Alaskan Hockey!

Hi, Everyone!

It's been a fun few days here in Anchorage.  Yesterday we went to Alyeska, where Tammy did some exciting skiing from the top of the mountain with Steve's co-clerks Rebecca and Michael.  Steve took another lesson, though he still isn't really loving the downhill thing.  Nonetheless, Steve's new pursuit and love is cross-country skiing, so it looks like he'll just drag those skis along while Tammy rides the slopes.  There's fun for everyone here in Alaska!

Upon the advice of some of the old clerks, we also bought a copy of the Northern Lights coupon book, which is essentially the Entertainment book for those from Michigan.  This book contains tons of coupons for restaurants, activities, classes, etc. around Alaska.  One of the coupons in the book includes a 2 for 1 coupon for tickets to the Alaska Aces hockey games.  

The Alaska Aces are the minor league hockey team here in Anchorage.  Because Alaska doesn't have any of the major pro-sports teams (baseball, basketball, hockey, or football), this is as close as they come to having a local fan base.  So the people who come out are die-hard fans who know all of the stats, players, etc.  It was really a neat experience.

The game was really neat.  And the best part was that the Aces won!  The Vegas team scored a goal in the first period, but in the second period the Aces scored two goals within minutes of each other.  Then the Aces scored again in the third period.  And then, with around 5 seconds remaining, the Vegas team pulled their goalie, the Aces hit the puck from across the ice, and it slid into the goal!  It was a lot of fun to watch the fans go wild on that goal.

Of course, in between each period Steve's favorite part of the hockey game came around:

We also came to realize that this arena was where the UAA team played as well.  Teams in their conference include Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Michigan Tech.  This, of course, warranted a picture:

That's all we have for now.  Steve's probably going to hit the cross-country ski trails this afternoon while Tammy works on some projects she needs to finish.

Next weekend we're talking about going to Fairbanks to see the Northern Lights, visit the hot springs, and hopefully take a ride on some snow machines.  We'll also get to see some of the other Alaska Supreme Court clerks, which will be a lot of fun!  Hopefully the weather holds up this time, unlike the last time we tried to head north.

Have a great week!


P.S. We're adding a new segment to the blog called "The Alaska Bucket List."   These are things we want to do before we leave this great state.  So far the list is as follows.  Please feel free to add any recommendations you may have!

• Catch a salmon and eat it
• Ice climb
• Snow machine
• Fly an airplane
• Sky dive
• Go to Midnight Sun Brewery and Silver Gulch Brewery
• Ice skate on a lake
• Do a 3-day backcountry trip
• Sea-kayak
• Ski Alyeska
• Hike in Denali
• Dog mush
• See Northern Lights
• Hike Flat Top and Wolverine Peak (cool hikes outside of Anchorage)