Skagway is an interesting little place, if in the town of 800 for only two or three days. My day began in the common room of the Whitehouse B&B sipping coffee for a couple hours while reading the local news and working on my computer, an appendage at this point in my life. Jim, looking handsome from a recent haircut and fresh shower, joined me and ate breakfast. I returned to our large homey room, with a hand-stitched quilt on the bed, for a sojourn in the tub.

Escaping the B&B around noon, we drove over to the post office, which – for some unknown reason – we always like to visit, and I sent my mother an early Christmas present. Normally, we’d stroll through such a small place, but the cold and wind (-20C) made walking not very enjoyable. We moved on to the handful of open stores browsing through warm clothes, boots and knick-knacks intended for Christmas gifts, buying a few postcards, but mainly passing time and enjoying the flavors of this place.

At the Haven Café, one of three options open for lunch, we stopped for a late bite before heading back to the B&B, where Jim received a massage and I dressed for a yoga class at the local Recreational Center. After yoga class, attended by eight women varying in age from 20 to 60, and a sole 40-something male, I returned to the B&B where our pizza delivery arrived right on time. Earlier, at the only grocery store in town, I’d bought spinach, an onion, a couple of small, too-firm tomatoes, mushrooms and balsamic vinegar to mix-up a salad to accompany our pizza. There’s only one restaurant open for dinner – The Corner Café – and we ate a meal there last night and will eat there again tomorrow night when Jim’s mother Ernestine and niece Danise arrive in Skagway. So I opted for pizza tonight, delivered by, who else, but The Corner Café.

Certainly the day was simple as compared to many of our days over the last 35 months. Here, particularly in winter, when tourists are as rare as grizzly bear sightings, there are few distractions: no museums, a lone, small church and one school for K-12. Simple days are the way of life here. We enjoyed ours – even though we like them only every once in a while.