After having to put our Alaska trip on hold last summer, we finally made it happen this summer. It was so amazing!
The new Salt Lake City airport is pretty nice. We usually stop and get a bite to eat at Squatters before departing to our destination.
July 17th: We ventured around Anchorage today.
We worked with Betty when we worked at Kincaid Elementary.
We loved taking Cooper down to Kincaid Beach. We wanted to show our friends one of our favorite places to go when we lived up there.
July18th: My friend, Julie, and I ran a 10K in downtown Anchorage in the morning.
We had the best cheering crowd!
One of our must-dos was to eat at Moose's Tooth. It has some of the most delicious pizza we have ever eaten.
While we were in Anchorage, we stayed at our friend, Annette's, house. I also got to see a good friend that I hadn't seen in 14 years. Our kids got along so well!
July 19th: Today we picked up our motorhome and hit the road. 1st stop = Russian River Campground
July 19th-21st: Russian River Campground. We spent most of the day fishing.
July 21st: It was a bit rainy this morning. Before driving down to Homer, we enjoyed our time hanging around the campsite.
We even played a little volleyball in the rain.
We made it to Homer! Luckily, the rain seemed to have ended and it turned out to be a nice evening. This is the view from our beachfront campsite at the Homer Spit Campground.
We took every opportunity we had to do a little fishing.
July 22nd: Today we had a full day of kayaking and hiking!
waiting for the water taxi
Our adventure started with a 25-minute water taxi ride across Kachemak Bay where we were meeting our kayaking guides.
We had time to explore the beach and found a starfish!
getting ready for our 6-mile kayak in Kachemak Bay
Kayaking 6 miles took us 3 hours. Needless to say, all of the kiddos got a little tired along the way.
After a delicious lunch on the beach, we were off on our 3-mile hike to a glacier.
It felt like a 20-degree difference down by the glacier. Brrr....
heading back to Homer on the water taxi
We were all exhausted and hungry so we went out for dinner that night.
Homer harbor
July 23rd: We started the day with a walk on the beach. The tide was really low.
We found all sorts of sea creatures.
Once the fog lifted, it turned out to be a beautiful day.
We spent a few hours fishing down at the local fishing hole.
Then we met some friends at a local playground for a couple of hours.
Now that's a playground with a view!
You just can't beat dinner on the beach.
The moms got to get away for a drink at a local (and pretty well known) bar--Salty Dawg Saloon.
July 24th: With the tide being so low, we took advantage and went to do some tide pooling.
On the way back to the campsite, we stopped to do a little more fishing.
You have to have fish and chips while you're in Homer!
Our last evening in Homer...
July 25th: We enjoyed our view a bit longer before heading to Soldotna.
Thank you, Homer! You never disappoint.
July 25th-27th: Soldotna, Alaska: We had the RV park to ourselves for the first night. It is right on the Kenai River so we had our own access to fishing. Once we got the RV parked, we headed right to the banks of the Kenai River to fish. That is pretty much all we did for the next 2 days.
If the kids needed a break from fishing, there was plenty to do.
Emma caught one of the biggest fish!
July 27th-30th: Seward, Alaska: We had another campsite right on the water (Resurrection Bay). You just can't beat the views.
July 27th: While Andy and the dads went out for a fishing charter, the moms and kids explored the SeaLife Center.
fish tacos for dinner!
July 28th: Today we took a 6-hour cruise through Kenai Fjords National Park.
We got pretty close to this glacier. It was so amazing to see and hear it calving.
We also saw an orca whale, humpback whales, eagles, sea lions, seals, sea otters, and puffins.
orca
humpback whale
sea lions
Abby met a new friend.
While we were in Seward, Lydia Jacoby won the gold medal in the breaststroke at the Olympics. She is from Seward!
another friend
We had so much fun watching barges bring goods to and from Seward.
On the evening of July 28th, around 10:00 p.m., we were sitting around the campfire when some of our friends got tsunami alerts on their phones. 30-seconds later, the town siren went off. This was real. We threw our lawn chairs into the RV and we all followed the long line of cars up and away from the water. We ended up in the high school parking lot, which we heard was a meeting area for the residents.
Soon, van fulls of people started getting dropped off from the local hotels.
The kids were terrified and, most, were in tears at one point throughout the evening. We ended up staying overnight in the high school parking lot and heading back to our campsite in the morning. We can now say we have experienced a tsunami warning!
July 29th: After some coffee and a delicious breakfast, we were off to Exit Glacier.
Everyone wanted to see how long they could hold their hands in the glacier water. The longest was over 2 minutes! It was cold.
July 30th: We left Seward about 11:00 a.m. and headed back to Anchorage, with a quick stop in Girdwood. After dinner at the Midnight Sun Brewery, and some more visiting time with our friends, it was time to head to the airport.
July31st (2:00 a.m.): heading home
We had such an amazing time in Alaska with some of our closest friends. The girls still talk about the fun times they had. Now that they are a little older than the last time we went up there, I hope those memories last a lifetime for them. Until next time, Alaska!
