Alaska the Beautiful

Stephen spent yesterday afternoon at the Great Alaska Sportsman Show at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. The girls and I dropped him off and then went swimsuit shopping at the mall. At the Sportsman Show there were over 500 booths. Stephen said most of them were folks trying to sell you their services... fishing charters, lodges, guides, flightseeing, etc. He brought home a bunch of brochures and other trinkets he picked up. There are lots of things we'd like to do along these lines. We'll just have to come up with the time and money to do some of them!

The TV is now full of touristy Alaska shows. I enjoy watching them actually. And getting ideas about things we should do since we live right here.

But I think it's the same everywhere... if you live someplace, you spend less time seeing your own backyard than you do planning to go someplace else. We moved here from Virginia of course. And while we lived there, we never went to Busch Gardens or Williamsburg. We're flying there in May to visit those places!

I'm hoping it will be a little different here in Alaska. When people come to visit us here, it helps inspire us to get out and see things. We haven't been here quite a year yet and we are still amazed by how beautiful Alaska is. I am still fighting complacency as I drive past soaring mountains and rushing rivers. I don't want to "not see" these things because they are the backdrop of our lives every day. So far, they still take my breath away and I feel lucky to live surrounded by such beauty.

I remember when we came to Alaska for the first time back in 2001 for our honeymoon. The biggest thing I took away from that trip was just how beautiful Alaska is. If you come to Alaska, and do nothing more than look out a window of a car or tour bus for a week, you'll remember it forever. And it'll be worth the trip. Just don't forget your camera so you can share your experience with friends. Although, I've found that pictures have a hard time capturing the immensity of Alaska.