A New Season Has Begun

This morning I travelled downtown for a first-thing-in-the-morning meeting.  The meeting was cancelled at the last minute, so I decided that since I was in downtown proper I would take advantage of that and go pay next month's rent at a bank.  The bank was not open yet..........I decided to drive across the bridge to Douglas and visit a colleague.  I visited for only a few minutes before feeling restless enough to move on.  I drove down to the harbor to take a few pictures before heading to my office.  I had enough time to take a couple of boat pictures and a couple of "end of road" pictures before it started to rain.  The morning did not get off to a rousing start......

There is something very compelling about Douglas S and the Treadwell Mining Trail.  It is a beautiful area, full of history, and sand and moss-covered mining artifacts, mountains and water and sandy beach.  A beautiful beach area on a beautiful and rugged island.

With concentration waning by late morning, and with it still raining, I drove down to the Salvation Army store in town and found a couple of very interesting things.  Xtratuffs made for a 3 or 4 year old child caught my attention and my fancy, and right now they are sitting on the stove in the kitchen that I have yet to start.

I have probably 6 or 7 pairs of Salomon trail running shoes.  I have been wearing Salomons as long as I have been adventure racing, and I love them - they are comfortable, stable and drain well (important in AR).  I always buy them on sale, but even then still usually pay $80 or so for a pair.  I have one pair up here in Juneau right now, and will have the rest of them up here eventually.  When they wear out they become paddling shoes.  I hate to throw them away, and they have to be falling apart before that happens.

I found these at the Salvation Army today - I paid $3 for both the xtratuffs and the Salomons.  The shoes are for my Mountain Boy (darn it - too big for me). 

On the way home for work I picked up a microwave at someone's house in Auke Bay.  It works fine (except it does not rotate).  I found it on Craigslist and got it for free.

By late afternoon it was mostly sunny and warm out.  This picture was taken at an overlook near the house on the way home from work.  Even though I was completely snowed in just a week ago, it is surely spring now in Juneau Alaska. 

The world is getting louder, as it has a tendency to do this time of year when it seems that every one and every thing is waking from slumber - there are more cars on the road, more boats in the water, more planes in the air, more birds in the trees.  And so it goes..........a new season has begun.