In other news

My mom just got back from Cali and Washington, where she was visiting friends from when she was a jesuit volunteer in Alaska. She was staying in Bellingham for a week, which is not only where her friends live (off the of the swank Chuckanut Dr.) But it is also the town my dad spent his teenage years in, after my grandfather moved the family out of Louisiana. And it also is the lower48 home of the Alaska Marine Highway, perhaps the coolest ferry system known to man. You can rent a cabin for the three day trip to Ketchikan, or you can grab a tent and pitch it on the deck. My dad and I did this 6 years ago, when we were heading up to Craig to work on an archeological dig, and it was one of the coolest things ever.
Shit like this is just there, all the time. Anyway, so this all comes up because my mom's trip reminded me how much I want to get back to Alaska. I really am yearning for a pint at Annabelle's Keg and Chowder House, with a big bowl of king crab bisque and fresh baked biscuits. Oh god yes. Meep, maybe next summer . . .