Sunny Southeast

One thing to keep in mind about Alaska is that view of the world is a little different from here. For example, when people travel to Southeast they are not heading to Disney World. Similarly, what I used to call "out east" is now lumped into the expression "back east" since almost everybody in Alaska is from back east.

Juneau is, in many ways, the cultural center of Alaska. Some refer to it as North Seattle because it is the most politically liberal part of the state, which means its pretty moderate. There is never a shortage of things to do in Juneau; besides the obvious outdoor activities there is a great bluegrass music scene, numerous good restaurants, some cinemas that show independent films, numerous art galleries and museums, and even an opera. Numerous sculptures, totem poles, and paintings can be found in the downtown area, which is the old part of the city.




And if you still run out of things to do you can always sit and watch the turistos who swarm the city by the thousands each day during the summer. Fortunately for the locals, the tourists usually don't venture too far from the cruise ships so they're impact on the city life isn't too great. Unfortunately, the money they spend on Persian rugs and Brazilian emeralds doesn't go to the locals.