Road Trip

It was a dark and stormy night . . .

oh, wait - that's the beginning to Snoopy's great novel, isn't it?

Actually, it was not a bad ride up to Anchortown Friday. Of course, Lessa and I were doing it in the day time. We had pretty good roads, albeit quite wet and windshield smearingly nasty roads. Did I mention it was raining???

Raining!!! In December!!! In Alaska!!! Y'all keep on dreaming of a white Christmas, will ya? For Alaska!!! Sheesh!

Ahem, where was I?

Oh, yes - road trip!!!!

(note to all - just how many !!! can the moosie use in one post without falling off her stool?)

Actually you can read a pretty good synopsis of the trip over at Lessa's place, complete with meal information. ;-) So, I'll not go over it all again.

Suffice it to say that Anchorage is NOT a safe town when two determined small town women come up to shop - AND - they have money with which to do it. Heh. Generally I do an in and out when shopping in Anchorage. Not this time - and not with Lessa. As she says - Anchorage has STUFF and we needed STUFF so we had to buy STUFF. Our Christmas lists were duly checked and checked off time and time again.

The trunk filled up rapidly and we began on the back seat. This was all on Friday, btw, and we were overnighting it in order to SHOP some more on Saturday before returning to Kenai. And, then we thought we might be bringing someone back to Kenai with us so we began to panic just a wee bit. There were lots of comments about purchasing a car-top carrier, or strapping the visitor to the hood like a trussed deer, OR boxing up and mailing home our purchases. After all, the airport branch of the postal service is open 24 hours a day!

Then a phone call home discovered that the in-bound gent had already flown in from Anchorage so the back seat was once again fair game to fill. And, fill it we did. Lessa has photos to prove it, but those will have to wait until after next Sunday because we know how little eyes love to play I Spy.

I had a great time, Lessa - we need to do it again some time. It's been a long while. Oh, and the chocolate from your pillow? Nummy.

heh

p.s. Thanks to Paw-Paw Moosie (fondly known as Gramps to the Boy) for holding down the fort at home - for feeding and watching over the younguns so we could play - AND - for financing part of the trip. Yay!

THE YEAR 1905

One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!

Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1905 :

The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.

There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California.

With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour.

The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year ..

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,

a dentist $2,500 per year,

a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and

a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home ..

Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had no college education.

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.
Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacist said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!)

Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.

And I inserted this from someone else without typing it myself, and provided it to you in a matter of seconds!

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

It staggers the mind.

Posted by Purplemoose at December 18, 2005 10:52 PM