travelgirl: give a girl an open road...

Scenes from the new Anchorage Target

Image via WikipediaI know you don't realize what a big deal it is to get a Target in Alaska. So bear with me as I memorialize this monumental event: shopping for the first time at the new Target in Anchorage, Alaska.

I'll be moving soon to Tok, Alaska where there is basically...nothing. So I am savoring my chances to shop at Target, even just walk up and down the aisles.

I did spend a lot more on my first visit to Target in Anchorage than I intended. I even told my husband an estimate on what I thought I was going to spend. I was about $100 off. Oops! But baby has some wonderful new outfits, warms ones for our new home in Tok. Hey, you have to be prepared.

A new vegetarian restaurant in Anchorage?!?

I was just reading a blog from a bed and breakfast in Anchorage, Jarvi Homestay, and found out there is a new vegetarian restaurant in town.

Here is what she had to say:

A new place, the Namaste Shangri-La just opened and I tried it last week. Excellent, excellent. The owner, Tsering, intends to put up a website, but for now, there is none. The restaurant is in a small strip center between Ichiban and the UPS store, facing Tudor just east of Lake Otis.

I'm going to have to check this out and FAST

We Got Target! The Adventures of Target in Alaska

Image via WikipediaSupposedly the Target store has opened in Anchorage. This is a big deal. After 3 years in Alaska with only Wal-Mart, Sams Club and Costco as the only options for discount big-box stores, Target has supposed opened up in the last few days or weeks. I'm not really sure because even though I've been waiting for this event with baited breath, I personally have yet to see an ad, news story or mention of this event anywhere.

So after hearing that several people have actually BEEN to the new Target, I decided to bring baby to it for a day of shopping.

But unfortunately, I could not find it. I do remember seeing it off the highway, but could not remember where exactly I saw it and how to get there.

Then while driving around Mountain View and surrounding areas, baby barfed. I know that had nothing at all to do with Target, but it did put a damper on the idea of shopping or at least driving around Anchorage in search of the Target store.

We'll try to get back out to Target in Alaska soon. Updates to follow.

Terror on the trail: Bear attacks teen bike racer: Bear Attacks | adn.com

By BETH BRAGG and WESLEY LOY

Published: June 30th, 2008 12:11 AM
Last Modified: June 30th, 2008 06:09 PM

A teenage girl riding in an all-night mountain bike race was badly injured early Sunday morning when a bear attacked her on a trail in Far North Bicentennial Park.

Terror on the trail: Bear attacks teen bike racer: Bear Attacks | adn.com.

This is the trail where my husband and I walk the baby. He was just in the same area yesterday morning. Later that night, the girl was attacked by what they believe is a grizzly.

This is life in the city in Anchorage.

Picking Your Office Away from Your Home Office - Entrepreneur Mom - Work It, Mom!

Picking Your Office Away from Your Home Office - Entrepreneur Mom - Work It, Mom!.

I’m just loving my office away from my home office. Today, it is the Middleway Cafe in midtown Anchorage. At other times, I alternate between Cafe del Mundo - also in midtown - and Coffee Cats closer to my home which is in South Anchorage....

Read more of my blog post about my favorite Anchorage cafes for working away from home.

MySpace.com - Menopause The Musical - 54 - Female - ANCHORAGE, Alaska - www.myspace.com/menopausethemusical

Link: MySpace.com - Menopause The Musical - 54 - Female - ANCHORAGE, Alaska - www.myspace.com/menopausethemusical.

If you follow my Babyfruit blog, you know I'm probably going through early menopause or at least peri-menopause. So I really should go to this so I can not only laugh at myself but learn what else to expect!

Menopause the Musical is coming to Anchorage!
http://www.menopausethemusical.com/

This is a great show for a mother-daughter night out. It's the perfect excuse for a night out on the town for the gals. Even men are surprised at how much the learn about the women in their lives and how much they enjoy the show.

Menopause - it's not the silent change anymore. Come laugh with other Alaskan women!

Seven shows between Tuesday and Sunday, March 25-30th at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts - Discovery Theatre

Tuesday, March 25 - Sunday, March 30, 2008
Tuesday thru Thursday at 7:30pm; Friday at 8:00pm; Saturday at 2:00pm & 8:00pm; Sunday at 2:00pm & 7:00pm

Discount for groups of 15 or more. Tickets at www.CenterTix.net or call 263-ARTS (2787)

Bob Barker and ‘PAWS’ offer to take Alaska Zoo’s ‘Maggie’ south to sanctuary — for free : KSKA Public Radio

Link: Bob Barker and ‘PAWS’ offer to take Alaska Zoo’s ‘Maggie’ south to sanctuary — for free : KSKA Public Radio.

I've been trying to follow the story about Maggie the Elephant and what is going to happen to her. For more details, check out Friends of Maggie.

Let It Snow

Well, sunrise is after 9:30am and sunset starts around 3:30pm. I sit by a window all day to get some daylight and occasionally some actual sunlight through the trees.

The thing that saves the day is definitely the snow as I was told by countless people before winter arrived. When everything is coated with frost and snow, everything is bright and beautiful. Here are a few scenes from my living room window.

Daylight Countdown

Or should I call this post Countdown to Darkness.

A peculiar thing local radio does here is tell you how many hours of daylight there will be on each day.

Today:

10 hours and 9 minutes

The number decreases rapidly. Soon, we'll be in the dark with about 5 hours of daylight per day.

I don't know about you, but this freaks me out.

Welcome to Alaska.

Northern Lights in the City

Well, I've seen Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) already and from the city which isn't as common as it is out in the country. On Thursday, September 15, we heard a commotion outside on our cul-de-sac and our neighbors were on their front balconies and porches looking up into the sky.

At first, I couldn't see anything. Then I noticed a greenish glow. Soon, there was a ghostly light show in greens and reds against the clouds. The tiny lights at the bottom of one of the photos is from streetlights and house lights.

I only have a small digital camera - Nikon Coolpix 2200 - but here is what I was able to capture from the night time sky.