Mary Bellamy

I'm off to Anchorage today. Because I'm a genius, I'm combining both a work trip (Adobe conference) and a pleasure trip (visiting with Jo, eating Indian food, a dance workshop).

I think I am starting to understand the Alaskan psyche. If you grew up in Fairbanks, you are from a small town masquerading as a city. It's 350 miles of emptiness to get to the next largest place. Anchorage isn't bad, but neither is it good. Somehow all Fairbanksans end up making a trip to Mecca (aka Portland) in their 20s and decide that it is the finest city to ever grace this earth and no other city shall do. I've got the opposite view. I grew up on the East Coast halfway between New York and Boston. I know of cities and civilization. Without being hampered by the perspective of an isolated childhood, I have chosen Fairbanks.

With that being said, I do still enjoy my occasional trips to Anchorage. And I'm really looking forward to Joyce's reaction, as it will be her first trip there. Specifically, I want to see how she handles the empty road. Imagine driving from Washington D.C. to New York. Only there is nothing on the road between the two. No towns. No rest areas. Not really any houses. I plan to crank up the iPod and try to avoid any bathroom breaks.

I do have a few errands to accomplish in Anchorage.

• Get new running shoes. I just discovered that mine are about 3 years old. Time to hit up Skinny Raven for a new pair.
• Check out the portfolios at Anchorage Tattoo. I need someone who can do good line work.
• Eat at Yak and Yeti, the new Himalayan restaurant. I'm going to meet a man there who I haven't seen in about 14 years, if that. We ran in the same crowd when I was a teenager in Mystic, and he apparently has been living in Anchorage for many years now.
• General shopping and/or eating that I can't get in Fairbanks.