Archive for January 3rd, 2009

This is a big week for Alaska. As a state, we’re celebrating 50 years in the Union–more than just a territory, a protectorate or a colony. It was a big battle to gain statehood in 1959.

So this weekend in Anchorage, lots of folks turned out to hear music, see performances and watch fireworks to celebrate the occasion. 

I snapped this picture at the Egan Center earlier this evening. It’s a copy of the Anchorage Times’s “Extra” proclaiming “We’re In”. Sallie Perkins told me her mother bought the paper and saved it–50 years ago.

So, Happy Birthday, Alaska! We all look forward to a rich and rewarding future here in the Last Frontier! I wonder what our 100th birthday will look like!

(I told Sallie that my first job out of college was at the Anchorage Times–back in 1978. I’ve worked for newspapers since I was 11 years old, until today. Actually, I haven’t worked for a newspaper since 1980, but I was a freelance contributor to the Anchorage Daily News since 1982. My last travel column appears tomorrow, Jan. 4, 2009, here. )

I think “Steals and Deals” is going to be the Mantra for travel in 2009. We’ve got a gaggle of them in this week’s newsletter available here. Deals to Denali. Deals to Homer. Deals on Era Aviation. Two-for-one deals around the state with the Great Alaskan TourSaver . Click here to check it out. And if you do not subscribe already, do so today. It’s free. Lots of changes coming up.

Oh, we went fishing earlier this week in Manzanillo, Mexico. S-o-m-e less-than-charitable sportsmen have mocked us, saying we didn’t catch anything. Well–here’s PROOF. Our able deckhand, Hugo, nearly threw his back out hauling this trophy up over the side. Behold, you skeptics!!

Hosts Christina Sandoval and Eva Halpern really do a good job at this B-n-B in Patzcuaro. We rented the big three-bedroom home in their five-acre walled garden for $140 per night, plus $20 for an extra person: total $160 per night. A super deal, IMHO.

In addition to the fancy digs, they serve up a sumptuous breakfast each morning. Check out the video–then make the trip! Their website is down, but just google “Casa Werma Patzcuaro” and you can read the reviews on Trip Advisor, etc. That reminds me…I need to post one of my own reviews!