For Val’s Dad, my constant and persistent reader.

I haven’t written in some time and only due so now because the father of a colleague of mine (the aforementioned ‘Val’) has made the appropriate phone calls and requests. Also, as he may be my only reader at this point (I haven't been to Sycamore, Illinois, but I have to assume there is more to do than read my blog). It has not been for lack of subject matter, we have had an anniversary, a birthday, purchased a minivan (yes, we’re that family now), and I have traveled by kayak through Prince William Sound and now flown again to Juneau to revisit the horrors of this past winter.

Today I’ll write about Juneau. It’s much nicer this time around and I am saddened that the family has not joined me. I am here for a conference with the Alaska Association of Family Physicians. Nerdy, true, but it is better than being in clinic for a few days, and I get to visit our good friends, Clint and Denise, in much less adverse conditions. For both of you who are still reading, you may remember that we spent the beautiful month of February here in Juneau encountering boilerplate ice, 3 feet of snow, a vehicle that wouldn’t make it up the hill to our house, enough rain to melt three feet of snow, and the screaming isolation that can only be associated with three adults, a two year old, and 2 month old twins all living in a small two bedroom apartment.

I don’t want to say it was a horrible experience, but I can’t say it was good. Perhaps more than anything, the new babies, lack of sleep, and slightly worse than typical February weather jaundiced our view. The work was mediocre, but the people were certainly nice. That said, it is much nicer to be here in the summer. I have managed two hikes, ridden the Arial Tramway, and made fun of the seasonal locals at open mic night at the Alaskan. Juneau is much nicer in the summer. I highly recommend it. The fact that is hasn’t really rained which we’ve been here also helps, I suppose. I was offered a job here for the summer (and a permanent one in nearby Sitka) and I can’t say that I am disappointed to have turned them down, but at some point this might be a nice place to live. At least in the summer. Then again, there’s all the tourists (13,000 off the boats yesterday).