Polar Express

Took the above picture yesterday at the Santa Claus House, North Pole, Alaska.

This giant, brooding, malevolent figure dominates the parking lot, leaving no doubt that North Pole, Alaska leads the world in production of 40 foot tall plywood representations of mythological Christmas characters.

Hey, if you're just visiting North Pole, you really do want to visit this tourist trap. They're tourist traps for a reason, namely, they have loads of touristy stuff that you can't buy anywhere else. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are in town, and touristing was on our agenda.

This was our first trip to the Santa Claus House. Where else could you get a t-shirt like this?

Or this?

You can also:

• visit Santa here (and have a picture taken with him for a few American dollars - I told him I wanted a bigger 401k for Christmas),
• buy ornaments,
• buy a real fur hat,
• buy oodles of Alaska DVDs, fridge magnets, etc.,
  
• buy anything every produced with Santa on it, and
• buy die-cast collectible Confederates, WWII Russian infantry or Revolutionary Hessian soldiers. I have no idea what they would have to do with Alaska, but you can buy them there.

The prices were reasonable, the staff friendly, and it didn't cost a dime to see the reindeer out back. We'll be back. The Boy wanted everything he saw, but only screamed a little when we left.