meet annie, rory, chris and nao

Before I left for this trip I joked with a bunch of girlfriends that I was going to make out with a lumberjack when I got to Alaska. Then I decided his name was going to be Ben. (No significance, Ben just randomly popped in my head one day.) I mean, I’m a single girl, and of course, guys are a fun thing to talk about with your other single gal pals occasionally. Hunting for guys isn’t usually my thing, but how many of you single ladies out there haven’t imagined meeting some strapping rough and tumble, tall dark and handsome guy on a trip you’ve taken during your single days? By no means am I on a man hunt and I have not made random make-outs my hobby, however- it’s been fun to get the emails and texts from my girlfriends; “So have you met Ben yet?” or “Nice photos Di!- but where are the lumberjacks?” Laughing…

Not only have I not met a single lumberjack, but of all the male species I’ve met, there hasn’t been one single person named Ben. Not even in any of the places I’ve stopped across the entire country (and let me tell you I do make it a hobby of stopping lots of places and talking to lots of strangers. Wasn’t someone supposed to teach me not to do that?) Come to think of it, I have never known or heard of anyone who is a lumberjack. Do lumberjacks even exist out there? Anyway, I did imagine a situation happening where I ran into a bunch of hard-workin’ Alaskans of some kind and they’d show me “how the locals roll” if you will. I sure didn’t think it’d happen during my quiet, late dinner in a spot that looked deads-ville last night, but oh did it ever.

There I was eating away, enjoying my veggie burger and in walks in 10 of the most wasted salmon fishermen I couldn’t possibly encountered.

***This is where I tell you how much of a total bummer it is that I can’t share many of my stories in “real” time. There are psycho-stalkers and crazy people out there you know! I don’t listen to many people who lecture me, or follow many rules ever, but traveling safely as a single woman I try to do my best to pay attention to those words of safety wisdom from people who love me. I’d love to to post the place, the photos, the video- all of it where I was last night for you right now as I am still laughing and the story is fresh in my mind, but I will wait until I am in the next town. I will tell you that I did have two delicious Alaska Brewing Company beers with my veggie burger, but remained sober. I usually prefer this as it’s so much more fun to watch the drunk get drunker and be able to participate in the fun, but still be coherent to document it all. That and if you know me, you know I don’t need alcohol to dance on a table or bar, jump around, act like an idiot, or participate in pretty much anything that’s fun that doesn’t involve guns or jumping off buildings. I’m not afraid. All I have to say is cheers to hardworking fisherman who barely get a day off and when they do they do it up! Until I circle back to the fishermen…A story of some other fun people I’ve met, my Alaska Brewing Company tour in Juneau, and the reason why I knew to order a delicious brew last night.

If I’m having a drink I’d usually choose wine, but I do like the occasional beer and especially in the summer coupled with a nice sunny day on a patio. When I was in Juneau, the weather was out of the ordinary warm and sunny. It was the perfect time to visit the brewery. When I’ve toured breweries in the past, I’ve found there’s usually maybe one or two of the beers I really like, and make the yuck face on the rest. All, and I am telling you all the beer that this brewery makes is absolutely delicious. perhaps it’s the water from the ice fields, maybe they have some magic spell, or maybe it’s the local love that makes it taste so good. (The company was started by a husband and wife team who went around Juneau and got 88 people to pitch in 5k each in 1986. Talk about love and support of the locals!) Staff gal Annie originally from NY gave us a talk and seated “tour”, stopping halfway through to let us all go refill out sample glasses. (Note here; Alaskans are not shy about pouring you a big ol’ sample.)

The summer ale was my favorite. I talked to a few other visitors and staff as I tasted. All were friendly and fun. I poked around for a bunch of photos, bought a couple gifts and wandered around for a while. Here’s the tasting bar:

I was planning to head downtown after my tasting to get some dinner. As I wrapped up my visit, I overheard a group of guys asking Annie where to eat. She told them the same place I was heading to. These guys were cabbing it, so I piped up and said “Hey I’m going there- I can give you guys a ride!” Annie and the 3 guys looked at me like I was nuts. (Hey, I go on instinct, what can I say? I had a good feeling about these gents.) When they gave me the, you are 1 girl, offering a ride to 3 strange guys?! Look; I said, if you try anything funny, I will f*ck you up. I have knives, mace and other weapons you know. We all laughed. If a comment like that doesn’t break the ice for a fun time with new friends, I’m not sure what will. So I packed 3 guys into my little Civic with my luggage and gear everywhere. We had some fun taking photos at the suggestion of Nao. He hopped in my drivers seat for one:

Here’s one that Rory and Chris took from the back seat of Nao and I in the front as taxi Di drove to town:

We parked and got out for dinner, they looked at my bumper and of course; “What the heck is Blue Lollipo Road?” I shared the story with them and told them they’d likely end up a blog entry. Great place for a photo by the back of the car. Rory and Chris were former military, Nao, the youngest, a semi-pro soccer player who occasionally travel and is paid to play. (How awesome. We talked soccer stuff for a bit. Apparently he got a contract to play full time, but the pay is so little he couldn’t/didn’t want to do it. I think I remember him saying the contract was with DC United…? Nao?-Is that right?) This was their last night in Juneau from Colorado. They had been working on a project. Occupation; Air Quality Consultants:

We all ended up eating dinner together and had a grand time at The Hangar. Of course we had to have a toast to yummy local beer:

I think I’ve said it before and I will say it again; This is why I love traveling. How else would I have met 3 Air Quality Control Consultants from Colorado or 10 salmon fishermen from Alaska? When you visit a place that’s not your home and other people are too its like a level playing field. I love that because often in life things feel like a giant judging-fest. Who are you dating or married to, what kind of neighborhood do you live in, what kind of car do you drive, how old are you, yadda yadda. During travel, people rarely ask what you do for a living, if your dad is some big-wig at whatever company, and certainly no one cares if you’re a fashion statement because you’re all wearing comfortable shoes and clothes so you can walk a million miles. It’s as if people take you for face value and all the bullsh*t is stripped away. It’s refreshing. Travelers are all “lost” asking opinions on how to get where, where to get decent food, what to see. You have to rely on strangers, trust random peoples opinions and be flexible to take whatever kind of transportation, eat whatever kind of food, and exist among whatever kind of locals you encounter. To me this equals one thing; It is virtually impossible to be a pain in the ass or judgemental. And you always meet interesting people when you’re all “lost” together! I’m so glad I got to spend some time with strange local wasted fisherman last night, that I had dinner and gave some other strangers a ride last week, and that I went on a boat ride and hike yesterday with yet more strangers I haven’t even mentioned anything about yet. I’ve learned from each and every character I’ve met. What I constantly learn, I could never learn from a book, a magazine or TV show. It’s always live and uncut and I love every second of it.

Thank you to Annie, Rory, Chris and Nao, and to all my “stranger” new friends from this trip and others. I have taken a little piece from each of you and it’s all been a blast!