I didn’t expect what would happen on my trip to Alaska this summer. I thought it would be a trip full of excitement and adventure, new places and culture. I didn’t expect my family.
We met our aunt and two cousins in the Anchorage Airport. Logan, three, was loud and smiley, whereas Ahri, two, was a bit cautious and quiet. We drove the 45 minutes from Anchorage to Palmer and my aunt’s house, where we’d stay for the next month and a half.
It wasn’t until the next day, and after I had got some rest, that I realized what a beautiful place I was in. I could see Pioneer Peek from my Aunt’s backyard, along with how green everything was. On top of that the sun never really went down. It was amazing just being in the backyard.
After a couple days of sitting around watching ‘Little Bear’- Logan’s favorite show – we decided it was time to go see the sites – the way people with kids see them. We went to Mantanuska Glacier, which was a couple hours away, but it had some great scenery. When we got there we couldn’t touch the glacier because it was melted so much, but the water was so blue it didn’t even show up in the pictures I took. On our way back, we let the kids go down to the water so they could throw some rocks in. Logan got away and ended up in the water. Unfortunately, that was his spare change of clothes, so we had to go home. More unfortunately, he got sick and got everyone else- except me- sick. So for a week I sat around and listened to a bunch of cranky miserable people.
Then we tried the Alaska Zoo, but we had to leave before even going in because Logan peed through his diaper, so we came back the next day. The kids loved it and we loved seeing their reactions. After that, we went to Imaginarium in Anchorage for a bit. I felt so bad for both Logan and my aunt when we were leaving. Logan because he was so heartbroken we were leaving his museum and my aunt because everybody was looking at her like she was a horrible mother for taking this kid away from the museum against his will. At least he wasn’t screaming something like “my candy!” or “my ice cream!”
We also went to Exit Glacier in Seward, which ended up being a hike up to the glacier- carrying Ahri the whole way- but the poor girl was terrified when she couldn’t go with me to go touch the glacier. She didn’t think I was coming back; she’d become so attached and I couldn’t stand to see her cry so I didn’t take long. We toured around to some of the neighboring towns, like Talkeetna, Whittier, Seward, and Anchorage. All of them were small and far away, but very interesting compared to Colorado Springs. They were mostly “mom and pop” stores not corporate or brand name stores.
I spent most of my time at my aunt’s house, with my cousins – either playing in the backyard or in their playroom. It wasn’t what I expected but I’d give anyone of those touristy places to get more time with them. The areas I visited were great but it’s who I went with that made it a memory. When I look back at my trip I don’t remember the zoo, the Imaginarium, or even the glaciers – I remember how my family fit into them.
My video:
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