Alaska diaries : Day to day life

We're currently on our autumn half term, but as Pierre has his leg in plaster, we're not actually doing a great deal at the moment. This has had me looking through the draft blogposts that I never found the time to post, to see what I can share with you. I've found some more photos of our trip to Alaska this summer that made me smile, so I thought you might like to see them too.

You can't go to America without going to a mall, and the Dimond Center in Anchorage (yes, that is how it's spelt !) was the perfect place for the girls to get some retail therapy in. They loved looking at the clothes and bath products and spent a fortune in a "fan store" that had T-shirts, badges, mugs and all sorts of other things related to all their favourite series. Pierre, meanwhile, was happier skating around on the ice rink on the lower floor.

He also enjoyed making full use of the massage chairs while the girls shopped up a storm !

Food was another thing that kept the kids happy ! Whenever we were heading out somewhere, Jim, our host, would always stop the car at the final garage before the main road, declaring that it was the last chance for snacks. They managed to find all sorts of things to while away the final miles - sweets, drinks, doughnuts, corndogs, cookies, ... you name it ! We also ate out in a lot of "family restaurants" like McDonald's and Subway. This was in a local Mexican restaurant.

The kids all opted for nachos, which they declared delicious.

I opted for enchiladas, which were very tasty too. The little pot of tomato salsa was stupidly spicy though !

Another afternoon was spent at the local bowling alley.

Yep, you've guessed it - we checked out the food and drink on offer there too !

The ice cream sandwiched between two cookies was a big hit. I reconfirmed that root beer is absolutely disgusting though - ewwww !

On one of our trips to the nearby Three Bears store to get some groceries, we spotted some popcorn kits. They came in what looked basically like a sieve - a foil tray with a long handle and a dome of foil over the top, that you heat over the cooker. Our first one was a spectacular fail, as it all came popping out of a hole, but it did give us a good laugh ! Luckily, the second one worked perfectly.

Hmmmmm I just found this photo and can't remember what it is - it was Jim who knocked this up for breakfast (well, brunch, as nobody was hungry for lunch afterwards !). I need to ask him for the recipe because it was delicious, but as far as I can remember, it involved sausages, split open and cooked, then mixed in with milk or cream and spices - I need to check the details. Underneath were hash browns and on the side, a milk roll. All absolutely delicious.

Yep, we definitely need to go back to Alaska some time soon !