This memorial day week, we decided to visit the 49th State of USA. We planned for a week to explore the dramatic landscape of Alaska, booked our flights and we were in Anchorage by 8:30 pm on Friday and there began our trip to this incredible place.
We landed in Alaska on a rainy day and the above picture is the view from our plane window just a few minutes before. With the midnight sun and the time difference of 3 hours from central time, we had a long evening but decided to relax. Next morning, it was day 1 of our trip and we began the day with the trolley tour of Anchorage on a rainy day. We took the 11 am tour tickets at the visitor center and while waiting clicked pictures of the beautiful rustic log cabin visitor center which was temporarily closed. The sod-roof cabin (picture below) is such a pretty building.
The tour started on time and in 1-hour took us around Anchorage – the largest city of Alaska. About 41 percent of the entire state’s population lives in Anchorage. The 15-mile tour through the city was very informative and the tour guide was super fun too.
We drove through the historic neighborhoods with many unique houses, for instance one house is built completely underground and the owners jokingly say that the moose walks on their roof while roaming on the yard (if you look from outside). The Alaska Railroad was another stop – where the city actually began as a railroad construction camp also known as ‘Tent City’ and the building opposite is the Anchorage Depot which was built during World War II.
We also drove around Lake Hood and Lake Spenard from where the float planes depart and it was so surprising to know that 1 in 6 people in Alaska fly (with or without the license….ha ha). Next, we stopped by the Mysterious earthquake park- ‘where an entire neighborhood slid into the ocean during the last century’s most powerful earthquake (measured at 9.2 on richter scale and lasted for 4 minutes)’ – as per alaska.org website.
One hour flew by in no time and we were back at the visitor center and it was raining even harder. We waited a while before deciding to check out the Polar bear gifts & outlet store and bought umbrellas, gloves, cap and few souvenirs. And also saw some funny candy bags called Moose poop and Polar bear poop (see pictures below).
Not the poop candy, but we did buy the organic chocolates which were super yummy with very unique flavors. Next it was time for lunch and we went to the 49th State brewing. The food was amazing but the rain was non-stop – so we decided to head back to our hotel and wait for it to clear up before heading out again.
That was the day 1 of our Alaska trip and we enjoyed it though it was raining all through.
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