And its Live!

Head on over and check it out.  My new site is live.

The Adventure List

Switching Sites

After spending the last two weeks researching and reading and researching and pulling my hair out, I am a few hours away from launching a self-hosted site for The Adventure List.  If you currently read or subscribe, you will need to switch to www.theadventurelist.co.

I've transferred all information to the new site but haven't cleaned up the links yet. Still getting used to the new platform, be patient.

I do like the many many options available on a self-hosted site. Wow! Who knew?

A follow up notice will be placed on this site as soon as I hit the Launch button. Goal by 8pm tonight.

Fingers crossed.

Pinots in Portland

While in the Portland area, my plan is to try as many Pinot Noirs and Pinot Gris as my wallet will allow. While in town last week, I dropped by Thirst to try their Pinot wine flight. $17 for 4- 2 oz. pours.

• Biggio Hamina '11 - meh. Light. Not so much flavor
• David Hill Estate '10 - yummy. Heavy. Spice. Leather. Bold. Will try it again
• Purple Hands '13- oh so good, completely opposite of the David Hill. Light, fruity, bright. A definite taste again
• Hayden Road '09 - meh. Not bad. Not memorable though

  

My first visit to Portland in 2012 turned me onto Pinot Noirs. Burnside Brewery is where I fell in love with Amity Pinot. Oh man, is it good.  A little pricey by the bottle for me but well worth it.

A coworker gave me a bottle of King Estate Pinot Noir 2012.  It is one of the best I've tried.  Very smooth. Full fruit flavor.

Planet Oregon Pinot Noir 2012 is one that is sold by the glass at my work.  A mild wine that would be good for everyday drinking. Plus it has a cool label.

Viridian 2010 tastes low quality. Sharp alcohol start with a mellow finish.

Hopefully, there will be several more Pinot posts to come.

Donut Obsession

I am a donut addict. Yeah, I said it.  I'm obsessed with donuts.  I don't need to eat them all the time but if I'm out walking around, it's hard to walk past a donut shop without getting one to-go at least.  My craze for the last few years has been bacon donuts.  Have you tried them?  They are amazing at most places.

Portland, Oregon

Yesterday I stopped by Blue Star and got the beauties below: Maple Bacon raised donut and a Lemon Poppyseed buttermilk. They were both delicious.  The sweet and salty of the Maple Bacon complimented each other perfectly. Blue Star is definitely worth another visit.

<----- After 6 donut-free months spent in Alaska, I got this heavenly Maple Bacon longjohn at Tonalli's Donuts & Cream in NE quarter. I will be hitting this place up again.

No first time visit to Portland is complete without a visit to iconic Voodoo Donuts. Again, a Bacon Maple Bar as well as an Old Dirty Bastard made their way into my belly. I loved the full strips of bacon but the frosting was too sweet. Recommendation: skip it except for the tourist factor---->

Joe's Donuts in little Sandy, Oregon has a version of Maple Bacon, too.  

Not enough bacon! The slices were too thin. Their other donuts are delicious though.

Chicago, Illinois

2 Sparrows was my first ever try of a bacon donut. This one was quickly followed by many more: Do-Rite Donuts, Dinkel's Donuts, my favorite Glazed and Infused and several others.  Glazed and Infused has THE best candied bacon on their donut.

Hostels of Talkeetna

 Talkeetna Trip #1

House of Seven Trees Hostel

North Main Street

Talkeetna, AK

(907) 733-7733

Trip #1 to Talkeetna involved the first time I didn't make reservations at a hotel or hostel.  Going outside my comfort zone. Scary. I always worry I'll show up and not be able to find a place to stay.  Then what do you do? I lucked out and did find a place to stay.  The Hostel is located on the main drag of Talkeetna next to Mountain High Pizza. The main house (blue house) has the private rooms, bathrooms, common areas, and fully stocked kitchen.  The dorm room is in the back called Ye Olde Bunque Haus.  In between the two buildings is a bbq and outdoor sitting area.  The main building is really clean and well maintained. The two bathrooms have fluffy white towels for guests use.  I stayed in the Bunque Haus.  Cost $25 per night, cash only.

Walking around the main building to find the Bunque Haus was eye opening.  I had never stayed in a co-ed dorm-style room before.  It was nothing like what I expected.  I guess I should have expected it though.  It was the middle of mountaineering Alaska.  No locks on the door. Rustic looking. No bathroom. No heat. At least the beds were comfortable.  When the door was shut, the room was warm enough.  After my second stay in Talkeetna, I realized locks are not a necessity in this small town.

Best Features: location, clean main house, available amenities
Improvements: locking door or secured storage area
Would I stay here again: Yes as long as it is warm enough

Talkeetna Trip #2

Talkeetna Hostel International 

www.TalkeetnaHostel.com

 22159 S I St

Talkeetna, AK

(907) 733-4678

This hostel is by far the most interesting hostel I have stayed in.  Don't be fooled by the photo on their website.  The photo above is from September 2014.  This is what the property really looks like.  Even though the walk to the hostel and the outside of the property is scary and odd looking, the inside is cozy and relatively clean considering the majority of the long term guests are men.  The inside is like any other typical ranch house.  There are several bedrooms.  I only saw the one I stayed in.  I'm not sure if it was co-ed or not because I was the only guest in that room.  The common area had a tv with cable and a woodburning fireplace.  I didn't use the kitchen but it was large and appeared to have useful supplies.  Outside the house are several different types of camping available.  Vans, campers, outbuildings, and tent sites to rent.

The hostel is located on the far side of town.  A little bit of a walk but not too far from the main section of Talkeetna with the restaurants and bars. Follow the signs. Keep going. You will eventually reach it. Walking down I Street, I thought for sure I missed it and was walking into something I would regret.  I didn't.  My imagination was running away with me.  The place wasn't that bad.  Be cautious if you need to shower and leave by a certain time.  There is only one bathroom for all guests use.  Luckily the hot water supply lasted for everyone in line and towels were free. This hostel didn't have locks on anything either.  Common trend perhaps in rural Alaska?  $25 per night, cash only.

Best Features: warm fireplace, wifi
Improvements: another bathroom, clean up the outside area, lockable private storage
Would I stay here again: Yes if other options are not available

2014 Year in Review

In 2013, my Sketchbook Project revolved around my travels and ended with asking "2014 Where will you take me? What dreams will come true?"  2013 was amazing travel-wise coming in with 10 trips, including San Francisco, Portland, and Minneapolis.  I wasn't sure if 2014 could top it.  It did!  Why?  Because I got to live in the places I traveled to which meant I got to experience more of what the area offered.  Plus one of the places was my #1 Bucket List place (Alaska) and I got my first stamp in my passport (Mexico).

Travels for 2014:
Finished a 2 year stint in Chicago
2 weeks at home with kids
6 months in Denali area Alaska with side trips to Anchorage, Talkeetna, Fairbanks and Barrow
2 weeks in Sayulita and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
2 months of a 5 month stay on Mt. Hood, Oregon in a little town called Zigzag

Dreams that Came True:
Visited/lived in Alaska
Visited the northern most part of US (Barrow)
Saw a polar bear in the wild
Traveled outside of US
Lived by myself for the first time in my life
Worked in a resort (two, in fact)
Started to seriously learn another language (Spanish)
Wrote a book

Now what will 2015 bring?

Trip Goals

When you travel, do you have trip goals?  Sometimes I consciously have a goal and other times it happens once I get to my destination.

Recent Travel Goals
Portland - try as many food carts and Pinot Noirs as possible

Napa - drink good wine and buy a really nice bottle out of my normal price range to drink at home

San Francisco - no goal oddly enough, not even once I got there

Minneapolis - happy hour, happy hour, happy hour.  Actually, I wanted to go in the winter and see a bunch of snow but that didn't happen

Chicago - eat out as much as possible

Alaska - see snow covered mountains and polar bears

Mexico - lay on a beautiful beach and soak up the sun and warmth

Milwaukee - walk around downtown