When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Some friends just sent me a picture as they were heading home (this is East bound on H1 towards Diamond Head)... yeah don't miss that one bit
siberian
Driving back our 2020 Macan S from Anchorage, North of Talkeetna and South of Denali
The best long distance runners eat raw meat, run naked and sleep in the snow
Awesome photo
My daughter is going to school at UAA and last August we took a trip to Denali Park and then had to go North to Fairbanks and then travel South along the Glen Highway due to the Forest fire shutting down the highway back to Anchorage.
p
Beautiful pics GothingNC it really is the Last Frontier.
Fire was stopped 5.5 miles from the house as we were on Stage 1 alert all summer. Locked, loaded and ready to move... We're on Moose Mtn. you see the area covered.
siberian
The best long distance runners eat raw meat, run naked and sleep in the snow Map Shovel Creek Fire
But this is simply a choice we have made in America. There's no reason it needs to be like this. When I did European Delivery of a friend's BMW in Munich, gasoline cost $9/gallon -- mostly in taxes -- and we never saw any traffic. But the inter-city rail service was amazing, and the transit within Berlin, Munich, Koln, etc. was exceptional. Personally, I'd gladly pay a lot more for gas in order to be able to get where I'm going. But, in America, gas is cheap and transit is insufficient, so this is what we get. Meh. Lower taxes and shrink government; the free market will solve everything. Not my problem; I walk to work.
I've been to both Alaska and Hawaii multiple times. Alaska is stunningly beautiful and it's a shame so many Americans have never been....or is it? Many parts of Hawaii are beautiful too. But personally, if I had to choose between the two, I'd choose Alaska. There are some gorgeous spots in Hawaii but I'm just not a beach person and views of the ocean from a beach all start looking the same to me whereas I don't think I've had the same view twice in Alaska. And the wildlife in Alaska...incredible. Maybe my opinion would change if I had to spend entire winters in Alaska.
FWIW, the rail system in Japan is possibly the best in the world! The trains/subways/etc. in Tokyo are to be experienced
to be believed. On time, clean, efficient. Even the bathrooms in the subway stations (yes, really!) are clean! The Shinkansen
is amazing for going longer distances - safe, clean, comfortable.
What the US could learn...
And, yes, fuel is 2X the cost of what it is in the US, however you don't need a car to get everywhere. Completely different
approach.
Wow, I never thought my contrast post would generate such wide opinions on such varied topics. My wife and her family were born in Hawaii, I went to UH in the late 60s and we left in the early 70s with a degree and no interest in serving fries. Hawaii is not where we "grew" up, When I arrived the airport was a chain linked fence with the Kodak Hula girls and the PanAm clipper dispensing tourists who had their pictures taken as they got their lei. I lived in Aiea, where I helped build the house I eventually bought (sold and helped me retire) and my wife is from East Honolulu. Folks thought I was crazy to commute in from Aiea to UH in 1969. Won't even bother telling you from where folks commute today and how long it takes them to do a few miles. We lived in Switzerland for 19 years and the contrast is stunning,where the Swiss drastically limit foreign acquisitions, Hawaii sold itself to the highest bidder creating a generation+ of service jobs/employment. Vast wonderful places to eat and enjoy (the International Market Place, Kings Alley for example) have been torn down to make room for million dollar condos. We had the highest percentage of married children living at home - median home is at near $800,000 whilst salaries are 40% lower than in the Lower 48, could that be a reason?
The reason most of us move to Alaska is not "for a functioning government" (you know of any??) recall that the 9 scariest words in the English language are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help", but to get away. You want a functioning government implement Term Limits for ALL elected officials.
We're here to fish/hunt, avoid paying taxes whilst having real friendships and folks you can count on. When I leave on business I contact a few "neighbors" to let them know I'll be away for a couple of weeks and if they could look in on the wife. I wouldn't know who I would have asked in Aiea to do that. Aloha died a long time ago and is now packaged in cans sold at ABC stores in Waikiki. Most folks around me built their own homes, we have our own well, haul our own garbage 12 miles, haul propane once a year in a specially designed carrier I built for my Touareg, and I'm one of 4 road commissioners responsible for keeping our 11 mile service area drive able and safe year round. I see the Mayor of the Borough when I need to, by walking in and if he's not there I leave word knowing he'll call me back.
When we moved here my wife said "don't forget to write and send pictures". 12 years later after a week in Hawaii she can't wait to get back here.
We fish for salmon and halibut, we camp, we have our kids (Siberian Huskies) and winter gets so cold even the government doesn't come up here - and you're welcome to all of them.
So my post was just the extreme view of what was once paradise (yes, you have to pay to visit Hanauma Bay 2 or 3 times a week) as well as the Pali Lookout (a favorite make-out place back in the day) and Mom will turn 100 this coming May (Okinawans live forever) and we'll have fun for a few days before yearning to get back and get our fishing gear ready and head to where the salmon and halibut await. Alaska No Ka Oi! Rasetsu, just bring an extra sweater or three in winter, you'll be OK.
siberian
The best long distance runners eat raw meat run naked and sleep in the snow
01-11-2020, 02:09 PM
I had nearly forgotten why we moved to Alaska
