Bertha!!
This morning we had arranged a viewing of a car we'd found on Craigslist, we had tried to see it the night before but hadn't been able to find it!! So Mario drove us across town again and this time we spotted it straight away at the adress we had...it didnt look too bad from the outside!! The guy who was selling it was what is described as white trailer trash, a very obese, dirty, laughing boy who was clearly trying to rip us off as on closer inspection of the car, I dont think we'd have made it out of Anchorage in it!! Apparently the cut and loose ended wires hanging under the wheel 'weren't important'!!! Needless to say we gave it up as a bad job and left to go see Mario's kids play football at the indoor stadium in Anchorage called 'The Dome'. When I say mario's kids, I mean the ones he coaches as oppose to his own children who are grown up with their own families! Mario is an amazing guy, he is on the FA coaching list and is coaching Alaska's olympic team as well as all ages of kids from I think 6 or 7 to young adults!! Not being a lover of football I was surprised how much I enjoyed watching them battle it out to win 3 - 2 in extra time...some of the boys looked pretty bloody good to me and were very diciplined for their age not bunching up but remembering to stay in their positions and pass when necessary. was really impressed! After the game we went to see another car we'd found...this time we drove into a very well manicured estate with some beautiful houses and expensive cars on the driveways, a complete change from the last place! We found the house and had a look round the car, then the owner, I'm assuming a retired businessman or similar, took us out for a test drive, there were some odd clunks as it changed gear but other than this and the tyres being a little old it seemed pretty good. We had found our car...Berha!!! After a little haggling we got her for $800 and he even said he'd pay the change of ownership which is another $100 or so!! Being a Sunday we had to wait until the morning to go to the DMV so we arranged to meet at 8.30 then left to meet up with one of Mario's friends who was leaving to live in the lower 48, we met at a 'taco king' and just had some nachos as we were eating later on. They were some of the best nachos ive had, really cheap, loads of cheese and just delicious!! We then went back to the 'Dome' to watch another game, the final this time....have to say they had a much easier match than the last one and we left when they were 3 - 1 up!! So a good day so far was getting even better as Mario cooked up bear steaks and king crab for dinner!!! Wow!! The bear was lovely and tender, similar to good, slow cooked beef and the king crab was to die for!!! Its a lot of effort to get into but once you get the meat out and dip it in melted butter you forget the sore fingers from the spines you cant avoid and just savour the amazing taste and texture of this special treat!! Sooo delicious but I wouldn't fancy the job of catching them tho lol!! Another treat in store...we got changed and went to see another of Mario's friends who made Margatinis...his own concoction and secret recipe (he made them out in the garage so no-one could steal it!) for a delicious cocktail kind of a cross between margarita and martini I'm guessing, anyway was very drinkable and served with tortilla chips and salsa kept us there for a good hour or so before we headed into town for more dancing, this time at Platinum Jaxx. Had some really good dances and got to finally dance with Kagen, a young but very talented dancer, was awesome!! We left around 1 and went moose hunting, but to no avail so then home and to bed!!