John,
I live a pretty frugal life style, but I am willing to spend money on things that bring me joy. It is probably cheaper than the Audi R8 I almost bought a couple years ago. A few days ago I really got on the throttle going on an on ramp and felt the front wheel get light. The bike has traction control that keeps the front wheel down, but I felt my gut drop like in a big drop to a roller coaster. I never felt that before on my bike. I have been thinking about selling my helis and airplane recently to get some extra cash.
I will share my photos of AK when I get back. My mom is jealous because she has wanted to go for a long time, but probably won't now that she is retired.
That is cool you like to cook. I think I mentioned I took cooking classes before, but it has been a few months since my last one. I just go to a local community college for their continuing education. It is like $40 for a four hour class. We make lots of dishes and then eat it at the end. If there are any left overs we can take that home. I have made a few friends there that also take multiple classes. My girlfriend is a really good cook and does most of the cooking for us. I cut my thumb pretty good on a chef's knife yesterday, so I am recovering from that.
Nick