Everyone has their own idea of what the perfect world would be like. And everyone looks at things differently so I guess when someone says, "Another perfect day in paradise", the best answer is, "Absolutely!", even though it is 40 degrees and raining outside.
Living in South Florida we ALWAYS say, "Another perfect day in paradise", to anyone we meet. It is taken for granted that living in the sunshine state is the "perfect" place to be. Even when it is 900 degrees in August, the humidity is so high you can wash your clothes just by leaving them on the patio over night, or when a CAT 4 hurricane is headed our way, Florida is Paradise !
So I guess it stands to reason that folks living in Valdez, Alaska consider any day where the temperature is above Zero and there isn't 20 feet of snow on the ground with weather reports of another 14 inches on the way to be A PERFECT DAY IN PARADISE.
Yesterday D and I arrived here in the "quaint", scenic, cold town on the coast of Alaska. I have been here twice before and I DO love this place but believe me it is NOT PARADISE ! I don't know if the sun ever shines here because the town sits in a valley surrounded on 3 sides with a very very cold ocean on the forth side. The river that runs into this valley from the North East is a murky grey rushing glacial stream that is over flowing its banks right now with the melting snow from all the surrounding mountains. It is a breath taking ride from civilization, nearly 7 hours inland, down to the beginning of Prince William Sound which is where Valdez sits. It takes another 6 hours by boat to get to the open ocean. All there is here is water, mountains and snow. It is MAGNIFICENT but it sure isn't my idea of paradise.
The locals are a mix of fishermen and tree huggers. No offense intended to those of the human race who want to get back to nature but you sure as hell better be prepared for what nature has in store for you. I don't think I would make it a month here, beautiful as it is. There is one grocery store in town, a Safeway, that stocks EVERYTHING from food to winter hats, coats, gloves AND snowshoes. The food selection is minimal and caters to the "natural" life style of the townies. There is an abundance of Organic and "natural" food many of which I have never seen or heard of in my life. (I don't think there was a single Oreo cookie in the place.) I knew I was in trouble when I went to the produce department and there was a young mother selecting lettuce. (At least I think it was lettuce. It was something green.) The mom had her 3-4 year old daughter with her and was having the child SMELL the green stuff to determine which one was the freshest. They went through 3 different bunches before choosing one. I have never smelled a lettuce in my life nor do I ever plan on doing so. I wanted to scoop the child up and take her for ice cream except I don't think they have any here in town. They probably pour fish oil on snow as a treat.
It was as I was leaving the store that I overheard one shopper saying to another, "What a beautiful day it is. It's another perfect day in paradise". As I stepped out the door of Safeway and was blasted with an arctic wind the likes of which I have never experienced that I wondered if these folks could ever survive in Florida. I know they would hate it. They probably vacation in the antarctic.
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