Anchorage Again

After our whirlwind tour, we returned to Anchorage to recover and prepare for our trip home. This was our third Anchorage stop, having overnighted there between leaving Valdez and setting out for Homer. It will probably not be our last.

While in town, we again dined at the Glacier Brewhouse and had lunch at the Europa Bakery Cafe. The Europa Bakery is a local operation that provides artisan breads that are sold in supermarkets, Costco, and served in the fine restaurants. One of their breads, the spent grain loaf, includes the depleated malted grain after it has been used at the Glacier Brewhouse microbrewery. Not surprisingly, this is the bread served at the Glacier Brewhouse restaurant. It's delicious.

This is a festive time of year in Anchorage. Winter temperatures rarely rise above freezing, so ice sculptures can last quite a long time. In a local park next to the Anchorage Performing Arts Center, a sunken area in the landscape design is filled with water to create an ice rink. Around this rink are placed blocks of ice that are then carved into a variety of shapes and illuminated with colored light.