The time between we said, "Let's go!" and, "It's go time!" seemed to crawl by at a snail's pace. And when it finally came, it flew by in the blink of an eye. Vacation is never long enough.
We are officially back from our 10 day long whirl-wind Alaskan adventure. And what a whirl-wind it was. We fit so much into our time in the Last Frontier. I'm already ready to go back.
We flew into Anchorage in the middle of the night. It instantly brought flashbacks of when we first moved up there, almost exactly seven years ago to the very date and time. We had no idea what to expect at the time. This time was different though, we knew exactly what to expect as soon as the sun came up. And we couldn't wait to experience it all over again with little miss Morley in tow.
The week was spent catching up with friends, exploring our old hangouts and favourite spaces and eating and drinking at our favourite restaurants. Some good memories indeed.
We took a trip up the winding hillside road to Flattop Mountain. Safe to say, the wind and fog made our visit pretty short. Down on flat ground, we explored Kincaid Park in the city's west end. The Park holds a special place in our hearts because it is where we got engaged back in 2012. It is also a pretty surefire place to spot one of the many moose that call the city home. Except this time, the dense fog that blanketed the city prevented us from making it back to the beach and from seeing the moose Morley had her eyes open for.
Turns out, the two moose we did actually see (that weren't at the zoo) were eating the pumpkins off a friends' neighbours' front porch. As soon as Morley saw them, she instantly knew what they were. A mama and baby moose eating pumpkins. Almost two weeks later, she still talks about it.
While visiting, a few people asked why we were crazy enough to visit when we did. It was cold, it was dark and the threat of snow was real. But, we knew what we were getting ourselves into. It also happened to work out with our vacation time. And, if we were visiting Alaska in October, it made sense to do so at Halloween because, well, Zoo Boo.
We knew we'd be spending some time at the Alaska Zoo, so why not do so at Halloween with old friends (both people, furry and feathery). The Alaska Zoo's Zoo Boo was also voted the top trick or treating destination in the entire state. (I can't wait to share more about this place in a later post.)
Our trip also involved lots of food and drink.
Two years ago, friends opened a brewery located about 25 minutes outside of Anchorage, in Eagle River. A trip, or two, to Odd Man Rush topped our list of "must drink places". If you're in the Anchorage area, I highly recommend a visit. Their Enforcer IPA is one of my favourites.
One of our favourite places to eat in the city is Moose's Tooth, a local brewery and pizza joint. We were no stranger during the week. Our favourites? The Spicy Thai Chicken (roasted chicken, red onions, bean sprouts, carrot threads, cilantro, mozzarella, provolone and peanut sauce) and the Backpacker (spinach, roasted garlic, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, feta, mozzarella, provolone and garlic oil) pizzas and Fairweather IPA. My mouth waters just thinking about it.
After an amazing few days in Anchorage, we decided to take a drive south to visit friends on the Kenai Peninsula. With the weather in town being super foggy, we really didn't know what we were in for on the drive. But, as they say in AK, you can't plan around the weather.
The 3(ish) hour drive out of the city was stunning. The fog blanketed the Turnagain Arm making it a very scenic drive as the sun came up.
The 3(ish) hour drive out of the city was stunning. The fog blanketed the Turnagain Arm making it a very scenic drive as the sun came up.
This is just a small taste of our family's recent Alaskan adventure. It's really hard to sum up the amount of fun we had and memories we made in a short 600 words. Morley had a permanent smile on her face the entire week, and we can't wait to start planning the next trip back.
Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks!
Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks!
Upcoming Alaska posts:
A Road Trip from Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula
Favourite Anchorage Outdoor Spaces
The Alaska Zoo
Have you been to Alaska? I'd love to hear your favourite things to do and see!
