North Pole, Alaska

North Pole, Alaska has been making quite a splash in the news lately. For those that aren't familiar with small-town Alaskan geography (and really, why should you be), North Pole is a suburb south of Fairbanks. When I was in college in Fairbanks I used to get a kick out of saying to people back home, "yeah, North Pole is 15 minutes south of my house. I live farther north than Santa." That was in the day when Alaska was my Adventure and equivalent of Living Abroad. And my cabin with no plumbing was Embracing the Culture. And having a car not start because it is too cold even though it has been plugged in since I got home was Exciting. And being half an hour late for an appointment because a moose was standing between my house and the car was legitimate and Wonderful. I could go on and on. I digress. My point is this: even when everything Alaska threw at me was a gift and a new way of looking at things, I was still disappointed in North Pole. It was cheesy Christmas, not warm Christmas. It had candy-cane light poles, yes, but Santa Claus's house was tacky and had random murals painted on the outside (I'll take a photo for you when I am up there next week).

As a result, I am always surprised when people look at North Pole and get caught up in how great it could be without really noticing what it is. Perhaps I am being too hard on it. It has it's own charm, but I remember my friends who grew up in Fairbanks saying they would never live in North Pole because "that's where the hicks live." So, to sum it up, in my opinion, North Pole doesn't live up to its name. Even as I write this I want to yell, "But it is North Pole. Santa lives there. That has to count for something." So, I guess it does. Of course it does. Santa can transform anything.

I digressed again. I started out by saying that North Pole has been making a splash lately, and it has.

• Extreme Makeover Home Edition did a show there for a deserving family. I didn't watch it, although I wanted to and still wish I had.
  
• North Pole's Wendy's was named World's Best Fast Food Stop. Apparently it has 300,000 visitors annually even though the town's population is only 1,600 people. Plus it has holiday decorations year round and is walking distance from Santa's House. I've eaten there. It's just a Wendy's.
  
• Finally, I noticed that Duracell took dibs on being the official battery of North Pole, Alaska, which makes me wonder who got the money and whether I can buy another brand within city limits. Another thing I'll check out.

I'll be there next week and I will keep you posted as to whether things have changed. My opinion of Alaska has changed so much this time around that I can't help but hope that I will fall in love with the little town in spite of myself.