Top 10 Things I learned during my move to Gustavus

1. Moving to Gustavus requires multiple modes of transportation: ferries, planes, barges and automobiles. (See some photos of my journey.)
2. If you get a flat tire in Juneau, don't call AAA. They'll refer you to a place in Ketchikan, 300 miles away and only reachable by boat or plane.
3. Quiet bullets are a subculture phenomenon. (In fact, Robin and Molly had a lengthy discussion about the best way to kill a porcupine with them.)
4. If you're on the fast ferry, hang on for a thrilling, roller coaster ride. Touted as a four-hour tour, this is entirely dependent on sea conditions. If you have sea swells, wind, crashing waves or all of the above (like I had), it's hard to project how long it will take. My journey actually took five hours (not bad).
5. If you shop enough (we spent much of our time driving up and down the only highway in Juneau, repeatedly stopping at every possible store), you can find some deals: bananas were 7 cents/lb at WalMart (plus 30 cents/lb to fly them to Gustavus -- still a real value!) and eggs were $5.99/5 dozen at Super Bear (it was $11.99/5 dozen at one of the places). Robin also experienced Costco for the first time.
6. The Juneau WalMart is eerily empty. This is the only WalMart in the known universe that is not jammed with carts, people, kids, RVs and the usual conglomeration of all things uniquely part of the WalMart experience. It feels like a scary movie because of the absence of people!
7. The barge into Gustavus only arrives at high tide. Estimated arrival date of my jeep, filled with all my stuff, is 4 a.m. Tuesday.
8. It is possible to fish in a survival suit if you don't have a boat.
9. The Alaska Department of Motor Vehicles height chart range starts at 2'4" and goes to 6'6". Plus, having your dog with you in the office is OK, but dogs are not allowed in the car during the road test.
10. Alaska Brewery makes several wheat-free beers ... and Robin's tried them all! (From what he recalls, his favorite is their ESB.)