Anna's Awesome Adventures!!!: Alaska Trip -- Days #1-2

I am back again, this time coming to you from Anchorage, Alaska! Four years ago, my grandma, brother, and I were driving here for our seven-and-a-half week trip of a lifetime. This time around, we just took the airplane. Grandma and I are spending several days touring around Anchorage before flying to Nome on Friday for the Bible camp she has been helping with for 26 years. I will be a counselor for the first week of camp, then I'll fly home alone. She will follow two weeks later. I am so excited and blessed to be able to get away for two weeks, and I owe a huge thank you to my mom for caring for my horses, and to my family for supporting my desire to get away one last time before I begin college in August!

Last night (Saturday, July 9), we flew out of St. Louis at 6:30 p.m., arriving in Seattle, Washington, around 8:50 (Pacific time). Our flight from Seattle to Anchorage had a gate change, so we ended up walking around quite a bit of the airport. We had just a few minutes before they started boarding, and by 12:30 a.m. (Alaska time), we had landed in Anchorage. Getting our suitcases and rental car was a breeze, followed by a very short drive to our bed-and-breakfast, Bach's Bed & Breakfast. Glenda Bach, the owner, was so welcoming and kind, even at such a terrible hour! Please consider supporting her if you are ever in this area. After settling in, showers, and bedtime routine, we were asleep at 2:30.

Just a few short hours later, we were up to have a delicious breakfast (blueberry muffin, yogurt parfait, orange juice), get ready, and go to Anchorage Lutheran Church for the 8:30 service. We so appreciated the welcoming members and staff. After a quick stop by the B&B to change and grab a few items, we drove to Kincaid Park to walk on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. We logged about three miles, saw two moose, and enjoyed beautiful views, sunshine, and perfect temperatures. Then we headed to peaceful Sitka Park to eat lunch (tuna wraps, carrots, a banana, cheese curds, water), and back to downtown Anchorage to rent bikes for the afternoon at Pablo's Bicycle Rentals. They were very nice and helpful, and we quickly set off for a fun few hours. Grandma went on a three-wheeled bicycle at her pace, and I took off for somewhere between 25 and 30 miles. I did the whole Coastal Trail, plus additional miles from where it ends in Kincaid Park. We both had a fantastic time and are so glad we decided to do it! It really gives you a different, greatly-varying perspective of Anchorage. Of course, we were hungry after that, so we picked up a Hawaiian pizza at Uncle Joe's Pizzeria to take back to the B&B. Yummy food to fill our tummies, a forthcoming shower, and early bedtime tonight will end the first day of our Alaskan adventure. Please check back each day to see what else we do!