Figure Skating Pet Peeves

[Mathman]

Alaska is on the Northest Westest coast of USA, even further west than Hawaii. It is the true Northwest. Alaskans are the ultimate West Coasters. So West, it's almost East...

Trivia question: In what state is the easternmost point of the United States?

Answer: Alaska. The longitude of Semisopochnoi Island, Alaska, is 179°37' East.

 

[Olympia]

So what you're saying is that Alaska is east of the sun and west of the moon...

One day I aim to get there and see it for myself. My late skating friend went once with her husband, and she saw all manner of glaciers and other gorgeous sights. And then, to top it off, Michelle Kwan was performing there (can't remember if it was COI), so she saw Michelle, too. Talk about a dream vacation.

 

[Mathman]

...she saw all manner of glaciers and other gorgeous sights.

I assume she wasn't glacially insouciant about the experience. (Sorry, private joke. )

 

[Rachael]

I hate when lady skaters put their tights over their skates. I think it's just ugly. The same goes when they wear brown skates. Just not pretty.

 

[Bluebonnet]

Which island are you talking about? I checked the map and I saw the distance between the southernmost Alaska and the northernmost Washington is about the same as from Vancouver to California. Can I say Canada stretches down almost to California just as Alaska stretches down almost to Washington?

Everybody knows what Toni meant. No one thought of your BC small. But Alaska has a tail stretched down south and blocked about half of BC's west coast. Of course it could be called as "almost reaching Washington". And, no, you cannot say that Canada stretches down almost to California because Canada is a whole big chunk sitting at the north and east of USA. It doesn't stretch deep into US.

 

[Mathman]

Canada is south of Detroit, Michigan. Check it out.

 

[Bluebonnet]

Canada is south of Detroit, Michigan. Check it out.

Will you be able to see Canada when you stand at your door?

 

[Mathman]

I can see the Ambassador Bridge (between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario) if I climb up on my roof.

 

[dorispulaski]

Depends on where in Detroit his front door (or alternatively back door) is:

http://www.aboveallohio.com/images/stock/big/Detroit_MI_Windsor_ON_Canada_aerial.jpg

This photo shows Detroit, MI and Windsor, ON in the same picture.

 

[Bluebonnet]

I can see the Ambassador Bridge (between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario) if I climb up on my roof.

Math, I'm voting you to be the next US president! (if I had the right to vote in US.) What a vision!:thumbsup:

 

[skatinginbc]

There is a little known place called Point Roberts, geologically an integral part of the Lower Mainland (the Greater Vancouver) and yet politically belonging to the US (Washington State). From Vancouver, one may get there by land, but from the US, by sea. The border control is very casual since the Americans that live there often shop at Vancouver instead of taking a long ferry to Seattle. And many Vancouverites go there to pick up goods ordered from the internet sites that require a US address. Its water supply, telephone service, and fire department assistance are provided by the British Columbia. An interesting place, isn't it? Of course, some smugglers have taken advantage of the weak border security. Why haven't I heard of any illegal migration or smuggling from Russia to Alaska since they are literally 2.4 miles apart?

 

[dorispulaski]

There is a TV show about Era Airlines, called Flying Wild Alaska

Little Diomede is one of the places they fly to.

There is some illegal traffic between Little and big Diomede, but once you get to Little Diomede, you cannot easily get anwhere else except big Diomede. In the 1960's, there were people whose families were split between the two islands. Probably still are.

For years, the Tweto family of Unalakleet took Alaskans to the air as owners of Era Aviation. Now, their story is hitting the TV airwaves, thanks to the Discovery Channel.

Meet the unconventional family that rules Alaska's most dangerous skies in a new 10-part reality series, 'Flying Wild Alaska,' which premieres Friday, Jan. 14. Watch how their airline is a lifeline to the Bush by delivering key goods that otherwise wouldn't arrive.

http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?automodule=downloads&showfile=15231


There was a recent very anxious episode about trying to fly vaccine to Little Diomede.

Two of the episodes of the popular TV reality show, Flying Wild Alaska (seen on Discovery Channel) have included segments that involved a small community on Little Diomede Island and their need for a timely delivery of assorted vaccinations. The first trip out, at the end of deep winter, found the weather too inclement for the pilot to risk landing on the Bering Sea ice runway that had been scraped clear, but the second trip with a pilot and copilot was succesful. Braving cracks on and beside the runway that could swallow a wheel, winds from the NNE that could lift a wing while parked and very slippery surfaces, the ERA Alaska flight crew managed to deliver the much needed cargo on time.

You will note that the plane has to land on the Bering Sea ice...there is no land runway.

 

[islandpaddler]

Just to throw in my two cents since the subject is now trivia. St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands is the easternmost point in the United States.

 

[dorispulaski]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_points_of_the_United_States#Easternmost

Apparently there is a lot of disagreement about what is east and west. This wikipedia article is amusing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_points_of_the_United_States

 

[Tonichelle]

So what you're saying is that Alaska is east of the sun and west of the moon...

One day I aim to get there and see it for myself. My late skating friend went once with her husband, and she saw all manner of glaciers and other gorgeous sights. And then, to top it off, Michelle Kwan was performing there (can't remember if it was COI), so she saw Michelle, too. Talk about a dream vacation.

we never got COI, but we did Campbell's Skating Tour for a couple of years.

We fly Era on the Peninsula (though most typically drive to Anchorage instead of fly, with gas prices the way they are, though, it's about the same cost wise either way lol

 

[Olympia]

Campbell's! That was it; Campbell's.

Thanks, Toni. It brings back thoughts of my friend Kath. She was the one who discovered GS, though I don't think she ever joined.

She was so excited that Michelle was skating there. It was summer, so the program began and ended in broad daylight.

 

[skateluvr]

I just want to know if Sarah Palin really CAN see Russia from her house!

 

[Olympia]

Presumably, only if she has a summer home on Little Diomede Island.

 

[Tonichelle]

I just want to know if Sarah Palin really CAN see Russia from her house!

considering she lives in Arizona now, no.

and her house in Wasilla can't see it either.

 

[skateluvr]

Just kidding...I am no Sarah Palin fan but loved loved loved Tina Fey's hilarious SNL impression where she says 'And I can see Russia from my house.' It was a hysterical routine about the geographically challenged former VP wannabe. And I did not realize the whole crew moved to Arizona! I knew the daughter with the baby did-after DWTS? How could Sarah who adores all things Alaskan leave for Arizona. She will always be a Wasilla girl, I am sure, LOL

I am sure Tonichelle would never leave Argentina- oh, I mean Alaska. Sarah reminds me of the great diva politician Evita Peron, except with the down home little gal style.