It’s no secret that when a sailor hits land after a long passage they like to let loose a little. When we arrived in French Polynesia after 23 days at sea, things got crazy. Mandolyn’s cabin was a whirlwind of baguette crumbs and pamplemouse skins. One child was tossing back shots of mango juice as the other crushed emptied butter tins on their forehead. We ended up with cheese poisoning, as the local emental was much stronger than the stuff we were used to.

Our recent passage from Japan was our second longest ever. When we arrived in Dutch Harbour, we were 21 days out from civilization. Our brief stop at Attu Island presented zero opportunity for carousing. We were ready to par-tay. We went directly to Safeway.

Being back in a North American grocery store was pretty overwhelming to our seagoing brains. Exploring the aisles I heard Sarah gasp as she snatched an item off the shelf. “Twizzlers”, she whispered reverentially.

Twizzlers? Sarah has never mentioned a deep yearning for Twizzlers. When I pointed this out she cradled the bag defensively. “I forgot they existed”, she replied, before walking away cooing lovingly to her long lost sugar baby.

This wasn’t the only surprise. Did you know they sell injectible butter now? This seems pretty hardcore, even for a dairy addict like myself. I was able to resist temptation and continued towards the gateway dairy products.

And then, there they were. Bricks of gold stacked in neat rows, like Fort Knox, but with no guards!? The other customers didn’t seem to appreciate the bounty lying right there in plain sight, but I did!

Many items in Dutch Harbor were on the expensive side due to its remote location, but in an unlikely twist, both pamplemouse and baguette were available and affordable. That’s about the last thing I remember before I blacked out.

After the initial celebration we got to doing chores and exploring the community. Dutch Harbor is in America. Based on the recent news memes, oh my, I was prepared for anything, but people here were as welcoming and generous as anywhere else we’ve been.

Walking from the gas station with our jerry cans five seperate vehicles offered us a ride in the span of a few minutes. One lady wouldn’t accept no for an answer, and actually did two trips to fit us all in.

Considering Dutch Harbor is essentially one giant fish processing facility, it was neat to see the community spirit come out on the 4th of July. There were only a handful of floats in the local parade, but they made it literally rain candy. The kids have never experienced a caloric investment so lucrative.

Given how long the days are, they waited until 11:59pm to start the fireworks.

Next stop: The Alaskan Peninsula!

A few photos….