Anchorage, Alaska – #50

Our dream was to take an Alaskan cruise as our final stop on our road to 50. Unfortunately life had other plans. We wanted to finish #50 this year so we settled on flying in and claiming our victory. We narrowed it down to Anchorage or Juneau. Juneau would have been great because it’s the capital city and we could have crossed that off the list as well but there was a layover and Anchorage was a direct flight so Anchorage won.

I have to state first for the record. We didn’t experience the whole of Alaska. We only saw a snippet and city sights. Everyone keeps asking if we saw glaciers, snow, the northern lights, etc. All the things you think about when you think of Alaska. We saw none of these but we didn’t fret. We plan another Alaskan adventure during the winter to experience all of that plus dog sledding and a scenic ride on the train. We also have an Alaskan cruise in our future so many more adventures await.

What did we see? Anchorage, both the city, downtown, and a little of the outskirts. Anchorage is very walkable so we only rented a car for the first two days and ventured out to parks, rivers, and a day trip to Whittier. You have to drive through the longest highway-rail tunnel in North America to enter Whittier. It’s a timed entry and we excitedly booked our ticket and went. We walked from our hotel to downtown Anchorage filled with shops, a visitor’s center, and lots to see. We took a trolley tour with highlights of the city and learned a few tidbits. I celebrated my birthday while we were there and ate wonderful seafood everywhere we went. I finally got to see an actual moose at the conservation center having missed out on seeing any in Vermont. Our final day we took a guided tour to Hatcher Pass and Independence Mine stopping by Palmer and it’s beautiful garden on the way. We panned for gold but came up short. We headed home checking #50 off the list and thinking of our next adventure.