This summer, my husband and I took an Alaskan cruise. It was on our bucket list and the timing was right to also include a visit to Seattle to welcome a new grandson as well as see our son who has spent his summer working out of Fairbanks driving those big coach buses for cruise line passenger excursions. It was a magnificent adventure, with each stop along the way providing opportunities to explore the quaint towns and their history. 
It was especially fun to discover the quilt shops at our ports of call. Each stop had their own quilt specialty store near the docks that reflected the area they were in. The shops looked like any other quilt store in the lower 48. Except those stores also featured Alaskan themed fabrics that you could only find up there: Alaskan wild life, weather-predicting fire weed, and the northern lights. 
I made it a point to visit each store and talk to the owners.
Ketchikan
Anchorage
Skagway
I couldn’t help but ask if they had heard of Road to California. Much to my delight, most had. In fact, the owner of the store in Skagway said it was on her bucket list to attend some day. Of course I extended an invitation to come in 2014!!!
While also in Skagway, we ventured in to the local history museum. They had a display of a patchwork quilt made entirely of beaver pelts. Beautiful.
It was so great to experience firsthand that no matter where you go, near or far, the love of quilting can be found.
Have you discovered quilting in some unusual place?
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Tags: Alaska, Alaskan Quilt Stores, Anchorage, Ketchikan, Skagway
