Day 1: Journey to Anchorage!
I started early this morning with a flight from Boise to Seattle where I met up with Taylor. Together, we took a 3.5 hour flight to Anchorage, Alaska. Upon landing, we picked up our rental car and checked into our new home for the week.
First stop: Trapper Jacks Trading Post – all things Alaska! We picked up all of our souvenirs: T-shirts, postcards and pins! Taylor and I explored downtown and ended up at 49th State Brewing for some local beer and appetizers. I had the Nitro McCarthys Stout, a fan favorite! We split cheesy crab artichoke dip over warm pita bread – absolutely to die for!
On our walk back to the hotel, we visited the Eisenhower Alaska Statehood Monument. Did you know that on January 3, 1959, President Eisenhower signed Alaska into the union as the 49th state?
We read many informational boards about the Alaska Railroad located right next to our hotel. In 1915, President Woodrow Wilson jumpstarted the idea for the railroad system from Seward to Fairbanks and thus, Anchorage was born!
Day 2: Coastal Trail & Crab Legs!
Taylor and I rented bikes for the day from Downtown Bicycle Rental. We were greeted by Peter – a quirky, middle-aged man with a Shiba named Trek. Our 23.5 mile route for the day included: downtown – Point Woronzof – Kincaid Park – Sand Lake – Spenard Beach Park – Fish Creek Park.
At Point Woronzof, I listened to Taylor and went off trail to get to the beach quicker. (Never doing that again.) I fell off my bike and slid down a giant mud hill! At the beach, we collected sand, beach glass and rocks and watched the airplanes takeoff right over our heads!
Along our route we visited Pipers Sports Lounge and the Rustic Goat for a quick beer and some fresh clam chowder YUM! We also toured the Alaska Aviation Museum on Hood Lake – the largest seaplane base in the WORLD!
My favorite part of the day was dinner at Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse. We splurged and got a pound of king crab legs, salmon chowder and of course, more beer!
Day 3: Denali National Park
WOW! I can’t use a better word to describe today. Up at 5 a.m. and out the door by 6, we drove to the tiny town of Talkeetna, AK to take on Denali by air thanks to Talkeetna Air Taxi.
Our captain, Clay, flew 8 of us out to the Alaska Mountain Range in a de Havilland DHC-3 Otter. Our 2 hour air tour took us around Mount Foraker, Mount Hunter, the Great Gorge and the absolutely breathtaking Denali. The weather was absolutely PERFECT! We landed on Ruth Glacier and were able to get out of the aircraft and walk around – the BEST part of the tour! We took photos, had a snowball fight and jumped into the snow!
Did you know: Denali is the BIGGEST mountain in the WORLD from base to peak?! (Yes, bigger than Mount Everest!) Denali’s summit elevation stands at 20,310′ and is the highest mountain peak in North America.
Day 4: Moose Run
Today we visited Moose Run Golf Course for 18 holes of fun (for Taylor). I was the designated golf cart driver, photographer and official scorekeeper while Taylor shanked his golf balls into the woods. Even though I was slowly becoming an icicle, the scenery was absolutely beautiful.
Because I worked up such an appetite driving Taylor around, we stopped at Tent City Taphouse for a beer afterwards. For dinner we treated ourselves to Fat Ptarmigan: Anchorage Cider House wood fired pizza and (you guessed it) more beer!
Day 5: Kenai Fjords National Park Wildlife Cruise
This morning we set sail on the Spirit of Matushka for a cruise out of Seward, AK. Our captain, Chris, sailed us through the Gulf of Alaska and stopped at many places along the way: Spire Cove, Cape Aialik and Holgate Glacier, to name a few.
We saw SO many different wildlife: a pod of killer whales, some playful porpoise, sea otters, steller sea lions and harbor seals. In the mountains we saw mountain goats grazing at the peaks and two bald eagles graced us with their presence. During our stop at Holgate Glacier, one of the crew members, Marcelle, fished a fresh piece of glacier ice from the sea and used it to make margaritas for the passengers!
Taylor and I shared a table with a couple (Glenn & Selena) from Virginia and enjoyed getting to chat with them throughout our time on the water. Afterwards, we had dinner in downtown Seward with our two new friends (Adrian & Brianna) who we had met on our Denali tour! (Yes, we just so happened to book the same two tours on the same dates & times!)
It was a beautiful day full of sunshine! As much as I loved the cruise, I think I’ll stick to airplanes.
Day 6: Make Your Own Brewery Tour
With nothing to do on our last day, we decided to do what we do best: drink beer! We started at the Moose’s Tooth for round one. Next, we stumbled upon Anchorage Brewing Company – our favorite spot of the day with rooftop seating, sunshine and a beautiful view of the mountains.
Up next was Magnetic North Brewing Company where we met a group of bikers on their own brewery tour for a friend’s birthday! Stop #4 was Midnight Sun Brewing Company where we split a pint of bacon with maple syrup and beer cheese dipping sauces along with some of the best soft pretzels we’ve ever had.
Our next stop was Turnagain where we ran into our biker friends again and made a new friend, Matt, who just moved to Anchorage! At Glacier Brewhouse we indulged in a half loaf of rosemary potato bread with fig & garlic butter spreads and you guessed it, more beer!
Our final stop of the day was 49th State Brewing, the first place we visited on day 1 of our trip. We had been waiting all week for this meal! Taylor got the yak-a-dilla (yes, a yak quesadilla) and I ordered the king crabby grilled cheese (anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE grilled cheese.)
Alaska, you will forever have a special place in my heart.
Leave a comment