Exploring Juneau - Day #2

Let me start by saying that photos are coming...today was fabulous!  The weather is sunny and about 70 degrees.  You take these kinds of days and Juneau and get after them...that is exactly what Sarah and I did.

We checked out of the Westmark at around 10:30 and promptly made our way to the Mt. Roberts trailhead at pretty much the highest point in Juneau.  The trip to the trailhead was a hike itself.  We took our time on the hike, stopping to rest regularly...and often, and it was strenuous, but beautiful.  There were a couple of points where we could see Juneau, the cruise ships, and Gasteneau channel through breaks in the trees, but by and large we were just hiking through alpine rain forest on a sunny day.

Once we made it to the top we hung around the visitor's center and the raptor center there, we took the tram back down to town and the cruise ship area.  The docks were teeming with tourists looking to spend money.  Needless to say, Sarah and I got out of there quick.

We drove out to the valley and had lunch at Donna's Restaurant (see alaskafoodie.com).  Man did it satisfy after a good long hike.  After lunch we drove out to the Shrine of St. Therese to see it in the sunshine and all it's splendor.  It is beautiful, and I got some pictures of the shrine, chapel, etc.  Before we left though, I got several shots of some Rufous Hummingbirds who migrate through the area this time of year.  I can't wait to see how the photos turn out.  Sarah had a chance to sun herself and rest while I ran around chasing hummingbirds.

Next, Sarah and I drove further out to revisit Eagle Beach.  We walked along the banks of Eagle River until we both needed to rest, so we both took about 30 minutes to nap in the sun.

We are now sitting in the Juneau Airport waiting for our flight and our journey home.  It has been a great trip.  I have never gotten to spend time in Juneau getting to do something other than coach swimming.  I could get used to it.

Exploring Juneau - Day #1

A day after the wedding, Sarah and I have found ourselves with plenty of time to explore Juneau.  Today we got up and were met John Wray and his wife who took us to breakfast at the Douglas Cafe.  We had a great breakfast (see alaskafoodie.com) then were taken out to a couple of trailheads above our state capital. It actually gave us a plan to hike Mt. Roberts tomorrow.  From the top of Mt. Roberts we can take the tram back down to the street our hotel is on.

After driving around with the Wray's, we got in our rental and drove back over to Douglas and all the way out to the north end of the island.  We didn't really see any trails we wanted to take, so we drove out to Eagle Crest, Douglas's ski resort, and took about a 40 minute walk along one of the nordic ski trails.

We then got backin the car and took off for the Glacier Hwy to see how far it would take us.  On the Juneau side of the Gasteneau bridge the weather cleared up a bit, and we were treated to a beautiful drive all the way out to the end of the road.  We turned around and drove back to Eagle Beach where we took a short walk out to the where Eagle River meets the sea.

We drove back to the valley for a quick snack and then out to Mendenhall Glacier to take a look.  The weather was clear right over the glacier, and we saw the sunshine on the beautiful blue glacier ice.  Sarah and I were both a little tired, so we decided to keep our visit short and head to dinner.

For dinner we made our way back to Douglas and the Island Pub for some amazing pizza (again, see alaskafoodie.com).  After dinner we stopped by the Alaska Fudge store and treated ourselves to some marginal fudge.  We called it an early evening since we are planning the hike tomorrow.  It is supposed to be a sunny day with warm temperatures tomorrow...can't wait.

A Juneau Wedding - Congrats to Scott & Sarah

Sarah and I are in Juneau through the Memorial Day weekend. My friend Scott, the Glacier Swim Club coach, got married today and we decided to travel down to celebrate his marriage to Sarah (his Sarah, not mine).

We got in last night and checked into the Westmark Baranof Hotel. The rooms are nice enough, but they are pretty warm with no AC. This morning we got up and had dinner in the hotel's Capital Cafe, check my food blog, alaskafoodie.com, for the review. After breakfast Sarah and I picked up a pint of Crown for the groomsman who were already out at the church and then headed there ourselves.  We were warmly welcomed upon our arrival...I suppose it might have something to do the the Crown Royal, but who knows.

The wedding was held at the Shrine of St. Therese out on 23 mile Glacier Hwy.  It is an incredibly picturesque location and it was a great service.  It was great to see the smiles on both of their faces.

After the wedding Sarah and I made our way to the reception by way of the new Juneau pool adjacent to Thunder Mountain High School.  It is great with an 8 lane 25 yard pool, water slides, a lazy river, beach entry, and 3 shorter fitness lanes.  I am jealous and really wish Anchorage could have a facility like the Dimond Park Pool.

The reception was great with good food, beer, wine, and fellowship.  Robby took over the cooking and we got to eat some of the salmon that we had caught earlier this month during the Sitka Coach's meeting.  After the cake cutting we played a little corn hole (aka bean bag pitch).  It was fun, but my partner (Scott's dad) and I got crushed.

After leaving the reception, Sarah and went back to the hotel to rest before heading to dinner.  We had an 8pm dinner at the Hanger on the Wharf (see the review at alaskafoodie.com) and are now recovering.  Tomorrow we are having breakfast with a couple from Juneau, and then maybe we will go for a drive and/or go for a hike.

Check Out this Steelhead Monster

This is video from a recent trip in Southeast Alaska.  I took the photos and videos with my waterproof Pentax Optio WG-1.  Pretty cool fish.

Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 - A Review from a Critical Thinker

Atlas Shrugged - the movie.  Since I finished reading it in 1999 I have often wondered if it could be made into a movie.  For one thing it espouses ideas that are violently opposed to the, decidedly left leaning, Hollywood elite.  I have also wondered whether the didactic nature of the story could translate to film, and if it could, would the masses would go see it.

Ayn Rand's masterpiece is essentially a tale of the collapse of a society in which innovators (free thinkers, captains of industry, producers) are threatened by an exploitative, government led, populous.  Throughout the novel the protagonist, Dagny Taggart, struggles as she watches producer after producer disappear just as the "looters" suck the very will to live from society.

Rand's novel promotes the idea that living for the sake of one's self is paramount.  The antagonists in her story think otherwise, and through various laws come up with ways to make sure that the efforts of those who "produce" are shared by those who "can't" do the same for themselves...after all, who could expect people to take care of themselves (sarcasm for those who can't tell).

I consider Ayn Rand's novel to be one of the greatest novels ever written, and as such, it is one of my favorites (if not my favorite).  On a personal level, I would love to have the movie be a smashing success.  In my heart I hope for a huge blockbuster that would miraculously show everyone just how we need to change the direction we are headed in, not only as country, but globally.  In my brain, I know that people are pretty set in their ways.  Those that have read the novel with an open mind see what I see.  Those that have not read the book, or refuse to, will not change their mind because of a movie.

Having said all of that, this is a movie review.  I want to be impartial, unlike many of the film critics out there.  By all accounts this was a very low budget film, $15-$20 million.  As such, there are no "stars" in the film.  I could list the primary cast, but it would be silly to do so.  I have never heard of any of them, although I have seen them in supporting roles in other movies.  Despite the relatively unknown cast, the actors seemed to hold there own on camera.  I did not sense any awkward moments that you can sometimes get in a movie with "B" actors.

The cinematography and production value were, likewise, very good.  There were grand sweeping shots and very good CG scenes that made me feel like I was in a much higher budget film.  So far so good.

The movie follows the books storyline pretty closely.  To fit on film, it has to be an abridged version, but it is true to the book.  Again, so far so good.

Where the film may be a let down is in the translation from book to film.  Rand's nearly 1200 page book has huge moments in which the primary characters made grand soliloquies.  There is simply no way to bring these to film without most of the audience getting up to refill their popcorn buckets.  The very length of the book also means that the movie will, at the very least, need two more installments.  This may work for Harry Potter, but will it work for John Galt?  Much of what I love about the book, besides the simple message, is lost because of the loss of these grand speeches.  To bad, but that is what happens to books when they are turned into movies.

I believe that in the end only those of us who want the movie to do well will allow ourselves to go and watch it.  I thought the movie was good.  I would give it a solid B, or 4 out of 5 stars.  I would not expect anyone who has not read the book to go see it.  I would hope they would see it, but that is all.

If you are someone who is truly open minded, and you can stand being bludgeoned by Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, then you should go see the movie.  You probably won't feel like you have had the cost of a movie ticket stolen from you.  If you are someone who believes everything you read in movie reviews, or if your heart is hardened to the idea that "attacking the most productive of society" is a bad thing, then you should probably go ahead and wait for the next mindless film that comes out....Scream 4 perhaps.

To all of you who are already love the story of Atlas Shrugged, go see it.  To all of you are not afraid to challenge your socio-political beliefs, go see it.  To all of you who think that we need to stifle the productivity of the brightest and hardest working in our society, go see it....then come back here to complain about it :)