered in tiny hooks, which allowed them to grab onto clothes and fur that brushed in passing. After more than eight years of research and work, he created what is known now today as Velcro, a combination of the words “velvet” and “crochet.” Made up of two strips of fabric, one covered in thousands of tiny hooks and the other with thousands of tiny loops, the materials gripped together firmly while still allowing easy release. While de Mestral’s invention became the source of much ridicule early in its inception, his perseverance allowed him to perfect the hook-and-loop technology for commercial use. He patented Velcro in 1955, and its popularity was set when NASA started using the product for all kinds of things, which led to Velcro’s popularity in all circles of life. So there you go.
That’s it for now. Another trip later this month. Happy travels!
and Zoey quickly discovered she could get away from the little ankle biter (literally) by retreating to a couch or chair. Tia’s feisty, and she’s a climber, so we’ll see how much longer couches and chairs are a safe haven for our big girl.
Along the way, we saw four moose including one that ran right in front of us and a bear. At about Mile 10, we were stopped by park rangers and asked to turn around because of an ‘active bear’; we later learned the definition of ‘active’ – the bear had attacked a hiker, slashing her side and biting a chunk out of her leg. 
But not this day. It was rainy and chilly, with a low fog hanging over the mountains. Still, the ride was beautiful, and we saw more wildlife – five bears including a momma and her two cubs and what apparently is a really unusual sighting – a wolf walking along the road. The trip was great and marred only by the fact that about 20 of the same group that had been on the ship with us was on the bus. They were loud, they were slow to follow rules, and they brought along smelly food that they pulled out about halfway through. After about 10 days of these folks has brought us to the point of just rolling our eyes and moving on. So irritating. The day was still great, and we topped it off with an excellent pizza at a local pub.
discovered that Anchorage is home to one of the top 10 pizzas in the United States – #3 actually – as voted by Trip Advisor. And the Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria did not disappoint. We actually discovered we’ve already eaten at the #10 spot – John’s Pizza in NYC. And that the #1 pizza in the U.S. is made by the same family that makes our fave pizza in Houston – Grimaldi’s. Trying the rest of the top 10 may just become a conquest for us!
and took a beautiful drive that took us past glaciers, inlets and through a 2.5-mile tunnel to Whittier. Our plane left Anchorage at 8:30 p.m. local time, and we arrived in Houston at 6:30 a.m., ready to be home.
Here’s how it worked – men would come into the saloon downstairs and “choose” their working girl by motioning to one of the dolls behind the bar. The dolls apparently resembled the girls, in hair, eye and dress color. That doll would then be laid down, indicating that girl would be busy for the next 15 minutes. The man would head upstairs to visit his chosen girl for $5 for the 15 minutes. (the tour guide joked, “wonder what they did for the other 13 minutes?”) . The rooms were tiny and the beds minuscule, as shown at right; the bed was a normal length but probably only 3/4 of the width of a twin bed. After the “activity” was completed, the girl would send the $5 coin down a money hole in the floor, and this would indicate to the bartender that he could sit up the doll. The girl was available again. These girls worked 12-hour shifts. Holy cow, what a life.
Thursday morning dawned cloudy and rainy, and it was our day for the big glacier viewing. We had been told the best viewing would be 7-9 a.m., so we were up super early, had a quick and warm breakfast, and put on all the clothes we could manage. We headed out to the bow of the ship (through the ship’s theater!), and came out onto a breathtaking scene of calm water with chunks of ice floating in it. (the rain had stopped and it was clearing) As we neared the glacier, the crowd and the excitement grew. 
We were plowing through increasingly large chunks of ice; we learned that there are four categories of ice chunks – up to 3 feet above water are called brash, 3-7 feet above water are called growlers, 7-15 feet above water are called berry bits, and more than 15 feet above water are technically icebergs. And of course, as we’ve all heard, the part above the water is just 10 percent of the total piece of ice. We didn’t go through any icebergs or berry bits, but we did see them. 
And we plowed across many brash and growlers. We were told we were extremely fortunate to get so close to the glacier – about 1/2 mile from its face. Hubbard Glacier’s face is nearly 7 miles long, and we could see the whole thing. We saw the glacier calving and heard the popping and cracking of the ice. When a glacier calves, there’s a delayed thundering sound. It was so beautiful, and we stood on the bow of the ship (kings of the world!) for the full hour it was in view. The captain was great, and turned a full 360 degrees so every person on the ship could have a chance to see the glacier before we started our trip back out of the bay. The whole experience was amazing, and that word doesn’t really cut it. Full-on trip highlight.
On to the bucket list – mushing a dog sled! I was beyond excited to do this, and it did not disappoint. After a quick ride to the heliport, and getting a safety briefing and weird ice shoes, we got on the helicopter. 
A 15-minute helo ride later, we were standing on the Mendenhall Glacier. The scenery was beyond stunning. The dogs – about 150 of them – were barking and super excited to pull the sleds. These Alaskan Huskies are bred and trained expressly for this purpose. These dogs are all being trained for competitive mushing; many of them have or will run the Iditarod. We also met two men who are signed up to do the 2017 Iditarod. This is their summer training camp and part of how they are raising money for the race. We got their card and will definitely be following them next March as they make the grueling 1,000-mile run.
One other quick note about the beauty of the scenery in Alaska in general.
at Icy Strait Point. The natives here started a corporation for the sole purpose of showcasing their culture and opening to cruise ships. It’s a lovely, largely unspoiled and very small port. Everything is brand new.
out after lunch to explore the area. I was excited to put my fingers in the cold water,
so we walked along the beach trying very hard not to step on the thousands of mussels clinging to the rocks.
Alaskan towns have histories of salmon fishing and canning, as it was their main source of income for generations. We’ve seen many old and a few still functioning salmon fisheries and canneries. At Hoonah, we toured a small cannery museum, then decided to hike the nature trail. The minute we stepped under the canopy, the light took on a beautiful luminescent quality. It is actually considered a temperature rainforest. Reminded me of the Forest Moon of Endor, where the Ewoks lived. 
Our 4-hour train ride from Seattle to Vancouver was largely uneventful. We met two nice Kiwi couples whom we continue to run into on the ship. And we took lots of pictures of the pretty scenery as the train made its way north.
We have discovered our favorite area to sit. It’s a combination coffee/wine/dessert shop. Bonus! That’s where I’m typing this right now, enjoying a glass of champagne and the violin/cello duo that’s playing nearby. We spent much of our first day here. It rained most of yesterday, an “at sea” day, so it was a great day to curl up and read a book. Which I did lots of. We also ate and drank waaaay too much. So much for keeping to the diet.
It was a fun show, though. Then we did a tour of a nature preserve and got a demonstration of totem pole carving and storytelling. Interesting stuff. The city here is extraordinarily clean and really well suited for and welcoming of cruise ships. After all those stops in Mexico and the Caribbean, it’s refreshing to not be accosted the instant you step off the ship. Oh, and there are TONS of bald eagles here. They’re everywhere. The locals act blasé about it, but we thought it was very cool.
The Biker's Wife 