An article popped up in my Facebook the other day by an Alaskan writer of her 25 things that are actually really frustrating about living in Alaska. Not just frustrating or really frustrating but actually really frustrating.
I feel great about my choice to live in Homer these days and yeah, there are some things that are kind of frustrating but actually AND really frustrating? I had to think. I couldn't come up with a good 25, so here's a mediocre five:
1. It's hard to get stuff
Since getting back from New Zealand, we're missing some things in our house. Like couches, curtains and coffee tables and... it's a pretty big list.
We work around it, we order from Amazon, and the Gear Shed down the road offers a super-convenient way to get thing shipped for a reasonable rate through their Fedex distributor. Still, sometimes it's nice to see what you're buying because "free returns" doesn't always mean free returns if you live in Alaska.
2. Anchorage in the Summer
About the 'getting stuff' - I'm a minimalist at heart. That said, sometimes a girl needs a Costco run. When you're living in Alaska with a higher cost of living, Costco just makes makes sense.
Driving to Anchorage in summer definitely qualifies as actually and really frustrating. There's traffic. Slow traffic. Traffic full of lines and lines of RVs. It sucks.
3. What if fishing's not your thing?
I loved being out on the waters of Bristol Bay fishing the Nushagak River with Hunter. They were some of by best Alaskan memories. What I don't like is bobbing the waters of Kachemak Bay trolling along trying my best not to vomit. That's just not my idea of fun.
It's frustrating when fishing season hits and Hunter's gone every chance he gets...but not actually and really frustrating because I've found a tribe on non-bobbers with whom to spend my summer Saturdays.
4. Weather guilt is Real
It's August, my kid's back to school and I'm sitting here feeling twangs of guilt over the things I didn't do this summer. I didn't paddleboard across the bay - work got in the way. I didn't hike the Glacier Trail like I'd planned and I didn't get that wet suit and join my kids in the water. I'm gong to super-charge my weekend warrior status and book a trip to the Glacier Trail this weekend, weather be damned, who's in?
5. Moose!
I like the moose around town. After years in Alaska, it still feels magical to me when animals show up in my yard. Except the neighbour dogs, I don't like my neighbour's dogs. We had a black bear in the yard a couple of weeks ago and a moose stopped by the other day. It was all rosy and lovely until those moose ate my broccoli!
I was growing some really cool Romanesco broccoli. It had problems at the start of the year but after some trial and error and asking around to local green thumbs, I actually convinced it to grow. I was so excited! Until this happened...
 |
| Actually and Really Frustrating |