Day 11-Saturday, 23 Oct.

The week was uneventful.  My school books came in on Thursday so I'll spend most of next week catching up on 2+ weeks of homework.  I got my flu shot on Friday.  I learned how to use some software and updated the 477th Fighter Group website.  It lightly rained but wasn't too cold this week. 

Friday night I ate at Humpy's Great Alaskan Alehouse, which apparently is an Anchorage-must-do.  I had a locally-made raspberry wheat beer and ate a Halibut burger; both were excellent.  Then I walked across the street and watched the musical "Mama Mia!"  It was good but it's not my favorite musical.

I also learned that Vante, like most cats, likes to sleep on clothes still warm from the dryer and in luggage. She thought she had found Nirvana when she discovered the warm clothes in my luggage.

Vante also likes bathwater.

Today, (Saturday) Vante and I slept in and by 'slept in' I mean Vante woke up around 6 a.m. (when my alarm normally goes off).  She then decided to sleep ON me. 


I talked to Steve for a bit and as he was leaving for work he said, "go, drive around and get lost; do something!"  So I did.  I found a hike, Rendezvous Peak, that was listed as a somewhat easy 4 miles & I was off!  It turns out that it's right outside the main Ft. Richardson gate (YEAH) and 7 miles up a gravel road (BOO).  The drive was gorgeous though. That's Ft. Rich in the foreground.

I paid $5 to park and after reading the hiking directions, I take off.  Well, I'm the ONLY person on the trail.  But it was nice and I didn't really care.  I spent maybe an hour on this hillside.

I've noticed a strong trend; Alaskans hike with their dogs.  About every 3rd or 4th hiking party has a dog.  It's AWESOME!  They're all very friendly, the dogs love the attention and the owners love talking about their dogs.

From the first hike, I could see the trail I should have taken.  So, once I finish the first trail I head towards the second trail.  The 2nd trail was a ski lodge road. 

Once I got to the top, this is the view back to my car.

This is the opposite direction.

It was such a nice day that I didn't even bring my jacket on this hike.  Gorgeous!

After that I was off to the pet store to stock up on some Vante necessities.  Vante thought it was kitty-Christmas.  She got a cardboard scratching pad w/catnip, a laser pointer, and a tiny bunny that makes sounds when you hit it.  She was very happy, as evidenced by her photo below.  (Miss V likes her 'nip.)