You Know Juneau?

Everyone told us not to bother with Juneau, that there was nothing there, but I'm a state capital aficionado, so we spent an extra 25,000 frequent flier miles to arrange for a stop here before we return to the "Lower 48" on Monday.

Well, it's a truly, truly charming spot. I hadn't realized it, but it's a rain forest. They get 220 days of rain or snow a year. And it's raining here now -- some sort of a heat wave has brought the mercury up to 36. It was 5, by the way, when we got in the car in Anchorage from the motel heading to the airport.

Our camera battery is exhausted, so in lieu of pictures with this post, a few wry observations:

* The first billboard you see heading to baggage is a cryptic political message from Planned Parenthood of Juneau saying: "We're pro-child, pro-choice, pro-something else, pro-privacy." Hmm. Welcome, everyone and abortion-seekers!

* Juneau happens to be the largest state capital by square mile.

* In among the literature about the statehouse, the glacier tours and so on was a tri-fold brochure for the Refenstein Dialysis center. In fact, it's also on this Tourism Juneau website, complete with a "add to favorites" link should anyone possibly want one. There are pretty pictures of mountains, glaciers and bears. And testimonials like: "Having the Reifenstein Dialysis clinic open in Juneau enabled me to stay in my hometown. I have also had the opportunity to visit my son in Hawaii." Huh? Anyone want to unpack that one for me?

Off to the statehouse now...