In the past, I was never one of those people who wanted to moved to Seattle, nevermind Alaska. "Give me the sun or give me a tanning bed!" used to be my motto. And then I moved to Juneau...
one of the rainiest places on earth- go figure. However, this region of the country has definitely found a place in my heart and I'm sure my skin is thanking me for it.
Like beer, the Pacific Northwest is an acquired taste, at least for me. But it's a really, really good place and here's why I tend to miss this region every time I'm away for very long.
1. Outdoorsy people abound
This is a place inhabited by a bunch of incredibly active people. And I find it refreshing to live amongst those who know that hiking is not just for "granola-crunching hippies", hunting is not just for red-necks, and people for whom Subarus four-wheel drive has actual function and is not just the stylish version of a mini-van.
It's also nice to know that here I can relate to the experiences of many other people who find a weekend of staying at a remote cabin or a challenging hike to be not boring, but actually fun. A good bottle of wine or whisky helps sometimes... wink wink.
2. Oysters
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| The oysters at Shuckers Oyster Bar in Seattle |
If you've never had oysters from Washington, Oregon or Northern California you are totally missing out. These oysters are seriously some of the best I've ever had and yes, I have had East Coast and Gulf Coast Oysters, which can also be tasty. The oysters up here are just different, smaller, sweeter, a variety of flavors, and frankly, amazing. Enough said.
3. The food, in general
Welcome to an area of the country where seafood is super fresh and the produce is a straight-shot north from California. Even in Juneau it IS possible to get good produce year-round mainly because I've finally learned which smaller grocery stores Fed-Ex their stuff up (rather than ship it by barge). Besides if you were a tomato would you rather travel in the back of a 16-wheeler for twenty hours on the Interstate or half a day by air cargo?
In addition to West Coast produce, we Northwesterners (and Southeast Alaskaans) are blessed with fresh Alaska salmon and halibut we literally catch right in our backyards.
In the summer we throw it on the grill, basted and sometimes on a wood Cedar plank. In winter, we bake it using recipes like Halibut Olympia and Salmon Broccoli-Cheddar Casserole.Plus, there are other local-ish foods to be thankful for like Black-tail deer meat (venison tacos anyone?) and Oregon's Tillamook Cheese Factory or Seattle's Beecher's cheeses (among the spoils of many other small farms).
Eat your hearts out Hawaii snowbird friends.. don't you wish you were back here? Well, don't you?
4. Sunny days are spectacular and appreciated
You know what happens when more days are cloudy than sunny? If you guess a Vitamin D deficiency, you would probably be correct. But if you also guess, an appreciation for sunshine you can probably understand why, when the sun finally peeks out from behind the clouds, people rejoice.
I can honestly say that Juneau on a sunny day is within the top three most spectacular places I have every seen. Or five. Or whatever. But it really is awesome with a variety of clouds layers over the ocean, never-ending sunsets, and mountains set a-glow.
5. A temperate climate
We have seasons in many parts of the country, including where I grew up. Here they are distinct, yet not brutal. It's something I bemoaned at first (what, no 90-degree summer days?) but have grown to appreciate because, about 85 percent of the time, I am somewhat physically comfortable. The other 15 percent is because I would prefer the car to be hotter than my boat captain husband would. So yes, it seems that 15 percent of my existence is based on a battle for car temperature. And that I can also live with.
Really, it doesn't get much colder than freezing in Juneau in the winter, with low temps hovering around 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and summer highs in the 60s. It could be a lot worse. And that's when we go on vacation.
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