True or False

What is really going on in Alaska?

What you thought and what I know after 6 months.

From earthquake drills to tsunami warnings my poor mother must think we are drowning here. It is a good thing I can swim right. The truth is, when I decided that I would indeed be following the “the mountains are calling and I must go” attitude, many were quick to fill my already clustered mind with thoughts they(all suddenly) had of Alaska. The earthquake in Anchorage earlier in the school year was no big deal. It seemed like a run of the mill thing that happened. Since the beginning of the new semester and having been home back in New York for a week it was so easy to see the hundreds of differences in the way life is lived from coast to coast. Here are some of my favorites form everyone and a few random things that y’all need to hear.

Isn't Sitka the place Sandra Bullock goes in the proposal movie?

Yes, in the movie, and all aerial shots are indeed of Sitka, but on ground and physical scenes are all shot in and outside of Boston. So you were all lied to. We do not have our own Betty White, instead we have everybody's grandmother yelling at you to slow down on the bikes. But almost losing a tiny dog to a bald eagle is definitely a thing here. We do have the Tlingit people here, also known as the Sitka Tribe of Alaska. And they do perform dances, but not in shady woods.

Where are you going to get coffee? You are a Starbucks addict, and you are mean without morning coffee.

Coffee shops are local meaning I am now a local since the guys at Highliner know my coffee order.

If you are ever in the mood for a good cup of coffee, look no further than one of the 3 Sitka has to offer, but if you decide to google map a Starbucks you might end up in Canada.

So you are going to an island, in South Alaska……but Alaska is north of literally everything?

Sitka is part of Southeast Alaska, and it is a real region, unlike people who think central New Jersey exists

We happen to also call Sitka “the rock”, much like people called Alcatraz the rock

Isn’t Sitka were all of the tourists go? I think my grandparents go there?

As a part of the Inside Passage, we get a ton of cruise ships, carrying many travelers from all over the world. Whale watching, hiking, seeing bears and getting a taste of the Sitka locals are on the list of the things that the jittery travelers do. They also make sure to visit every.single. Alaska gift shop, you gotta get those postcards people, and can't forget the gold flakes in globes to have real Alaskan gold on your hands.

Alaska is where they film Deadliest Catch right? deadliest catch? do you know the people?

No, but I do house sit for a family of a former boat/deck hand and he has some great stories of the Bering Sea and the Cook Inlet. Now the family owns a whaler and makes money fishing based out of Sitka

Alaska is where the show is filmed, but not near near Sitka. They film in the Bering sea with is off the Aleutian Islands.

Are you driving so you are going to have a car there? that is a long drive, wait how can you drive to an island?

Currently I am over 2500 miles from New York, meaning that driving would have been a cool option, but if you want to get to Sitka, you need to fly, or drive through Canada to Juneau and take the ferry for 3 days.

Flying to Sitka is also a life experience, due to glacial fog, yes, you read that right, the fog from the glaciers and the mountains around Sitka, it is extremely difficult to land a plane in Sitka and subsequently Juneau. Only the most skilled pilots are even allowed to fly the inside passage.So even if you think you are going to end up in the water when you land in Sitka, rest assured you will be fine.

You want to go anywhere on the island, bet on walking or biking

If there is one thing that Sitkans do well, getting steps for the fit bit challenges. prepare to walk and or bike everywhere. You will quickly learn the island by walking and also how important it is t take walking or biking time into account when you go anywhere.

Won’t everything be covered in snow 24/7? Honey you are going to need snowshoes.

We don’t need snowshoes unless you hike in the winter and we wear yack tracks that attach to our feet so we do not slip on the ice that forms every day, and we have learned that there is no graceful way to slip on the ice, it will happen and you just need to own the slip.

What does Sitka even look like, a fishing villages, will there be huts?

Artsy or Instagram-able photos are here for the taking, every single day. Sitka really has no bad angles, while I have a few.

There are no huts, but I was just able to visit the Anchorage Museum and see old paintings of Sitka and there definitely were huts.

As for fishing, the entire town is built on it which means you will be in Sitka 10 minutes and will have met at least 15 people who own or work on boats. Chances are the pilot who flew you to Sitka has a boat here.

Since we won’t be seeing you, i guess you will not be able to call either.

We have wifi and cell phones, roofs over our heads and running water. Contrary to the belief that we all live in igloos, I hate to disappoint, but we all live in homes, with wifi, and some of us even have televisions! I know, we really are living in the future here.

Oh i know Alaska, the place with the husky race thing!

No, not everyone owns an Alaskan husky, but my neighbor does, and a family I house sit for and the guy that lives across from us.

I’ve seen northern exposure, watch out for the moose!

There are no moose casually walking around town, but there are hundreds of tourists, who move at the speed of a moose

You are going to freeze to death!

The east coast has been colder than Alaska has been, but we still bundle up to walk down the street and make it look like we are much colder.

How do you get things…..like honey there is no mall for 400 miles.

We still get amazon packages, but prime to us means 5-7 days. So if you know you need that sweater or phone charger, hope it gets there before you cave and buy a whole new phone.

Say hi to Sarah Palin for me

No we can not see Russia from here, and no, we don’t all love Sara Palin

Alaska, make sure to see the dog race

Snow buddies is the movie introduced east coast children to dog sled racing, the iditarod is a real thing. I was watching the news and instead of a winter storm tracker, we have the race tracker.

Keep watch for the bears

This is why the bear spray industry exists, and since the winters in southeast Alaska are not terrible, there are plenty of bears up and hungry

So this one is kinda still true, but so many people hike you will know if bears are up and roaming and we all hike with bells attached to us like we are dogs on a leash.

Have fun living in the dark, better get a flashlight

This one seemed to be at the forefront of opinions and discussions when I told people i was going to Alaska. odd, - it was dark for prolonged periods of time, but never 24 hours. I did go to work in pitch black and leave in pitch black but that only happened for a couple of months

What are you going to do, honestly? There is nothing to do.

I have gotten to the point where my schedule has me waking up at 5:45 and going places until 10 at night sometimes. There is always something to do and you just need to go out and meet people.

You need a ton of gear for everyday life

I have gone up mountains in shorts and sneakers but I have also gone up mountains in layers and more layers.

You get gear you need through borrowing and people love to give things to you if you have any ounce of want or need for it. From skis to cars, people just give things away and it is odd at first.

Can we call you, do you have an different Alaskan cell number now?

The 907 area code is for all of Alaska so I'm still confused about that, i have been to Juneau, anchorage and Sitka and we all hold the same 3 digits, kinda odd, kinda convent

Are there animals other than bears in Alaska or is to too cold for that?

Bald eagles are a thing here, and you will be made fun of for being shocked every time you see on, we also have the Sitka black tailed deer and bears, mountain goats. It is too cold for bugs which is really nice.

The earth shakes and earthquakes are a thing

More people called to ask me about it than the actual population of Sitka.

As a true testament to how hard working Alaskans are, the huge highway crack everyone probably saw a picture of was repaired not even hours later.

How Big is Sitka?

The biggest misconception Sitka carries is it's true size. With Tongass National Park and Forest in Sitka, Sitka measures at 4,811 square miles, making the City and Borough of Sitka the largest city in the United States.

A peaceful Bald Eagle letting us get close for this picture. I had to crawl on hands and knees in the slush. haha

Lets hope we don't land in the water!

A nice afternoon at one of the harbors!

The moon perfectly over Mt. Verstovia at 6pm

6 am softball practice and 4pm practice. same cloud cover. same awkward sun