April Alaska Adventure

Maybe end of April is the ideal time of year to visit Alaska, or we just got super lucky, but the weather was not cold. 50s and sunny in the day. With daylight lasting well into 9pm. 

But wait, let me back up. 

In the last week of April, my brother-in-law invited us all to Wasilla, Alaska to surprise my older sister on her 50th birthday. It was a huge surprise and she was SUPER shocked to see me, my younger sister and Mom at her doorstep. Epic. Just epic. Once the shock wore off (it took hours), we had an absolute spectacular weekend.  

First day, we drove along the Seward Highway toward Seward. We stopped at a glacial lake and Whittier, a harbor town with shrimp boats and small cruise ships that go around looking at glaciers. The town is tiny, only reachable through a one-lane road that goes under a mountain (or by boat) and ALL its residents live in one high-rise apartment building with a school/market across the street accessible by tunnel because of all the crazy amount of snow this town gets. This day was beautiful. There was a lot of talk of sea otters but I didn't see any. Boo. 

Then we stayed the night at the Alyeska Resort, a ski and spa hotel in the middle of a gorgeous valley. We ate dinner at the Italian restaurant and spent the next full day at the Nordic spa getting messages with the birthday girl and doing the Nordic Baths experience -- hot and cold plunges over and over again. Bliss!

That night we went out to dinner in Anchorage and watched an opera at the Anchorage Opera Company. It was my first opera (that I can recall) and it was so emotional. I was super concerned about what to wear and my brother-in-law assured me it would be "Alaska casual" meaning we'd see people in formal wear AND others in jeans and sweaters -- and he was right! All are welcome.  

The next day, we drove to Talkeetna, it's a base camp town hikers use before they summit Denali -- the highest mountain in the Americas. WOW. The town was basically Sicily, Alaska and my Northern Exposure heart was exploding. We ate excellent pizza and just took in all the beautiful views. And did some souvenir shopping. 

Then, the weekend was over and we all headed home. I was never really sure what to think about Alaska but it's so beautiful, the air is so crisp and clean and the sun stays out for a looong time in April. Totally worth the trip. 

Here are a few more photos: 

Talkeetna, Alaska

Whittier, Alaska

The Pool at the Alyeska Resort 

Denali! 


The BIG Surprise

Moose Crossing the Road

A Look Out at Beluga Bay -- no belugas spotted

The Portage Lake Near the Whittier Glacier (it's around that corner)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Behold! Everard Blue!

Image
Here's the After picture of our master bedroom now that the walls are a dark and moody blue. Maybe the best part is I was at work while the painters were here, so I walked in and found -- as if by magic -- the room no longer minty green but a bold blue. That's pretty awesome. They also painted the trim an eye-popping white, which I just love against this blue. And the angle is a dark beige-y, tan color that I hope goes with the headboard. I spent the evening cleaning and re-hanging the drapes, and moving the furniture back into position. It will be a while before I dare hang anything in here. I'm too in love with the walls to put too many holes in them right now. So, just in case I'm looking for this information later: The walls are "Everard Blue" by Benjamin Moore . And the tray is "Curly Willow" by Behr . Now, does that furniture look too dark against the walls or is it just me? And wouldn't a lighter wood or white look fabulous agains...
Keep reading »

Packing for 7 Days in London

Image
When packing for a long trip, I have a few strategies: First, I usually stay within a similar color family so it's easy to mix and match, depending on my mood and the weather. I only pack a few pants because they can be worn again. And I like button down shirts because their sleeves can be rolled up if it gets warm or, as I wear a tanktop base layer, can be unbuttoned or tied around my waist. Also, I pick out newer or favorite items from my closet that are comfortable and will make me look decent in photos. Lastly, I consider what the activities are for the week and plan accordingly. We may see a show, so the swan dress with tights will make a great theater look. Or I can wear the navy leggings, if it's chilly. Lastly, I know darn well that I will buy clothes when vacationing in a city, especially London. So there's even more incentive to pack light, as I'll be adding whatever I buy along the way. Here's the contents of my suitcase for seven days in London and...
Keep reading »

Digging Into Zero Waste

Image
Lately, I've been brainstorming my 5-year goals (that post is forthcoming) and as part of this, I've been digging into topics that I get passionate about, and researching them for potential goals to add to my list. One topic I get super-jazzed about is the idea of living a "sustainable" or "plastic-free" or "waste-free" lifestyle. From early on, I've always felt guilty about what I'm throwing away, knowing that garbage dumps are just rotting piles of trash that grow, produce methane and will eventually take over the planet. It depresses me just thinking about it. And we're SUCH a single-use, throw away, consume more, throw away, world. And I've always tried to take steps to reuse and recycle as much as I can. (Like, in 2014, I talk about it  here  and I did a post about  what I reuse,  or  what I make from scratch .) But, there's so much more I can do. So, for the last few weeks I've been diving into this culture and t...
Keep reading »