Our Alaska Expedition was not one of our usual vacations. We tend to favor cities over parks, older over newer, and food over exercise. But we really wanted to visit Anchorage to see the Roes, Doreen wanted to take a long vacation, and it is always good to get out of Houston in the summer.
So the trip was planned, and was very well enjoyed. The Roes were a joy to visit, the weather cooperated to an extent that we felt very, very, lucky, and we experienced things that we have never seen before.
There is an old saying about Alaska, usually in reference to the fact that there are many more single men than women in the state: The Odds are Good, but the Goods are Odd.
And you could see that. There is a fiercely independent streak in most "non-expat" Alaskans, or people who have moved up there on their own. They value their ability to carry guns in public, to park where they want to, to "take" their annual moose, to snag their salmon, and to fish for their halibut.
At the same time, they like to cash their annual Permanent Fund checks, take much more money in Federal funds than they pay in taxes, and try to live off public lands as if they were their own. (The Mining Law of 1872 and rules about sustenance livers help)
In places like Talkeetna, where "hippies" showed up in the 60s and have been integrated into the community alongside the outdoorsmen, the fugitives, and the fishermen, you get a good feel that the locals (ALL the locals) are using their unique situation to make money off the tourists (like us). But we felt no resentment from the folks who were taking our money - unlike places such as Colorado where Texans are roundly resented.
Overall, the service industry is in bad shape in Alaska, I believe because there are many options for people to do other kinds of work. That means that in Seward, they don't eat sandwiches "per se", and in Anchorage you can (and do!) wait up to two hours to get a pizza. Granted, a very good pizza (Moose's Tooth) but it is a pizza none the less.
So I would say that this Expedition was a great success. We were never bored, we never wanted to be somewhere else, and in all honesty, we were not ready to come home.
And you can't get a better definition of a good vacation than that.
So the trip was planned, and was very well enjoyed. The Roes were a joy to visit, the weather cooperated to an extent that we felt very, very, lucky, and we experienced things that we have never seen before.
There is an old saying about Alaska, usually in reference to the fact that there are many more single men than women in the state: The Odds are Good, but the Goods are Odd.
And you could see that. There is a fiercely independent streak in most "non-expat" Alaskans, or people who have moved up there on their own. They value their ability to carry guns in public, to park where they want to, to "take" their annual moose, to snag their salmon, and to fish for their halibut.
At the same time, they like to cash their annual Permanent Fund checks, take much more money in Federal funds than they pay in taxes, and try to live off public lands as if they were their own. (The Mining Law of 1872 and rules about sustenance livers help)
In places like Talkeetna, where "hippies" showed up in the 60s and have been integrated into the community alongside the outdoorsmen, the fugitives, and the fishermen, you get a good feel that the locals (ALL the locals) are using their unique situation to make money off the tourists (like us). But we felt no resentment from the folks who were taking our money - unlike places such as Colorado where Texans are roundly resented.
Overall, the service industry is in bad shape in Alaska, I believe because there are many options for people to do other kinds of work. That means that in Seward, they don't eat sandwiches "per se", and in Anchorage you can (and do!) wait up to two hours to get a pizza. Granted, a very good pizza (Moose's Tooth) but it is a pizza none the less.
So I would say that this Expedition was a great success. We were never bored, we never wanted to be somewhere else, and in all honesty, we were not ready to come home.
And you can't get a better definition of a good vacation than that.
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