I feel like I’m being left out. Memorial Day weekend is just around the corner, and it seems everyone I know is headed to the Kenai Peninsula to go clamming.

There will be some severe minus tides this weekend, which is great for clamming. This is my 10th summer in Alaska, and I have yet to get down in the mud for clams. It’s not changing this weekend.

One rule I’ve established for summer fun is when a holiday weekend arrives, stick close to home. I’ll let everyone else battle for space on Alaska’s few highways or for a parking space at their favorite trail head or for a place to put their tent near the clams; I’ll hang out around Anchorage and feel like I have the place to myself.

And those minus tides that make clamming easier also create great bore tides on Turnagain Arm. So I’ll just hang around town and head down the Seward Highway just a little bit on Sunday or Monday afternoon to see one of nature’s great shows.

For those headed WAY out of town, Kodiak is hosting its annual Crab Festival this weekend. In fact, some activities started today.

Some of the highlights include music by Alaska’s Hobo Jim; the Survival Suit Race (where teams do dress up in survival suits); bike, foot (both a marathon and a race up Pillar Mountain) and kayak races; a parade; a seafood cookoff – you get the idea.

Whether you’re a local or a visitor, headed out of town or staying around town, it’s an extra-long weekend, be sure to enjoy it.

-- Steve