The only thing "instant" in Juneau is oatmeal...

I wanted to touch on a few interesting observations about life in Juneau - especially since working now for four weeks.  I grew up in a small (REALLY small) town and then moved to a somewhat larger "metropolis".  After time, even that felt small - comfortable with travel, aware of where stores were, meeting people you knew at the grocery store (pre-Peapod!), that kind of thing.  Plus, you tried to consolidate trips out to maximize your time and gas costs.  In Greenfield, I knew many people who would not drive the few minutes from the east side to the west side to access programs or services - if it wasn't in their "back yard", they didn't go.  I, on the other hand, never minded driving up to Bayshore (north side of Milwaukee) to go shopping, or going west to Waukesha for restaurants or even south to Racine to Hobby Lobby (man, I miss Hobby Lobby!).  I find a similar "Greenfield" personality here in Juneau.  Stores and services are consolidated to physical areas (due to the mountains and ocean limiting land mass!) and once you reach our place "out the road", there are no grocers, gas stations, atm's or anything but beautiful, natural scenery.  Good for Sunday drives, but not so good when it is 8 pm. and you are out of half and half for your morning coffee.  Plus, there are only two main shopping/service areas in Juneau.  One is in the "valley" (where the Mendenhall River - melt-off from the glacier - runs to the ocean) and the other is downtown.  From the south end of the road to the north end of the road is 45 miles, and we live at mile marker 17.  That means, we are 17 miles from the very southern end of the road, and 28 miles to the northern end.  The valley is about mile marker 11, and downtown would be mile marker 3.   Bill and I work downtown, and we hit three stop lights on the way from our place and takes about 15 minutes with traffic (11 of we hit all the lights!).  However, many people who are true "Juneau-ites" that live in the Valley don't go downtown.  Too far, they say.  Sound familiar, Greenfield?

They other interesting thing, one I only understand now that I'm work with scheduling appointments most of the day, is that those of you who live in the lower 48 probably take getting to and fro for granted.  For example, I had someone call to set up an eye exam and mention that they would need an appointment on a very specific day since that is the day they are coming in by ferry (if the weather holds).  Those Southeast Alaskans that live in the small communities are dependent on the ferrys (or flights, if airfare is reasonable) to plan their lives.  Think about if you had to schedule a doctors appointment three or four months in advance to fit your travel schedule.  A $100 eye exam will end up costing $300-$400 with transportation costs (most bring their cars on the ferry) and hotel stays.  When in the "big city", people will shop at Walmart, the Home Depot and Costco as well as stopping at the hardware store to order light bulbs in bulk, wood and supplies for home repairs and 100 pound bags of charcoal for their grills.  They arrange for shipping home on the ferry (what they can't fit in their cars) and spend the rest of the few days in town eating out, visiting with family or friends or simply sight-seeing.  Here, you don't get your glasses in "one hour" - the prescription will be sent with the frames you've selected to labs in Anchorage or Seattle, and they will be returned in two or three weeks.  Better have some duct tape around in case you sit on your only pair of glasses!

Stop and think about what "instant" things you do that aren't possible in other areas of the country or world.   One-hour photos, drive-thru everything (other than the dozens of coffee shops, there is only one "drive-thru" here in Juneau, at the one-and-only McDonalds) and same-day appointments are not available here in Juneau (or other small towns, I suppose).  That makes life here a bit more scheduled (imperative to plan ahead!) but less hectic.  Taking time to "smell the roses" is what it is all about!

Our high seas adventure

View as we sail out of Auke Bay harbor

 We were invited to take a boat trip this past Sunday with Tim & Kathy.  They have lived on their 39' boat for the past year, harbored in Auke Bay, but they have actually lived on a boat somewhere in the world for over 25 years.  Kathy told me the story of their first boat and how sad she was to sell it since it had memories of raising their daughter in places like Panama, where they were frequently going through the locks of Panama Canal.  She told me that they installed her "jumper" from an eye hook in the ceiling of the boat, and that she made friends with others in the harbor in Puerto Rico. 

View of our condo area from the back of the boat

Now, with their daughter grown, they live on their boat in Juneau, where they both work independently in home repair and painting.  They are flying out of Juneau to Oregon for a month to check in with family and some property they own near Eugene.  With that, Tim wanted to take the boat out to "rev" the engine.   He didn't want the boat to sit too low in the water due to the high sea levels this time of the winter, but did need to use up his fuel.  In the harbor where they live, there was a boat that sunk this past week when the owners failed to clear the accumulated snow and ice.  The mast is

the sunken boat just visible in the corner of the dock

pretty much all you can see of this vessel.  The only reason it is not totally under water (the water in the harbor is anywhere between 50 and 100 feet deep) is that the boat is still tied to the dock!  We set off on our "great adventure" about 1:00 p.m. on a very snowy day - you can see from the photos that the snow was very heavy on the dock.

Frozen deck railings

Bill tried to glean as much information he could from Captain Tim as we motored out of the harbor and into the high seas of the Inside Passage.  Kathy asked if I was prone to seasickness - if I was, it was too late! As we sailed north out of the harbor and around Lena Point, the sea became extremely rough.  Bill equated it to "Deadliest Catch"!  We bobbed and weaved, up one wave and down the trough on the other side.  You could hear the engine as it fought to keep straight through the bouncing.  At one point, Kathy and Bill went out on the back deck to clear the floor drains of the accumulated ice so the water

Captain Tim and First Mate Bill

wouldn't wash into the cabin.  The rails of the deck were frozen, and the wipers were kept busy trying to clear the windows so the captain could see!  We didn't see much due to the cloudy/foggy weather, when suddenly Captain Tim brought the boat "about" so we could watch about a dozen harbor seals frolicking in the open water - they were huge!  They were about the only things able to withstand the

Kathy waving goodbye as we leave the boat

cold semi-frozen water.  Soon we turned and made our way back to our watery home in Auke Bay.  We helped with the mooring lines, then waved to Kathy as she settled in for the night with only the snow and some hearty seagulls for company (besides Tim, that is!).  As we walked on the 8" of fresh

Boats in Auke Bay harbor

snow down the dock, we passed a large boat for sale (only $375,000!).  We looked at each other - and for a moment thought about what it would be like on the open seas, sailing around the world not caring where we docked for the night.  Nope, we thought.  We love the ocean, but we prefer terra firma in beautiful Juneau, Alaska!