Life in the Great State of Alaska

I had the pleasure for the past two days of visiting Juneau, Alaska. Two days to visit is not very long considering I was traveling from Maine - but work and duty calls - and thus the visit. Now I might have stayed longer, but circumstances just would not allow an extended visit - maybe next time. I called this the great state for one simple reason - it is large. Really big. Bigger than a lot of states put together. I mean, if you take the entire state and plop it in the middle of the continental United States, it would fill up a big chuck of it. and thus the issues of traveling the state are challenging. In fact, there are at least 17 small carriers that serve many of the remote locations of the state. Small mom and pop airlines (that sounds like an oxymoron). But that is what this place is all about. And as I walked around Juneau yesterday during the typical October day that includes clouds, mist, and rain, it felt like many other cities I have expored. It is a small town perched between very steep mountains and a harbor, and that is unique. It is the only state capital that is accessible via a boat or plane; that is unique. This is the off season, so many storefronts were boarded up for the winter. During the summer season, the docks and Juneau welcome over 500 cruise ships for shore visits. I said to my cab driver back to the airport, it must be nuts. "yep" he said. But the people I met were sincere and genuine. It a lot of ways they felt like some of my fellow Mainiacs. Proud, hard working, down to earth. real. And I liked that. One day I want to get back to Alaska. Maybe for business again, but hopefully for some leisure as well. I hope to go fishing in some of the remote sections of Alaska, and maybe even do some other stuff as well. Small ship cruise along the coast - inland trip - who knows what the future holds. But I think it will be fun.