October 20
Aside
from learning about perspectives on Sarah Palin, I’ve also witnessed the news
here in recent past, and people are scared of Obama because they think he’s a
socialist or communist. The first I had heard of this was in relation to his
desire to provide universal health care. This was seen as a communist
endeavour. I look at Canada, Sweden, and Finland, for example, and although
people could say we have more socialist leanings, no one would call them a
fully socialist economy and certainly not a communist one!
Today,
Obama has now been called a socialist again because he stated he wanted to
allow all Americans to “share the wealth” of the nation. How this is socialist
is beyond me. I don’t have a great understanding of economics as I haven’t
studied it enough, but my basic knowledge in this area shows me that both free
market and socialist polity include sharing the wealth of a nation between all
people. Socialist methods do it through centralised government regulation and
social programs funded by taxes. The free market intends to achieve economic
equality through the “trickle down effect” whereby money from the wealthy elite
is eventually supposed to make its way down to the poorer classes. I would say
that socialist economies have been more successful at achieving economic
equality than has the free market, the notion in and of itself of sharing the
wealth has nothing to do with being socialist or not. One of the analysts on
the news stated he thought Obama’s statement was misinterpreted, but he didn’t
really qualify why.
Politics
in general to me is a gong show anyway, in pretty much every country. Each form
of government, whether socialist, communist, theocratic, or democratic, is a
theoretical ideal; they will inevitably be corrupted by fallible humans, and to
expect any more than that is naïve.
8:25 PM | Permalink | News and politics
Being
in Fort Lauderdale for work was definitely a good way to end a long period of
travel. The humid heat of the climate was the perfect remedy for getting rid of
the remainder of a cold I developed two days after I started my new job.
Because I had been so busy, I didn’t get a chance to sleep properly and so
never fully recovered from the cold. I had started travelling so quickly and
ended up with a remnant cough that didn’t seem like it had any plans to go. But
Fort Lauderdale helped to fix that, so it’s good to finally be healthy again.
The
beach lost its attraction for me early on when I noticed that there was tons of
seaweed washing ashore. I have never been a beach person, historically, but the
beaches on the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean changed
that for me somewhat. That’s because the water is clear, and I can see what I
might be stepping on. The only beaches I had been to prior to those ones
appeared to me to be dirty, and I don’t like stepping on things I can’t see nor
do I like feeling something slimy on my feet whether I know what it is or not.
The main attraction for me to this location was the climate itself, the heat
and also the tropical vegetation.
Fort
Lauderdale is also expensive. It seems that no matter where you go to eat,
unless it’s a chain like McDonald’s or something like that, the prices are
heavily inflated. I guess this is on account of it being such a tourist
destination, and I wonder if there are places the locals can go to that are
cheaper, or else it would be an expensive place to live, let alone visit. One
of the restaurants I ate at was indeed quite expensive, but I didn’t know how
much so until I was already seated and had a menu in my hand. I had tried to
find a Creole restaurant my GPS believed existed, and when I arrived at the
address, it was a new residential area with a bunch of townhouses. I had driven
past this place called Mario’s Catalina Restaurant, which offered Cuban-Spanish cuisine, so I
decided to give it a try as it was somewhere I thought I’d try the next day as
it was. When I arrived without a reservation, I came to realise it’s the kind
of place where you don’t go without a reservation, which was a clue the place
might not be cheap, but they were very accommodating, and Mario gave me a place
out on the patio. Another couple had come in behind me also without a
reservation and were sat on the patio as well. Mario himself greets you at the
door, and he kisses the females. This is not so abnormal for a Latino to do,
but normally when we greet each other, it’s more like an air kiss, whereas
Mario’s lips actually contact your cheek. It was kind of funny. Despite the
expense of the restaurant, the food was outstanding, probably the best food
I’ve eaten at a restaurant in years. So I highly recommend this restaurant if
you are in the area, but just be willing to spend a little extra, maybe what
you might spend on a meal for 2-3 people just on yourself.
The
other thing I learned about the area is that it’s not a good idea to stay at a
Bed & Breakfast. I’ve always heard such good reports about B&Bs, and I
also stayed at an excellent one in Cold Lake, Alberta, but I soon came to
discover the reality that they are not recommended in Southeast US. When I
arrived at the B&B, no one was even there so that I could check in. There
was a note on the door advising guests to call the number listed in the note
using the phone next to the door. So I called and had to wait about 10 minutes
before someone came round to check me in. The room itself was neat but not
clean. The bathtub looked a little scary, paint was peeling off the ceilings
and walls, and there was mildew on the tile surround and the shower curtain in
the tub. I even discovered a piece of dried mucous stuck to the outside of the
sink. Here I pause to give you time to say “Ewww” and “that’s disgusting” while
you scrunch up your face and grimace. I learned from one colleague I met at one
of the study abroad fairs that B&Bs in this part of the world are not like
those in other parts of the world. She said she had stayed in a B&B in
Tennessee before as well as somewhere else in the Southeast, and both times
were disappointing. One of the places was just a spare bedroom in the house of
an elderly couple! And one of the reps I had met from Miami when I was in
Alaska told me I was the first person he had ever heard of staying in a B&B
in the entire state of Florida and couldn’t recommend I stay in one in the
future. Well, after my experience, I wouldn’t either. Aside from the lack of
cleanliness, there were other faulty amenities that just weren’t useful for
business travellers. There was free Wi-Fi, but the signal strength was not
strong enough to penetrate anyone’s rooms, so you had to sit out in the
courtyard to get Internet. The only problem with that was that there was nowhere
to plug in your laptop, so you could only work there for limited periods of
time before your battery died, and you would have to go back to your room to
recharge it, meaning no Internet access there. It was rather inconvenient. The
other thing is that they didn’t serve breakfast until around 9am, which is
terrible if you have morning events. There were 3 days I didn’t get breakfast
because I had events starting at or around 9, and I had to leave much earlier.
The main benefit of this place is that it was a block from the beach, so I
could go sit on the sand and work on my tan, leaving my rental car parked there
rather than paying the $10 daily fee to park at the beach.
I went
into Miami Friday night and Saturday late afternoon. Friday night I went dancing,
and I’d like to say I went salsa dancing, but it wasn’t exactly that. It just
seemed like a regular club catering to the Latin population, so there was a lot
of reggaeton, club music, and the odd salsa and bachata. It was also a meat
market there, just wall to wall people, and you just saw guys and girls trying
to get with each other all over the place. It was so packed that you barely had
any space to dance. But it was still entertaining. I’ve never been to any place
like that before as I’ve never really been into the club scene, so it was quite
an experience for me. I would have liked to go somewhere in Little Havana, but
I was going with someone I had met through a new friend in Jacksonville, and
this is where he thought would be a good place to go, so I can’t complain as it
was definitely much better than staying in my room by myself.
On
Saturday afternoon, I went back to Miami to check out a place called Lincoln
Road, which is a pedestrian road with lots of shops, boutiques, and
restaurants/cafes. A new friend had recommended that I go there to
people-watch, which is one of my favourite pastimes, so people-watch, I did.
You’ll notice I have no pictures of Miami, but nowhere I went was really
picture worthy for me. Note to anyone who wants to go visit here, though, give
yourself time to find parking, and money, potentially. I was able to find metre
parking about 5 blocks away, thankfully, but it took me about 20 minutes before
I found it. If I had parked in a parking lot, it was a flat $15. It was crazy.
Lincoln Road in the South Beach area, and I could have gone to the beach as
well, but I figured it would be super crowded, and my metre parking was running
out, and I also didn’t want to spend too long there because I had to get back
to my room in Fort Lauderdale, about a 50-minute drive from my location in
Miami, to pack and go to sleep early for my 6am flight home the following
morning.
As I
write this, I am in the Philadephia airport waiting for my connecting flight
back to Canada. There isn’t free Wi-Fi here, so I am writing this in Word to
paste later, as I have taken to doing when I have free time in airports where I
can’t access the internet.
October 15
The stark
quiet of a wintry, snowy Fairbanks seemed like a long time past when I arrived
to my hotel room. Yes, it was quiet as well, in terms of not hearing street
noises and what not, but there was the constant sound of a coconut tree
brushing against the metal frame of my window!
I
enjoyed Jacksonville a lot, again, as in Atlanta, there were myriad Spanish
speaking radio stations from which to choose, and I was able to find one that
played a mix of bachata, salsa, merengue, and pop. It was great. My visit at
UNF resulted in one of the girls who works there taking me out to supper with
her husband and a friend of theirs, and that was a really nice time. The next
night, one of the other girls I had met that works at UNF invited me out to
come salsa dancing with her that night. Despite the fact that my flight was
somewhat early in the morning, I decided to go because I need the exercise. I
feel like I’m gaining weight due to lack of activity, and I have poor
circulation in my ankles at the moment from all the flying and just standing
for hours at the fairs. They are less swollen than they used to be, but could
still use some help.
On
that same day I went dancing, I had previously driven out to the city of St
Augustine, just outside of Jacksonville, the oldest city in the US. I didn’t
know this was the case when I went there. A travel guide book in my hotel room
said there was a really old fort there called Castillo de San Marcos, so I had
gone to see that, not knowing that I would arrive in this historical little city
bustling with tourists! It’s a very pretty place, though, and was founded in
1565. While I was at the fort, I was sitting on a bench on the phone with my
dad, and all of a sudden, these dolphins just came out of the water as they
were swimming by. I can definitely say that I have never seen dolphins in the
wild like that. I was pretty excited, but I couldn’t get a picture of them. By
the time I got my camera out, it was too late, and they were gone. It never
fails! If you ever get a chance to go to St Augustine, it’s worth it, but just
make sure you don’t eat at the White Lion if you’re in a rush. The restaurant
might normally be faster, but I happened to get a waitress that was flirting
with the guys at the table next to me. It took me an hour there by the time I
ordered, ate, and paid, and all I had was fish and chips with water to drink.
It was dreadful, and I felt like saying something to her, but I just didn’t
have the energy as I had started to get tired. Such is life. It wasn’t the end
of the world.
9:53 AM | Permalink
The
fun in Juneau only got better when I left for Anchorage the next morning. The
taxi driver I ended up having on the way back to the airport was certainly an
unforgettable person, but not for good reasons. I had been very interested to
pick up tidbits of information from native Alaskans on what their perspectives
were on Sarah Palin, and I really found a full range, from a guy who said all
Alaskans hated her to this guy, who believes she’s the only one who really
understands the situation, and this situation is this: [Americans] should have
gone into Afghanistan and left dust behind until Afghan people brought bin
Laden’s head on a pole for them. His logic was that it’s like a single mom
coming home to find a broken lamp on the floor, and since her children won’t
confess, she punishes them all until someone comes forward. What her singleness
had to do with anything, I’ll never know, but he figures the case is the same
in Afghanistan; he doesn’t care if he’s shooting at a house and there’s a
school next door. They’re all responsible. He had already mentioned to
me by this point that all government sucks. There was clearly no point in
reasoning with this individual, and I pictured him being like one of these guys
with a secret vigilante army out in the middle of nowhere, or like the
unibomber, perhaps. His perspective was rather alarming, but since telling this
story to other Americans, I’m happy to say that everyone I’ve talked to was
shocked by this mentality.
Arriving
in Anchorage from Juneau felt like arriving in a metropolis relative to this
size of each. I can’t really say much more about Anchorage, other than that I
felt like I was arriving in a scene from a Bob Ross painting. It was so
beautiful. But I didn’t do much when I was there, nor did I do much in Fairbanks
either. I think I was a bit travelled out and tired, and I also didn’t really
have the time or ability to do much. At least I wasn’t terribly cold anymore,
though. When I was in Juneau, I simply couldn’t warm up.
Going
to Jacksonville was indeed a long trip, but it wasn’t terrible and went off
without a hitch. It was such a site to have gone from Fairbanks, where it had
been around 2C and snowing the day before I left, to about 23C and humidity
with even monsoon type rain! That’s why packing had been such a challenge. More
on Jacksonville to come.
October 05
I
had a variety of experiences on Saturday. I found out Friday evening that my
camera batteries were about to die, so I went on a quest to find some. I was
looking for lithium batteries, just regular AAs. Being a tourist town and in a
tourist zone, I didn't think they would be hard to find. If I'd had a vehicle,
I definitely would have been able to get them at the Wal-Mart, but it wasn't
within walking distance. So I was relegated to the downtown area. I'm sure
lithium batteries exist somewhere, but I wasn't going to be able to find them
anywhere in time for my tour at 11am. The hotel suggested the pharmacy, but I
had already checked there, and they didn't open until noon--which, as I later
found out was a surprise to all the locals I talked to. So the hotel clerk
suggested the electronics store a couple of doors down, although she wasn't
sure what time they opened. Well, I checked them several times before 11 to no
avail. I walked into the post office in case they offered some knicknacks like
that without any luck, and the clerk there suggested the camera store down the
street. So I went there, but it was closed, and the business hours were not
listed. I went into an antique store next door to ask the guy there if he knew
what time the camera store would open. This was his reply.
"Oh,
well I ran into Art the other day, and he said he thought he might even close
up for 3 or 4 days, but you know Art, he's just all talk. No, I think he might
open up today, but I don't know what time. 'Course if ya get Chris, he might
come in, and then the store'll be open, and that'll be ok."
He
spoke to me like Art and I lunch every Tuesday. He was very nice, though. He
phoned a couple of places to see if they carry batteries, and no one he knew
did. He told he'd even give me the batteries from his camera because his son
just gave him a new one, and he said he didn't know how to work it, but he
didn't have the camera there. Well, what can do you.
I
finally found a place across from the hotel that at least sold regular
batteries, so I thought I'd use those as a backup and just not use my LCD
screen. That plan at least worked.
Anyway,
I learned a lot about Juneau on the driving tour I went on. I found out that
Juneau is considered to be a temperate rainforest. Like most people, I've always assumed
rainforests are just hot, tropical places, but obviously I've been mistaken. I
guess it's like deserts. We don't think about the fact that much of the North
Pole and Antarctica, I believe, are also deserts since these terrains are
classified by amount of precipitation and not necessarily temperature as much.
So I found that to be quite interesting. I knew that of the indigenous peoples
living in the area, there are Tlingit people, but I had forgotten there are
also Aleuts and didn't realise that Haida people were also there. I also saw and
photographed the Mendenhall Glacier, which was really cool. You can see it
better than some glaciers I've seen in the Canadian Rockies, so that was pretty
exciting for me. While at the glacier, there was a most fragrant scent coming
from somewhere that was faintly rose-like, and I tried to find it in the vegetation
around. I did see a plant that resembled a rose but whose petals seemed to come
right out of the leaves. It was the strangest flower I've seen, but sure
enough, it was the one with the lovely scent. When I get my pics up, you'll see
it. Going to the Opera to
Go's
production of Il Trittico by Puccini in the evening was a worthwhile event.
Some of the singers you could tell had no training or opera experience, but all
of the main and lad singers had studied voice. There was one guy, Phillipe
Damerval, who I thought was one of the best baritones I think I've ever heard.
I've linked him to a YouTube video, which hopefully will run smoothly for you.
I have a slow wireless connection here in Anchorage.
October 04
Being
in Juneau is a bit like being in Jasper as well, only the mountains are higher
and more rugged, and many of the buildings appear to be older and somehow more
rustic, but in a falling apart kind of way. It's quaint and beautiful, but in
the frigid temperatures, I don't know how well these buildings must hold out!
It is a bit chilly here, with temperatures between 0-10C, or about 35-50F for
those of you who are Americans reading my site. I had a hard time packing for
this climate as I will spend slightly longer in Florida, where I fly to
directly from Fairbanks, so I didn't want to be carting around a winter jacket.
I have layers, and for the most part, they're working well.
I'm
happy to report that my flight up to Juneau went off without a hitch. It was
quite a relief. The only sad part about it is that I flew in at night and
didn't get to see any of the mountains that we were flying over! I had chosen
an evening departure this time around because I wanted a break from having to
get up at 4am for my departures from Edmonton. Being on a road a lot, I'm a
little bit tired right now, so thought it would be nice to have an evening
flight. It was, but of course, you can't see anything out the window! The really interesting part about my
flight, however, was the layover in Seattle, where they were broadcasting the
Biden/Palin debate on the TV at our gate. It was the first time I've ever heard
pindrop silence from the crowd sitting at the gate, and I myself was equally
glued to the screen. One of the exciting things about being in Alaska right now
is finding out what people think about Sarah Palin, and I've definitely heard
more negative attitudes than positive ones. One person told me that Sarah
doesn't actually live in the state house she's supposed to live in here in
Juneau, opting to spend most of her time in her hometown. It makes sense, but
as a result, she apparently wants to change the capital city from Juneau to her
hometown! Not surprisingly, this is upsetting a lot of Juneau residents.
Another
interesting thing I noted is that when I went for a walk this morning around
downtown, which is considered to be Juneau's historic district, there were
signs in several of the shops stating that those shops were owned by Alaskan
families. It's kind of nice to know that, and yes, the advertising does
influence me in this case. I would certainly be more likely to shop there.
I'm
hoping to find some new batteries for my camera as mine have almost died,
although I find if I don't use my LCD screen, my camera will still work, but I
don't know for how long. The school whose fair I went to yesterday has
organised some excursions for us today, and I want to make sure my camera is in
working order. The pharmacy nearby doesn't open until noon, and the excursions
begin at 11! So I'm hoping that the electornics store or the camera store down
the street will have some. There is a Wal-Mart, but apparently it's close to
the airport, and I don't have a car this time around. So we'll see what
happens. Worst case scenario, I use my phone's camera. Not ideal, but better
than nothing. The other thing I'm hoping to do is go to the opera tonight.
There are two 1-act operettas by Puccini that are playing tonight, and I can
see them both for $15. I figure, why not? It would be interesting to see what
Juneau has to offer for opera!
October 01
I don’t have quite as many pics from
Colorado as from Atlanta, but I also had less time for photo-taking. Although I
must admit I stopped several times along the highway when driving between Aspen
and Colorado Springs. It got to the point where I had to just tell myself to
stop taking photos or else I would never have arrived in Colorado Springs—or at
least not at any respectable time. My last stop for photos was at Independence
Pass, at which you are on the Continental Divide, more than 12,000ft in
elevation. It was pretty exciting. I think you have to go higher in the Alberta
Rockies to get to the Continental Divide. In any case, it was a little tough to
breathe up there as I’m not used to the high elevation, but it was nonetheless
worth the breathlessness for the photo. The pictures, incidentally, don’t do
justice to the golden glow of the trees, some of which were so yellow they are
almost orange. It was like driving through sun drops and seemed to light my way
despite the grey and cloudy skies.
The one thing that was annoying about the
drive and about driving in Colorado in general is that people in Colorado seem
to suffer from chronically slow driving. By just going the speed limit, I can
actually pass almost everyone on the road, whether on the interstate or in a
city. It seems that much worse to me because people are usually driving at
least 5-10 miles below the limit, and when you convert that to kilometres, it’s
even worse. Being the person of principle I always am, it’s not that slow
driving in itself is frustrating—at least not when people are going just a
couple of kilometres below the limit, but they’re driving significantly slower
than the speed limit. And that’s annoying.
My stay in Colorado Springs was great. I
shared a table with a rep from American University in Washington D.C., and she
and I decided to go to the Garden of the Gods together afterward, the pictures
which you can see. That’s a really interesting place. I’m not sure what the
rocks are composed of; I would guess the red ones are shale, but I’m hoping my
geologist sister-in-law can inform me about it when I next get to talk to her.
Now I’m on my way back to Edmonton—having
to fly through Las Vegas yet again and get another boarding pass there. Despite
the fact that my flight is delayed slightly out of Denver, I originally had 4
hours in Vegas, so I’m going to have ample time to make my connection there
instead of missing it this time. I will have to take a picture when I’m in the
Edmonton airport next of this one sign that reads CANPASS AIR. I had commented
on its poor choice of name to my dad when he dropped me off at the airport last
week. For those of you who read this who aren’t native English speakers and/or
haven’t heard this expression before, “to pass air” is a nice way of saying “to
have flatulence,” or in other slang terms, “to fart.” So I’m glad to know that
this airline is free of excess bodily gases…I think. What I noticed the last
time I was in the airport, though, having been so distracted by the passage of
air, is that right beneath that sign is the word “enrollement.” I thought maybe
that was the French until I looked after the forward slash and noticed that
“inscription” was written, and that was the French. A blatant spelling error in
an airport. It’s just unacceptable!
By the way, if you ever have to rent
and/or return a rental vehicle to the Denver airport, it’s the easiest thing in
the world to do. They have wisely placed a gas station across from the rental
drop-off location so that you can fill up right there and then and not look
around for gas stations when you’re unfamiliar with the area. The signage is
great, but part of the reason it all works so well is that all the rental
companies are on one street all lined up in a row, so no matter which company
you’ve gone with, you can very easily find it. The other thing I noticed in the
Denver airport is that they have a store where you can buy luggage. This is
just intelligent. Not that I enjoy having too much stuff that would necessitate
my buying an extra bag, but sometimes it does happen, and here you can buy a
new one to offset your overflow of luggage content.
Anyway, my delayed flight should be
boarding soon, so I should head off. (P.S. Not being able to connect to the
Internet at the airport as the system was down, I wrote this in Word and have
just pasted now onto my blog, in case you're wondering about the dates)
7:06 AM | Permalink | Travel