Travel: A Life Long Adventure!

I've Loved to Travel my Entire Life, and I Expect That to Continue

I have always had wanderlust. I've always loved geography, always wondered about that gravel road I never went down, that river I could never swim in, that mountain I couldn't climb. I love travel, and despite a lot of financial hardships, I've been blessed to be able to see as much of the world as I have, and I hope this continues. This lens is about some of my travels.

The Oasis: Best Bar Food in Fairbanks, Alaska

Good bar food is hard to find, and great bar food can make it a joy to go visit a place. In my childhood, a bar called "The Silver Dollar" had the best cheeseburgers and bar food within 100 miles of Iowa.

½ pound burgers on a grill with real meat and cheese-that was the way to spend a weekend! There are several great bars in and around Fairbanks, and though Ivory Jack's gives a strong run, the crown of best kitchen has to go to the Oasis in Fairbanks, Alaska. If you're looking for a great burger, chicken fingers, or the famous/infamous "combo platter" then the Oasis is your place.

The Oasis is located on 734 University Ave, Fairbanks, AK, right behind the Wells Fargo, and not far away from the McDonald's. This is a bar and kitchen, with a restaurant section in back separated by a thin wall, but you can get drinks or food on either side.

Only the bar itself doesn't allow food, but you need a table. There are many great choices from the kitchen of the Oasis.

For one, the chicken fingers here are the best you will find anywhere in town. And if you are a fan of hot wings, this kitchen can serve up some zingers. Even my friends from Cajun country were impressed with the zip on some of those wings. Good thing they had good Alaska beer to wash it down with.

There are dinner specials, as well as breakfast specials. Want a sea food omelet with fresh king crab from Alaska's own waters? How about a steak with green beans and potatoes from a local organic farm? But for the bar food: cheese nuggets, mozzarella sticks, and the fried mushrooms all pass mustard.

The fried mushrooms are some of the biggest you'll find anywhere. These are all great, and come with marinara, blue cheese, and ranch, with more always available upon request for free.

This also leads to the famous "combo platter." Chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, fried mushrooms, fried cheese nuggets mentioned before, along with hot wings, then add some of the best and creamiest jalapeno poppers you will ever taste, along with deep fat fried zucchini-which still tastes great even microwaved, and deep fat fried pickles. The plate is stacked high enough to even feed four male college students. It's incredible. Potentially heart stopping, but if I'm going out, that's a nice way to go.

Another bonus of the Oasis is the great beer selection you have. Not only common favorites like Alaska Amber, but there is even higher end beer like Samuel Adams is on tap. There are many great local breweries in Alaska, and the Oasis often has one, if not two, of these specialty beers. I strongly recommend the Alaska Oatmeal Stout, and the White Glacier Oatmeal Stout. These are incredibly flavored beers that have a strong taste and creaminess to go with the strength of the stout. They were fantastic.

The menus offer full choices, and there are several TVs, which can be set to another station. You can watch the NFL while someone else watches the NBA. In addition, if you're a Philly Cheese Steak fan who likes and extra kick-their "green peppers" are jalapenos. It's fantastic.

If you're looking for a bar for great food to go with great beer, the Oasis will make you feel right at home.

One of my favorite hang outs in Fairbanks, Alaska

The Marlin: A true Alaskan bar

If you're the kind of traveler who loves to get a taste of the local flavor when you travel, and not just the normal tourist stops, then Fairbanks, Alaska, has a bonanza of hole in the wall places that have tremendous character and can add that little bit of adventure and local flavor to your vacation.

And if you're traveling to Alaska-for many a once in a life time event, then finding the local flavor of such a fascinating place with such unique people should be at the top of your list!

I had the pleasure of living in Alaska for three years, so I know my way around Fairbanks. One of my favorite hole in the walls there is a bar called the Marlin.

The Marlin is located on 3412 College Road, and is literally only one block away from the main campus of the University of Alaska in town. It's across the street from Gulliver's Books, near a liquor store called the Oaken Keg.

The Marlin qualifies as a true character bar. The entrance is at ground level, but then you'll go down a flight of stairs into the main bar. It's a very small, cozy area, one that might remind you of the "alley way" Irish bars in some cities.

Up front is just enough space to cram in a band (though you would never guess this was possible during non show nights) and some of the best local bands in the area play there, such as Sweating Honey, The Gangly Moose, and Louisiaska. Every Saturday night has a show, and the bar usually has some excellent local specialty beer. I recommend "Up Kilt Beer." It's as fun as it sounds.

In the back of the Marlin is a large room with foosball, an upper deck with tables and chairs, as well as a sofa. There's a door to an outside grilling area, surrounded by a large fence of wooden boards and chicken wire.

Sometimes in summer Sunday mornings will be grilling day-when people can bring whatever they want to barbeque and everyone shares food. Bear, moose, caribou, steak, reindeer, salmon, chicken-it's usually all there.

The place is a favorite of locals and college kids alike, but remains very distinctly Alaskan. This bar has great music, good beer, and an inside that is what you would imagine from a great story about an Alaska bar. For those of you who are young and adventure travelers the Marlin offers further great news.

The basement might be the bar, but the upstairs is a Youth Hostel, so you can store your stuff and go downstairs for a beer and a good show! What more could you ask for?

Top Five Places I Want to Visit

Well with Alaska down...

I always wanted to visit and find adventure in Alaska, ever since I was a young boy reading books. Now that I've done that, and even stayed to live for three eventful and youthful years :), who are my new top five?

My top five are now as follows:

1) Mongolia: I'm a history buff, and Genghis Khan and his homeland call me. I've always loved odd countries, and as a child at the very tail end of the cold war, having a country right in the middle of China and Russia that everyone ignored was fascinating to me.

2) Togo: I always thought the name sounded cool. Really, since 2nd grade, that's been my whole reason. My friend, Chris, was there with Peace Corps when the coup took place.

3) Scotland: My family has always held to its Scottish roots. If you know me, you know how incredible a fit this country is for me, from hiking to nature to bag pipes to pubs. All about it.

4) Siberia: Well now that I've been to Alaska, here's the next bragging travel adventure...

5) Morocco: Worked for some guys who lived in Morocco, writing travel articles for them. Turns out this is an incredibly fascinating land.

So along with the 20 states I haven't been to, this is next. Better get saving to go!

It's good to have a little humor

The little things in travel that make great stories

"Shane, how do you go to the bathroom when it's forty degrees below zero?"

Answer: "Very quickly and very carefully."

Not being a complete smart alleck, there's a lot of truth to that. I lived outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, in a cabin with no running water and an outhouse. Since in winter it's dark nearly 24/7, the outhouse needs a light, and so you use an extension cord to attatch to a heat lamp, killing two birds with one stone...or at least stunning them.

Even so, you don't take any more time than you have to, but what's strange is the ice crystals. For whatever reason, there are massive strings of ice crystals that form on the roof of the outhouse and work their way down.

Very beautiful in a strange sort of way...and a great story for the bar rooms!

From the largest state to the 2nd

God knows how to throw curve balls.

Well, I spent three of the last four years in Alaska. I love the state, love the people, and had some pretty tearful good-byes when I left. Many of my friends there were either born and raised, or had lived there since grade school. They have a foundation.

I went for grad school. Got my MFA degree, don't think much of having it, but I wouldn't trade my friends or experiences for the world. Someday I'll go back.

Everyone kept asking me what I was going to do. I didn't know. No teaching experience, okay but not great publications. No connections. Fortunately I'd been freelancing, and my favorite clients decided they needed a writer.

So a day before I received this e-mail, a friend asked what states I was likely to end up in. My answer: Alabama, Florida, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennslyvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Colorado, or New Mexico.

In other words: who the heck knows?

I finished this response with: "But knowing how God likes to throw me curve balls, there's probably something I'm not even seeing."

A day later they wanted a writer, and "they" were based in Austin, Texas. Guess which city I'm enjoying the heck out of right now :)

It's a fantastic job, and the freelancing as a side thing definitely works better. Now I just need to get a little more money to get a travel fund going and I can start my travel blog and make a little bit more on the side :)

Rank the amazing sites!

Here are some of the amazing things I've seen in the 26, almost 27 years of my life so far. I feel blessed by all of them, but would love to see which intrigue everyone else!

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Travel: A Life Long Adventure!

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I've Loved to Travel my Entire Life, and I Expect That to Continue

Contents at a Glance

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Explore related pages

The Oasis: Best Bar Food in Fairbanks, Alaska

One of my favorite hang outs in Fairbanks, Alaska

The Marlin: A true Alaskan bar

Top Five Places I Want to Visit

Well with Alaska down...

It's good to have a little humor

The little things in travel that make great stories

From the largest state to the 2nd

God knows how to throw curve balls.

Rank the amazing sites!

#1

Lightning during a snow storm

#2

The Northern Lights

#3

Two rainbows while raining--without clouds

#4

A black bear sprinting across a black sand beach

#5

Standing on top the Pyramid of the Sun

#6

Isla Mujeres

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It's all about the road

Travel Books for the wanderer's heart

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail)

Walking in Scotland (Walking)

Cycling the Great Divide: From Canada to Mexico on America's Premier Long Distance Mountain Bike Route

On the Road

Modern Mongolia: From Khans to Commissars to Capitalists

Didn't Like Indiana, But This is a Great Photo

States I Have NOT Visited Yet.

Can I get them all by age 30?

#1

Hawaii

#2

California

#3

Idaho

#4

Nevada

#5

Louisiana

#6

Montana

#7

South Dakota

#8

North Dakota

#9

Wyoming

#10

Oregon

#11

North Carolina

#12

Delaware

#13

Utah

#14

Mississippi

#15

Florida

#16

South Carolina

#17

Georgia

#18

Alabama

#19

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