Blog

Anchorage

I recently had the opportunity to fly out to Anchorage, Alaska for my niece’s baby shower. Of course, I jumped at the chance to go, not only to see family again that I hadn’t seen in years, but also just to see Alaska for myself, even if only for a couple days. My sister-in-law was fortunately able to come with me.

We arrived in the evening, and it was so overcast with rain that I had no idea I would be surrounded by mountains the next day. One of the things I wanted to check off my bucket list was to see a moose. I didn’t realize how simple it would be to do that. As we left the airport, we saw two female moose, just beside the road.

Moose.

The following day, my sister-in-law had some work to do on her laptop, and so I went out to explore Anchorage on foot, as the city looked very walkable. With a really bad cup of burnt coffee (forgive me, Hilton, for my honesty) to warm my hands, as it was pretty chilly and damp weather, I went out to find Captain Cook.

I hung out with my new friend James for a while, drinking my coffee as I waited for the weather to clear, as this spot is supposed to be a great view. The clouds slowly rolled away, and the mountains began to reveal themselves across the water.

James was kind enough to take my photo (I set my phone on his pedestal and used the timer). If you find yourself in Anchorage, this spot is a must-see. I really wanted to go down the ramps here to see the mud flats, but it was closed for the season. I did end up getting a closer look at the mud flats later, when we hit the trail that runs along the coast (you can access it from Elderberry Park). It’s important to note, the mud flats are not safe to step foot on, they can be worse than quicksand, so stay on the designated walking paths. If you find yourself in Anchorage, don’t walk out onto the mud flats. The trail will provide you with plenty of spectacular views.

The clouds rolled away, my sister-in-law finished her work, and, after the Hilton’s cafe redeemed themselves with a delicious cappuccino, we were soon off to see Portage Glacier. For me, this was a highlight of my trip. It was sleeting a very cold rain, the mountains around us were covered in snow; the brackish water was a gorgeous turquoise and filled with chunks of ice, the volcanic pebbles of the beach here were jet-black. It was stunning. Again, the pictures don’t do it justice.

The next day, I showed my sister-in-law the things I had seen on my own in Anchorage the day before, then we hit up the really cute shops downtown before heading out for our niece’s baby shower. The shower was wonderful, with plenty of delicious food and ample time to to catch up with everyone, as well as meet new people. Afterward, we did some sight-seeing, making it over to the Zoo to see all the beautiful wildlife that were being cared for there, as they were rescues that couldn’t be released back into the wild for different reasons, such as injury. I’ll finish this post up with more photos.