Category Archives: travel

September 28, 2012 · 5:35 am

Fun Photo Friday

This Friday the pictures will have to speak for themselves:

Yachts at Sunset

Hit the Showers

The Lone Beaver

Seattle Reflections

Victoria Twilight

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Tagged as Pacific Northwest, photography, travel

September 21, 2012 · 5:45 am

These shots were taken shortly after the dawn of the digital photography age with a 5mp camera. Looking at them today, you can see why I tell people it’s not the megapixels that count. It’s what you can do with them.

Unfortunately, the interior shots of Ely Cathedral (taken in the Cambridgeshire town of Ely, northeast of London) still show the poor ISO noise sensitivity inherent in cameras of the time, but the outdoor shots look good even by today’s standards.

One of the London buildings I photographed is the SIS Building made famous in a long-running movie series, and a series of novels that date back even further (1953). How long running? October 5 will mark the 50th anniversary of the release of the very first film in this series, and November 9 of this year is the U.S. release date of the 23rd film. And if you haven’t guessed yet what the SIS Building is, or the series that made it famous, it’s more commonly known as the MI6 (or the Secret Intelligence Service) Building. It’s most famous fictional residents are a certain English MI6 agent (whose service number bears a Double-O prefix) and his boss, a person who goes by the code name of “M.”

Also featured are London landmarks such as the London Eye, Big Ben (officially renamed this year Elizabeth Tower after Diamond Jubilee for the current monarch, Elizabeth II), the Palace of Westminster (i.e., the Parliament building), and Vauxhall Bridge.

: Vauxhall Bridge

: Westminster Palace and Big Ben

: Westminster Palace

: Big Ben

: London Eye

: SIS Building

: London

: Ely Home

: Ely Cathedral Organ Pipes

: Ely Cathedral Lantern

: Ely Cathedral Interior

: Ely Cathedral

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Filed under Photography, travel

Tagged as Big Ben, Ely, Ely Cathedral, London, London Eye, Parliament, photography, SIS Building, travel, Westminster Palace

September 17, 2012 · 5:45 am

Glacier Brewhouse

Brewed in Alaska • By Alaskans • For Alaskans

With that motto on the menu, you just know you’re entering a fine dining establishment. Well, tasty, at least.

Today we reach the end of our Alaskan adventure with a return to our favorite Anchorage dining establishment — Glacier Brewhouse.

Ursula and I first discovered this Anchorage treasure last year. This year we just knew we would be going back, even though we had severe reservations. No, not those kind of reservations. The I-want-to-show-up-and-not-wait-two-hours-to-eat kind of reservations. Thus, planning ahead, we had reservations for three visits — two dinners and one lunch. That’s what I refer to as “severe reservations.”

First off, this is not your father’s brew pub. If the hand-crafted hefeweizen and the India pale ale I had are any indication, then everything they brew here has to be simply outstanding. Hefeweizen is a Bavarian-style wheat beer that is known for it’s cloudy nature, but this particular example is positively opaque and as flavorful and robust as it looks. Don’t feel left out if you’re a teetotaler, however. The Glacier Brewhouse also make a very good root beer. House-brewed cream soda is also on the menu, but neither Ursula nor I gave it a try . . . at least not this visit.

Beyond the brews, however, is the incredible food. In particular, the Hearty Alaskan Seafood Chowder is an absolute must. This rich and tasty treat contains roasted corn, shaved fennel, red peppers (which accounts for the color), and bacon in a cream-and-crab broth flavored with a hint of dry sherry. Go for the bowl. It’s only two bucks more than the cup, and you’ll regret reaching the bottom too soon. Accompanying your bowl will be a basket of fresh bread slices, but the bread is nothing about which to write home. It lacks the crispy crust and flavorful interior of a traditional European-style rustic bread.

Hope you’re still hungry, because there are a lot more enticements awaiting you. Pictured below you will see the crispy cod sandwich, a pulled pork and slaw sandwich with homemade potato chips, and an example of one of Glacier Brewhouse’s wonderful rustic pizzas. Another pictured dish is, if I recall correctly, the crusted Alaskan cod Jasmine rice cake topped with a coconut curry sauce.

This place alone is almost worth the trek up to Anchorage.