Finally Alaska!

I'm in Anchorage Alaska very jetlagged. We got in last night after a long, long set of flights. It took us much longer to get to Anchorage from Asheville, North Carolina than to go to Europe.

Greenville-Spartanburg, SC to Dallas

Dallas to Anchorage. Seven hour flight.

This morning, I woke up before 4 A.M. We walked through neighborhoods in Anchorage that seemed so new, so fresh, so bright that I felt I was in Christchurch, New Zealand. I better remember that I am in the U.S. especially when I'm supposed to be tipping. (There's no tipping in New Zealand.)

We went to the Saturday market, full of food stalls, stuffed toys, jewelry and art. I bought a bottle of birch syrup, similar to maple syrup, but not as sweet.

The Polynesian theme continued with a man using a "eskimo yoyo". It consisted of two pieces of stuffed toy, each attached to a string. You have to keep each  toy twirling. This is similar to a Maori poi.

In another booth, a woman was playing a ukelele, the Hawaiin musical instrument.

This is Captain Cook country. Captain James Cook, (1728-1779). the famous sailor who sailed to Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Alaska. He sailed right into what is now Cook Inlet.

A National Park Service ranger did a history walk of Cook places in downtown Anchorage. She took us to see sculptures of the three ships he captained, pictures above.

The end was at the Cook Memorial, where she described how he met a sad end in Hawaii.

After dinner, we walked on the coastal path. The long days, the sun lowering into the inlet, the filtered light defines Alaska.