jackal

Summer Solstice Weekend: June 19ish-22ish, 2009 (dates are flexible)
Anchorage, Alaska

I can't believe it's only been two years since I met my first fellow FlyerTalkers in person when ozstamps and Margo arrived for their traditional mileage run to Alaska and met us for dinner at Moose's Tooth.

Not too long after that, BOB W hosted the first summer solstice do at his house and filled us with great brisket and other vittles and, of course, plenty of fabulous Washington State wine!

Due to convoluted schedules, we weren't able to have an official Solstice Do II last year despite the never-ending torrent of visitors taking advantage of decent fares and DEQM promotions.

But this year, we're back! Alaskans survive Alaskan winters just to be able to enjoy Alaska in the summer, and when summer hits, we play hard! There's lots to see and do under the virtually constant daylight: nothing like being out at what feels like 4:30 in the afternoon only to look at your watch and realize it's 11:30pm! There are mountains to be hiked (even in the middle of the night), fish to catch (and helpful fishing charter captains to make it easy), good food to be eaten (Anchorage has some surprisingly good eats for the middle of nowhere), and, not least, good company to be enjoyed.

This event will be held in Southcentral Alaska, primarily in the Anchorage area but with potential excursions out of town. Event details will be hashed out based on YOUR input. What do you want to do? Check out Wikitravel and Alaska.org and browse around a bit, and post back what looks fun and interesting to you. There's something for everyone: road trips, kayaking, flightseeing, hiking, gold rush history, fishing (both river and deep sea), glaciers, mountain viewing, train rides, and more. We can head north, south, or both. Help us decide!

Or we can go all out and book an excursion to somewhere exotic: Kodiak, Barrow, Nome, Kotzebue, Dutch Harbor, Adak, etc. Tickets are expensive, but they can be booked from ANC using only 15,000 Alaska Airlines miles. Additionally, if you travel to Alaska on a mileage ticket, you may be able to book all the way to wherever we decide to go (if we do at all) and then schedule your time in ANC as a stopover, so check on that option.

When we get things a bit more organized, we'll set up a Doodle poll you can vote on to show your interest and availability for specific ideas. For now, there are two Doodles set up: one for available times and dates and the other for preliminary interests in what to do and, most importantly, where to eat. Please feel free to utilize those polls to put your input and help us plan.

So come on up and enjoy the summer sun and Alaskan hospitality on the longest day of the year!

jackal

Tentative schedule (subject to change on your feedback!)


Thursday
What: Dinner (TBD, if anyone's in town)
Who:

• jackal

Friday
Lunch @ Sacks Cafe (G, between 3rd and 4th) (noon)

• jackal

Downtown activities (1pm-5pm)
Music in the Park: Top Cover (Air Force Band of the Pacific) @ Peratrovich Park downtown (4th and E), 21st Annual AWAIC Solstice Celebration @ Town Square park downtown, Juneteenth Celebration on the Park Strip @ Delaney Park Strip (9th Ave)

• jackal

Barbecue, wine tasting, and midnight sun worship! @ Casa de Bob W: address and directions will be PM'd (7pm, early arrivals welcome)

• jackal
• BOB W
• beckoa
• AKronin
• missydarlin (pending flight availability)

Saturday
Lunch @ Glacier BrewHouse (12pm)

• jackal
• Seat 2A

More downtown activities
Walking tour starting from Glacier BrewHouse, including the Saturday Market, art galleries, historical highlights, and other downtown sites, G Street Artists Market @ G Street between 3rd and 5th ,21st Annual AWAIC Solstice Celebration, Juneteenth Celebration on the Park Strip

• jackal

Dinner @ Suite 100
When: 7pm

• jackal (for part of the time)
• beckoa

Sunday
Lunch @ Orso (12pm)

• jackal

Town Square Concert: Top Cover (Air Force Band of the Pacific) @ Town Square park (5th and E) (1pm-3pm)

• jackal

Your primer to Alaskan adventure: a hike up Flattop Mountain in Anchorage (afternoon)

• jackal

Dinner and drinks @ Simon and Seafort's (bar side with full menu) (8pm-ish)

• jackal
• beckoa

Optional Midnight Sun Extra: celebrate the longest day of the year on top of Flattop (only if we don't make it up earlier in the day--I'm not going twice! ) (10:30pm)

• jackal

jackal

Bull Moose (confirmed and ready to trample!)

1. jackal
2. vysean
3. beckoa
4. BOB W
5. AKronin
6. missydarlin
7. mersk862
8. AKronin
9. Seat 2A

Cows (good chance, but still chewing your cud on it)

1. akdude
2. itsaboutthejourney
3. SchmutzigMSP
4. stellertony
5. glacierbear

Calves (interested, but still finding your legs)

1. scflier
2. wsucougarchick05
3. Chugach
4. bk3day
5. UAL4life

Moose Nuggets (can't make it/no-shows)

1. Tuneman1984
2. GoingAway
3. Ocn Vw 1K (unless he can be convinced to fly US! )
4. monitor + Frannie (but it's OK...they'll be the honored guests at Moose Do III: The Search For More Nuggets! )
5. the_traveler (would do it if Amtrak went to ANC!)
6. superscot
7. kudzu +1

jackal

I may be able to get us some discounts, either through connections I have or through group discounts (if there's enough interest). Please PM me if you would like further information on these potential options.

Anchorage hotels
I may have contacts that may be able to get discounted rates at the following hotels:

• Embassy Suites
• Homewood Suites
• Hilton Garden Inn
• Hampton Inn

Also, if you're looking for something a little different from a chain hotel (as if any FTer would willingly give up accumulating hotel points! ), there are two B&Bs in town I've been to that are simply gorgeous and worth checking out (and may actually be cheaper than most chain hotels!):

• Highland Glen Lodge
• Alaskan Frontier Gardens B&B

Anchorage rental cars
For group activities, we can rent and share the cost of a larger vehicle (e.g. minivan or 12-passenger van). Post if you're interested in this option, and we can figure the costs out here.

Vehicle: TBD
All-in cost (minus fuel): TBD
Participants:

1. jackal

If you arrive early or stay late, and/or you want the freedom to roam around on your own, PM me for pricing and availability on a rental car. Unless something crazy happens, I can guarantee you the cheapest rental car in town. (It'll still be expensive, but hey, this is solstice weekend, the single busiest weekend in Anchorage!)

Alaska Railroad tickets
I may be able to arrange for steeply discounted tickets on Alaska Railroad excursions. If we decide to do a group activity (e.g. a day-trip to Seward), I'll see what I can do to arrange this and let you know here. If you arrive early or stay late and want to tack on this option on your own time, PM me for details.

Flightseeing in Kodiak
If we do opt for a trip to Kodiak, or if you want to take off and do this on your own, I have a friend who may be able to get a discount on a flightseeing tour.

A slice of real Alaska
I know the owner of the Alaska Black Bear B&B in Hope, a historic gold mining town on the northern Kenai Peninsula. The setting is idyllic, the facilities are brand new and gorgeous, and the hostess is a treasure trove of stories about Alaska (she's publishing a book on her experiences as a police officer, firefighter, and probation officer on the Last Frontier). If you come early or stay late and want to spend a day or two enjoying a slower pace of life and some good company, let me know and I'll see what I can do (although her rates are already pretty reasonable for summer in Alaska). See the Anchorage Daily News story on Hope (don't miss pages 2 through 4) for a taste.

Other do-it-yourself discounts
If you're going to head off before or after the do and visit Alaska, look into the Great Alaskan Toursaver book. The hundreds of discounts, including numerous two-for-one discounts on activities (including on pretty expensive flightseeing trips!), will pay for the book many times over.

jackal

Here's my long shortlist of good eats in ANC and environs (in no particular order):

• Simon and Seafort's
• Orso
• Glacier Brewhouse
• Sacks
• Club Paris
• Moose's Tooth
• Bear Tooth
• Jens'
• Southside Bistro
• Suite 100
• Arctic Roadrunner
• Taco King/Burrito King (not saying much, but the best Mexican in Anchorage!)
• Cafe Amsterdam
• Cafe Croissant
• Momma O's (for halibut fish and chips)
• Double Musky
• Kincaid Grill (one of missy's favorite places!)
• Snow City Cafe
• Snow Goose Restaurant and Brewery (famous for their outdoor deck overlooking the water)
• Ginger (top-notch Asian cuisine)
• Aladdin's (according to Gardyloo, "really superior middle eastern food - as good as anything in the lower 48")
• Lucky Wishbone (famous for their pan-fried chicken)
• Marx Brothers
• Humpy's (well-known bar and famous for their halibut chips)
• Crush Wine Bistro and Cellar

Reviews (my little snippets I posted on another [now-defunct] site eons ago, if I can dig them up) or links to reviews will be posted shortly. Suggestions are, of course, welcome!

Activities:

• Hike up Flattop (great views of the city)
• Hike up another mountain or in other areas (for those of you tired of Flattop)
• Excursion by vehicle north to Talkeetna
• Excursion by vehicle south to Seward or Homer
• Walk around Downtown
• Alaska Native Heritage Center
• Newly renovated Anchorage Museum of History and Art
• Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum

jackal

And one more just in case!

sc flier

Doubtful that I'll be able to make it. If I happen to be working out west on the week before or after, I'll see if I can work it out. (Cheerwine would come in 20oz plastic bottles this time. They're now carried at my local Kroger grocery store. to packing 2 dozen cans.)

FWIW to others looking into this, the last and most notable day in this "weekend" is a Monday. jackal, is this an official state holiday up there?

jackal

No, but the co-planner and only out-of-town guest so far to commit, vysean, isn't leaving until Tuesday, so I'm (for now) including that in the preliminary dates. Dates are flexible, however, depending on people's availability. We'll see how it all works out. If the majority of people leave Sunday, we'll close official festivities then and Sean and I and anyone else who wants to stick around will hang out on Monday.

Hope it works and you (and some Cheerwine bottles! ) can make it!

BOB W

As anyone who knows me can tell you, I'm pretty much full of "BULL"

akdude

He said Do Deux !HA!HA!HA!

Seat 2A

I'm pretty sure I oughta be able to make at least one of those days, however I'm just not sure which one yet because I have no idea what my schedule will be. Count me in as a cow aspiring to moosedom!

Tuneman1984

This looks like a lot of fun but I'd barely have the funds to even get there....let alone do anything.

Maybe next year!

wsucougarchick05

Soooo tempting...

But alas, like the Spring Break Do, it's gonna depend on my finances.

akdude

Count me as a definite maybe,it all depends on my work schedule.

beckoa

Ahem... and my handle is not listed already?

Unless AS offers something like RT airfare to the lower 48 for under $200 AI... I'll be there... no BULL about it

And Alaska can be done rather cheaply (IMHO) if you make the right contacts (or if you bring a tent )... and don't spend that much time up here!

And this event is taking off- I think we might have enough FTers to put this on the schedule even!