Weekend at the Beach

Some southern friends of mine spent time at the beach recently. Slightly envious, I headed for a beach of my own. The ambient temperature was in the negative thirties. I know, not exactly typical beach weather, but beautiful nonetheless. This shot was taken from the shore of the Arctic Ocean in Barrow. I spent the weekend there visiting with friends, enjoying restaurant food, and shopping in actual stores...all rare luxuries.

The whale bones and umiaq (skin boat) frames in the photo above mark the historic site of a former whaling headquarters from the days when ships had sails, whale oil burned in lamps, and whale baleen was used to make women's corsets. Today, Brower's Cafe inhabits that space. And they make a great breakfast, no corsets involved (thank goodness!).

This time of year, the moon is seldom visible (at least in Atqasuk) because of persistent cloud cover. So it was an unexpected treat to be graced with this mesmerizing, pearl-like glow throughout the entire weekend.

I've heard it said, though reports are conflicting, that Alaska consumes more ice cream per capita than any other state. Well, we must be at the top of the drive-through coffee shack list as well. These little businesses are popping up everywhere across the state and now Barrow boasts one of its own. Unfortunately, when we stopped by on the way to my flight, it was closed. Maybe next time.

Aarigaa Java...what a great name!

The visit was way too short, but the flight home was uneventful. That's a reasonable trade-off, in my book. Now my freezer is relatively full, as is my heart after precious quiet time spent with friends.

I can honestly say, it was a great weekend at the beach!