Haines is a quiet little place, but I’ve found over the last few weeks that I really like the feel of it – it’s the kind of place where, if you were born here, everyone knows you – everyone comes to your birth, your wedding, and yes one day…they all come to celebrate that life too. I don’t know that I could live here, but I really enjoy visiting here, it’s a laid back kind of day that involves a lot of walking, some talking – some discussing, and then, every so often, something unexpected.
Amras is always surprising me, I’m never quite sure what he’s going to surprise me with; I mean this is the guy who once gave me an entire city for my birthday; but even in a quiet little place like Haines, which has literally nothing to offer except an old military fort, two bars and a bookstore, he still finds something. Boy knows me far too well.
‘Dalton City’ lies outside of town by about a half hour walk, past the local health food market (mmm…molasses cookies!) and really somewhat out in the middle of nowhere. It’s located on the fairgrounds that will house the Alaska State Fair next week, but since the set up hasn’t even begun yet, it’s got that deliciously eerie almost-abandoned feeling that empty fairgrounds often have after the rides have gone silent and the Carmel corn is no more than a memory of a scent in the air. But Dalton City isn’t necessarily part of the fair, the whole place – which is less than a block – is open year round, but the catch is, that it’s not real. It’s a movie set. It’s the 1890s gold rush town that was originally built by Disney for the movie White Fang in the 80s…trust Amras to find a Disney connection for me in the middle of nowhere in Alaska! The paint is peeling and there’s little there except a really funky coffee shop and an awesome ‘festival wear’ shop (I was so close to buying an absolutely adorable black and white mini-skirt, but chickened out at the last moment because it was just that touch too pricey) – but the place feels cool.
The woman who ran the festival shop – which feels as if you just walked into the 60s crossed with the 80s – was somewhat startled when we walked in, I suppose she doesn’t get many customers when the fair itself isn’t running. There was the usual chit chat about where are you from and what do you do…and then
You guys musicians?
And Amras and I look at each other..
Do we have that look?
I work festivals, I know the vibe…you guys have the vibe…
We found that really kind of cool. Well, especially me as it’s always pleasant to be recognized for being a performer when you in fact are not currently employed as one.
Off on the boundaries of the ‘city’, beyond the looming echoing structure of what will be the fair stage pavilion, and past the empty stalls of the barn (which next week will house everything from horses and cattle to goats and sheep I imagine), the rickety half-built construction of a Ferris wheel and what looks to be a merry-go-round tilt precariously towards one side, waiting for someone to make them secure again. There is something sad about old fair rides, as if they are trying to remember something that their old metal bones have forgotten.
Once we’d had our fill of childhood movie history (ooh the days of VHS! Remember what the movie trailers used to look like! Coming soon to a theatre near you!), we headed back into town for lunch, which consisted of bar food at the local place we’ve taken to going to.
We still doing a tie-breaker?
Yup
I’m not sure I’m ready for a slaughter..
Although I’ll admit this time around the pool table was not as much of a slaughter as it has been previously. I’m definitely improving, at one point I was actually shooting for the 8-ball first, which is where we ran into our one and only snag; Amras plays that you call the 8-ball, you don’t have to call anything else, but when you’re only shooting for the 8, you call. I was raised with never having the pressure of calling shots, ever. Family game, you only called pockets if you were showing off, so I dug my heels in; but only for a little while, until I finally settled down and said,
Okay, you want me to call pockets? You teach me, because I honestly don’t know how
Things were easier after that, though I did still lose the game – scratched on the 8, dammit! I suspect that I play the way I do because I learned to play when I was so young that I had to be picked up to reach the table, therefore I always end up hooking my shot as if I were shooting around someone instead of straight back and forth. Early engrained habits, I’m used to it – but it drives people who are playing with me nuts at first!
Anyway, I still lost, but not by as much as usual! There is something to be said for that!
So, what’s next…
Dunno, too early to head back really…
Well, there’s always the distillery…
Ooooh…I dunno…
But we went, and I was still hemming and hawing about whether or not I wanted anything when I heard Amras make the order and the glass of Absinthe was set down in front of me. This stuff is locally made, and while you don’t actually get much of a buzz off of it, it packs a punch as far as taste goes – if you’re a black licorice fan, you will love the green fairy. I always feel like I should be in some speak-easy or in a nightclub in Paris when I’m drinking it…
It’s true that Alaska can be a bit repetitive, but at the same time, you never really know what might be waiting at the base of the next mountain…