My Weekend Getaway

Saturday morning I headed off to the Railroad Station bright and early. The depot had some exhibits set up inside for the Fur Rendezvous celebration so I got to peruse them while waiting for the train. Since its wintertime, the train was not cram-packed full – so I got a row of seats to myself and could curl up to read my book without interruption. I treated myself to breakfast in the dining cart even – which had to be the worst food I've had in like EVER.

The early morning fog eventually lifted but left behind the hoarfrost on all the trees; everything literally SPARKLED in the deep blue skies as we went past. It almost hurt to look at – which was when I realized that I had forgotten to bring my sunglasses. Oh well…

We got in to Talkeetna and were met by the guy from The Roadhouse who was sent to carry our luggage for us. We checked in and got settled in; my room was upstairs tucked in to the corner overlooking Main Street.  There were two ladies on one side of me (both were there for the class like I was) and a couple with their dog Hector on the other side. The bathroom just across from us was shared by all.

The Pie Making Class was from 3:00 to 5:30, and since it was only 11:30 I had plenty of time to hit the trails. I bundled myself up and headed on out the door. 10 minutes later, I started peeling off layers! It was a lot warmer than expected, especially since I was moving. But oh goodness, was it gorgeous out there!

There were three of us in class that day: Trisha (the pastry chef and owner of The Roadhouse) said that she could take as many as 5 to 7 people but I honestly don’t know how they’d stuff them all into the kitchen there. It’s a working kitchen, so the whole time we were learning about pie crusts and baking, the other cooks were bustling around making orders and washing dishes.

And may I just point out here that Trisha is probably about 5’4” tall – and the kitchen is built for her. It is most definitely NOT built for a 6 foot tall Amazon.

They had 4 different filling possibilities we got to choose from: I chose to make a Mixed Berry Pie, Trisha made an Apple Pie, Marie made a Black Berry Pie, and Tia made the Blueberry-Rhubarb pie. All of them turned out so good! They had our pies boxed up and waiting for us at the train the next day, along with recipe cards and tips of the trade.

After our class, Marie broke out a bottle of wine she had brought with her and we all sat around the fireplace chatting. Several locals ended up joining us, including Trisha our chef, and we had a great time. Eventually, however, my stomach told me it really was time for dinner – so I headed on down to the brewery for a veggie sandwich and some beer.

The next morning turned cold – I walked down to the post office to mail off some cards I had written and had planned on just continuing on with my walk but turned right around and went back to the roadhouse. It was just way too cold for me! So instead I sat down in the common room to read my book, listen to the guitar player, and do some people-watching.

It warmed up later on so I did eventually go on another walk, making it across the river and out into the woods there – then back through town and back off down the old runway. Thankfully, Denali decided to put in an appearance so I got a few pictures of that.

All in all, it was a good trip. I met some really nice people and got a bit of exercise in. There were a lot of memories of Rob & me to deal with, however. I wasn't really expecting that, and it hit me pretty hard.