On such a beautiful day as this, it's hard to imagine Alaska's largest city, Anchorage, weathered and buckling under several feet of snow. Music blares from open restaurant doors and servers roam the sidewalks with hors d'oeuvres to attract the feeding tourists. Funky stores, even by Alaskan standards, peddle their kitsch to all breeds and brands of visitors -- one store, Cabin Fever, targets its trinkets to the female homemaker with scented candles and cute bear calendars. Flowers dazzle from every direction, stimulating with color and freshness. Downtown Anchorage is vibrant, alive.

And yet, there are still signs of cloudy days and harsh winters. Gothic dress is as popular among teenagers here as it is in Anchorage's neighbor to the south, Seattle. Cold weather overpasses hang unused between buildings -- most likely a popular transit method for local shoppers during snow season. And the prices, too, speak of slower times -- it's hard to find a good fish meal for under $20, even in America's capital of seafood. God bless the tourists.

I guess we played our part too. Drew and I wandered in and out of stores, smiling at funny t-shirts and watching a demonstration of Alaska's famous Ulu knife. If anything, the demonstration made me want to buy the knife less.

A few menus peaked our interest and we eventually discovered Sack's Cafe, a small place up on G street. Our waitress, Karen, bounced over to us as soon as we sat down and showed us that day's menu. That's one thing you can't help but love about Alaska: the best food is never on the regular menu, it's always fresh. One dish in particular intrigued me: pine-nut-encrusted halibut with strawberry risotto and asparagus. Wow! Drew was in pursuit of salmon, and sprung for wild alaskan salmon with a wasabi cream sauce. Both of these dishes just melted in our mouthes! And before we knew it, they had disappeared.

It was our final meal at the "final frontier" and one well spent. Airport check-in was smooth and we did our best to catch some shuteye on the flight home. The three-hour layover at O'Hare at 5AM afforded us some peace, and we found a quiet corner and curled up for a nap. I must say, compared to other airports, O'Hare has great seats for sleeping. One flight later, we were back in our cars, no longer tourists, but at work wondering, "Which is worse?"