Spring Break for the stomachBy JEFF LUND
March 25, 2014
“No, I was taking a picture of the sign.” He wasn’t convinced. His look revealed a suspicion of sarcasm. I continued. “I’ve been on an island in Alaska for five months, this is my first fast food in a long time.” That probably only made him think I was skilled in the art of creating elaborate excuses such as the one I was giving him to cover the taking of a selfie. I ordered without further chastisement and within a few minutes had my spicy chicken sandwich. The Spring 2014 Food Tour was officially underway. The whole trip was supposed to be a surprise for my former colleagues. I planned on entering my buddy Brad’s classroom, walking back to the table where the English Department coffee machine makes the nectar which enables one to read and grade the essays of teenagers, set down a package of Raven’s Brew coffee then walk out. The next stop would be Nate’s room where I would inform him that I had replenished the supply of grounds and then maybe field a question or two about Alaska. However, at a Mongolian BBQ place the night I arrived I saw a former student and within an hour received a call from a former basketball player asking if I was in town. I figured Chris and I were safe since the place was on the other side of town, but I was mistaken. I misled him without lying and figured since I was headed out of town the next morning for a weekend fishing trip, it would quell the rumors a bit. On the way up to Redding for a float on the Lower Sacramento river my buddy and I stopped at Denny’s. I realized that after spicy American and BBQ Mongolian, my cravings were possibly leading me toward intestinal distress so I settled on the country fried steak and eggs. It’s not the most docile of choices, but an antagonistic part of my brain said I should order the nacho grande...from a Denny’s, so the chicken fried steak was a victory of sorts. At a grocery store I stood in the produce section and reminded myself what ripening (not over ripe) produce looks like. I even texted a picture to brag. That night we ate at Cattleman’s and though I promised myself a twice baked potato before I left Alaska I ended up ordering and reordering steak products and missed out on the veggies. Oh well. The next morning we dominated the free breakfast at the hotel then headed to The Fly Shop for our half-day float down the upper portion of the Lower Sacramento River. The guide we had got us into a bunch of fish the last time I went out so I booked him again and he didn’t disappoint. The fishing was so good that, wouldn’t you know it, I was hungry by the time we got off the water. Since we had a three hour drive and it was already late afternoon we didn’t want to commit to a full meal experience, so we desired a quick fix to our hunger problem. Now, I can count on one hand the amount of fast food I had in the last full year I was in California but it’s one of those things that when deprived of it, a bit of a craving develops. Attached to the gas station was an Arby’s, so that became dinner. Over the next few days I made the rounds visiting friends, guest lecturing about The Great Gatsby in junior English classes, discussing story ideas in my old journalism class learning how to use emoji’s from a former journalist and ultimately ending up at a place like Buffalo Wild Wings for evening nutrition. There are those who would think that Spring Break is about a good time, a break from work and especially school. When I explained the outdoor playground that is my backyard, people seemed to get it and understand how an Alaskan could have a perfectly good Spring Break at school in the morning and a river in the afternoon. It was good to see my friends, and my married buddies were happy to see me because that meant they had an excuse to eat out - and watch me take pictures of food I wouldn’t get once I headed back north.
Jeff Lund ©2014 Jeff Lund is a Teacher, Freelance Writer, & River fishing guide (Tranquil Charters) living in Klawock, Alaska E-mail your news &
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