Alaska 2026: Aftermath – You Can Do This
We wanted to do this ourselves, and we did it. We’ve done it before.
Alaska is a US state. Delta, American, Alaskan Airlines all fly to Alaska. People speak English. All the usual car rental agencies are there, and they speak English, and they share American culture. My friends, Alaska is doable.
When we go to Alaska, people assume we are cruising. No. We can do this on our own, and we love it! We can choose our own adventures, how much or how little time to spend at each spot, the people we will spend time with, when we will get up, when and what we will eat – we love having this control. Alaska is easy.
The drawbacks – yeh, well there is the suitcase drag, packing and packing again. There is the drive time, although Alaskan scenery is so compelling and varied that drive time kind of passes magically by. There is the energy expenditure, when you choose your own adventure, but it is balanced by being able to schedule your own nap time, meals, bed time and bathroom breaks.
Next time, we will probably skip Denali. It was a lot fun, and once, for us, was enough. We might go back and do the Alaska Maritime Highway Ferry from Juneau, all the way down to Dutch Harbor, and we will probably schedule longer stays in Seward and Homer, because they are so interesting and so walkable, with so many things to do and see, and such comfortable lodgings.
Traveling this way takes more planning, and it also gives you more options to customize your tour so that you experience what YOU want to get out of your time in Alaska.
I grew up in Alaska, so you might look for different experiences. For me, one of the most wonderful experiences happens every two years, in Juneau, usually around the first week in June. Sponsored by Sealaska Heritage Institute, it is called The Celebration.
Here is what their home page says:
In 1982, the fledgling Native nonprofit Sealaska Heritage Institute held a dance-and-culture festival to celebrate the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. At the time, Native people were emerging from a long period of cultural oppression by Westerners, and they worried that young people weren’t learning their ancient songs and dances. A couple of hundred Native people gathered in Juneau for the event, called Celebration. They could not have imagined then that Celebration would spark a movement across the region — a renaissance of Native culture that prompted people largely unfamiliar with their heritage to learn their ancestral songs and dances and to make regalia for future Celebrations.
Today, Celebration is one of the largest cultural events in the state, drawing thousands of people to the four-day festival. It is the largest gathering of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people in the world. It has grown to include associated events, including a Juried Art Show and Competition, a Juried Youth Art Exhibit, a Toddler Regalia Review, an Indigenous Fashion Show, a Native Artist Market, and Native food contests. The biennial event is schedule in early June every even year in Juneau. Everyone is welcome to attend.
We attended in 2014. Many of my Juneau friends didn’t even know it was happening! It was amazing and joyful. My favorite part was the parade when all the clans, in their beautiful handmade costumes, paraded down the main street of Juneau. It is something rare and beautiful, something wonderful to see.
Alaska 2026: Anchorage Airport, An Experience in Itself
We actually enjoy the Anchorage Airport. It is full of interesting experiences from entry to exit.
There is something about taking photos of a childrens’ play area – I had to be very careful not to include the children. Isn’t it delightful to see this creative wonderful area to entertain the children traveling?
We met so many people who have come to Alaska to work, and who love Alaska and end of staying. Maybe someone reading this blog will want to teach in Alaska?
Bye now!
Alaska 2026: A Bonus Day at the Alaska Native Heritage Center
This was an odd day, as we packed out of the Alaskan Jade B&B. Our flight wasn’t leaving Anchorage until 8 that night, so we had time to visit the Alaskan Native Heritage Museum.
As we arrived, a demonstration of traditional games had just begun, and following that, a dance demonstration, with descriptions of the costumes, how they were made and how they were used.
All this was done by a group of young people who were having great fun as they shared their culture and heritage.
We spent an hour watching the games and dances, then toured the museum, and did the walk among the tribal dwellings. I’d forgotten, it was raining lightly. We don’t remember rain on this trip. The photos remind us.
Leaving the Alaskan Native Heritage Museum we headed downtown, looking for the historical museum and for a place to eat lunch.
We walked to the Snow City Cafe, which we had spotted earlier, and were in for one last very Alaskan experience. The place was packed, and we sat at the bar.
Almost all the customers were young people eating breakfast foods (at noon) so we did, too. There was this great party vibe, great coffee, good food in generous portions, and a lot of energy. We were out in our allotted hour, picked up our car and headed south, to find a filling station and head to the airport.
Alaska 2026: Turnagain, Again
More about what True Love looks like. For fourteen years, I have talked about a blueberry pancake I ate in Homer, and how I wanted to eat there again. I couldn’t find it. AdventureMan didn’t give up, he followed all the clues, and he found it. We packed up and as we were leaving, he suggested we stop at this place, Duncan House, for breakfast.
It was in the right location. It had the right feel. AdventureMan found the exact place, and I was able to order the exact pancake, an order known as Bear 1-1-1 because it has one piece of bacon, one egg and one bear pancake with blueberries or chocolate chips. Again, I chose blueberries.
In the Duncan House lot, a new customer drives up . . .
The four-hour trip to Anchorage was all on roads we’ve traveled before, but it didn’t lessen their impact – Alaska is full of stunning beauty. A new perspective, different weather, we see different things.
We had leftover pizza from last night’s dinner at Fat Olive’s, so we stopped along Turnagain Sound for a small picnic en route to Anchorage.
We arrived a little ahead of schedule, but our room at the Alaska House of Jade, an independent B&B, was ready for us, and our welcome was warm and gracious. It is another beautiful, clean, very quiet, and private place to stay. The hosts, Linda and Greg, keep it spotless and in good repair, and have fresh cookies ready on arrival.
Tonight is a special night. We are invited for dinner at the home of a pair of Alaskan doctors, one of whom I graduated high school with 60 years ago. (How can that be??)
We found their house easily, following their instructions. While my friend poached a fresh salmon, his wife showed us her show-stopper garden, full of a huge variety of edible berries and fruits and beautiful flowers.
with the salmon, we had special coated potatos and a Caesar salad. For dessert, his wife made persimmons in yoghurt with a sprinkle of brown sugar. The dinner was delicious, and the conversation was even better. When the evening ended, we had trouble saying goodbye; there was still too much to learn about one another’s lives. The conversation was as delicious as the dinner.
We left with three jars of Alaskan-made jam, made by our friends; we can’t wait to try them and to share them with our family.
These heroes, Bill and Jane, spent their careers in Bethel, Alaska, running a hospital treating mainly indigenous Alaskans, far from anywhere. These are people who believe in public service and have lived their beliefs, serving others.
This is a perfect photo of Mt. Denali which Bill took during one of the rare days when the mountain was not shrouded in clouds.
Alaska 2026: Homer Quiet Anniversary
This was a really funny day. The weather has changed, cloudier, foggier, damper.
We had a reservation for lunch again at Captain Pattie’s; AdventureMan had made it in advance for our wedding anniversary. We had a leisurely morning, starting to pack for our drive back to Anchorage, then heading down early to the Homer Spit where the Viking Orion was docked.
It was so funny being on the other side, watching the cruisers come into the little town of Homer, AK, doubling its normal population. We went down and took a photo; we can’t remember if we’ve been on the Orion before, but we have been booked on the same itinerary – three times – and never took the trip.
We had booked first for 2020. Ummm, yes, COVID nixed that. We had rebooked for the following year and then the following year, and none of those ships sailed. It was a trip from Japan, and at the time, through the Kamchatka Peninsula, which we really wanted to see, Dutch Harbor, the Aleutians, and then around the inner curve of Alaska, ending, I believe, in Vancouver, BC. We never took it. And here it was.
As we entered Captain Pattie’s, we were greeted by the wait staff that had taken care of us the day before, and had another lovely dinner, having salads and splitting a seafood linguine. It was all delicious.
I did not have King Crab again. After lunch, we visited the shops on the spit, ending up at Carmen’s Gelato, where I had the Chocolate Noir sorbet, very very dark chocolate, very intense, and AdventureMan had chocolate gelato. We sat in the parking lot overlooking the docks and ate our ice cream in bliss.
This was in the window of a shop on the Homer Spit. It totally cracked me up.
We try to have an easy day in each place we stay, and this was our easy day. We napped, we packed, we discarded. We thought through what we would get rid of now, and what we would leave in Anchorage.
We agreed that we got great sleep on this trip; the places we stayed were so quiet. It’s early in the season, and I expect the places will be livelier and noisier as the season goes on. We’re glad we came when we came.
What is amazing to me is how random all our good fortune has been. When AdventureMan said Alaska, and showed me the trip he had found, I just used those dates to plan our own version, and didn’t change a thing. It didn’t occur to me, and I wonder why? I love it that we traveled in comfort and privacy, and it cost us a quarter of what it would have if we had booked the group travel.
Alaska 2026: Hot Times in Seward, Alaska
When we opened our blackout blind (Alaskan summer days are very long, and it stays bright until around midnight. The dark doesn’t last long, and it is light again by 4 am.) we couldnt believe our eyes. It’s our free day – we can do anything! We have nothing scheduled! We slept with the window open last night – it was a hot night, but the open window kept us comfortable.
We walk to another nearby B&B for breakfast; they operate cooperatively under the same management. We met Sarah, our hostess, and once we all started talking, we couldn’t stop. We had so many interests in common! We talked about Athabaskan culture and language, we talked about the importance of friend groups for managing life’s joy and crises, we talked about the love of adventure, and taking calculated risks – we could have gone on and on; it’s wonderful when you connect.
She fixed AdventureMan eggs exactly as he likes them, and thin pork sausage patties. She brought out all the ingredients for home-made meusli, exactly as I make it with oats and nuts and seeds and fruits, so I could watch my blood sugar. She took really good care of us, all the while able to converse non-stop. She was amazing.
We have a map and we want to find the big anchor in front of the Seward Harbormaster’s office; it’s a hike, but we are up to it. As we walk along the lovely smooth waterfront path, I see something I find astounding and wonderful. All along the waterfront are parks – and camping spots. Some areas provide porta-potties, some more permanent restrooms. This is prime waterfront property, and the city has chosen to make it accessible to people who want to visit Seward. Not just a little – a lot of waterfront space devoted to campers.
I also love all the public art in Seward, starting just in front of our B&B with statues honoring original founders and participants of the annual Iditerod race. Seward has several kennels that provide opportunities for vistors to get to know the dogs and their training in pulling sleds across a variety of terrains.
Another thing I love is the sound of seaplanes coming and going. It was a part of my growing up in Alaska, across from a seaplane airport/hanger, and watching the seaplanes taking off and landing from the windows of our home. I haven’t heard the sound for years. and I find it very comforting.
Seward Main Street
Seward’s Pride crosswalk.
The old train station, now a cafe and restaurant with a fabulous view.
Seward also provides a free shuttle, circling to main stops in the community. We want to get to the Alaska Sealife Center, so we hop on the shuttle.
The driver was a man from Utah who was truly impressive as he asked each entering passenger their destination, and once we reached the train depot, also would stop and get out of the bus to load and unload baggage. He had a positive attitude, and was gracious, kind and patient with everyone. Two of the passengers were Native American; they wanted to be let off at the Chamber of Commerce stop which was adjacent the local Safeway. (The Safeway also has a Starbucks.)
The train station was chaos! A hundred people were trying to get their baggage checked for the evening departure. Arriving passengers were seeking their rides to their hotels. Those without pickups got on the bus to be dropped off near their hotels.
Three girls from Mexico got on and sat near us; they were in Seward to catch a Royal Caribbean cruise and wanted to know what to see while in Seward. We told them they were staying in a wonderful area for walking, shopping and to visit the Alaska Sealife Center – where we were getting off!
The shuttle bus let us off at the Alaska Sealife Center, where the 2 Seward girls at the desk gave AdventureMan a double discount for being military and for being a senior, and gave us directions to get us to the Highline for lunch.
We headed upstairs, starting with the outdoor collection of puffins, gulls, and all kinds of seabirds with a rockery and a huge pond, doing what seabirds do. One puffin took a liking to me, coming closer and closer. We later watched them from underneath windows as they dove and swam at amazing speeds through the water.
The next stop was the sea lions, looking like enormous golden sea slugs, but very fast sea slugs, whirling round and round their huge enclosure.
We found a fabulous display of sea terms of measurement, about half of which I knew and several I’d never heard of but was glad to know existed for measuring and accuracy.
We were so impressed with the young people who served as guides to all the dazzling exhibits of sea creatures. They were delightfully nerdy (as a nerd, I use this word with intentional honor) in their knowledge of the most minute details of the creatures they tended, and delighted in sharing their appreciation and wonder for all sea life.
We found another area with sea lions, (or maybe they got to go to this other area for feeding time) and watched for a while as they horsed around (can sea lions horse around? Yes! They can!)
After a thorough tour, we were ready for lunch and walked to the Highline, recommended by both our VRBO host/manager, Sarah, and the local girls at the Sealife Center. There we split a smoked salmon spread with sourdough bread, and a halibut sandwich.
We’d walked several miles by this point, so we walked a little more, back to our beautiful Bear’s Den on the waterfront, and we grabbed a short nap and then headed out to hike to the Exit Glacier, just 8 miles out of Seward.
Exit Glacier has . . . exited. It is in retreat. We walked to the closest viewpoint, but the glacier was too far away, so we walked further and we could see it – divided into two sections now, and continuing to recede. It was a great time to be there, late in the day, all the tour buses loaded and gone. We weren’t alone, but few were on the hiking trails.
One family asked us, as we were returning to our car, if we had seen bear. We told them no, but to keep talking to one another, and if any bear were around, they would wander away.
We had an agenda for dinner. We are heading out on an all day wildlife and fishing expedition tomorrow, and we need snacks and sandwiches. Sarah had recommended Primrose Provisions, a repurposed railway depot, so we stopped there for dinner and to get provisions – but they were sold out of sandwiches.
Did I mention the sun was shining in Seward? It was in the high 70’s F., and people were sporting sunburns? We sat on the porch, drinking good wine, waiting for our dinner to come – an Alaska charcuterie board. It was lovely, with smoked salmon, smoked cod, two spreads, sourdough and strawberries. Beautiful to look at and delicious.
We had only a short walk back to our Front Row B&B, through the small park honoring Iditerod race creators and supporters, celebrating the Seward connection. We need to think about our clothing and day pack for our sea excursion. I needed to make sure I had my fishing license with me!
This was our route for today – the big red dot is the Alaska Sea Life Museum.
Alaska 2026: Talkeetna and the Drive to Denali
After a couple hours, tired of sitting and driving, we decided we needed movement and took a short side trek (14 miles) to Talkeetna, a colorful little town on the Talkeetna River where trains stop, and tourists come to shop, eat, and check out the scenery. Talkeetna is known for being a staging area for people hiking Mt. Denali, and a great community. They have so many visitors that they bring in people from many countries to run the food wagons, the stores, to prepare meals, and clean and run the businesses and hotels.
At one of the crafts exhibits in Talkeetna, AdventureMan met a man who was selling truly gorgeous knives. This is a limitation to carry-ons – you can’t carry knives on board with you, even in a carry-on. This man and his son work through the winter – about nine months – making knives. In the three-month tourist season in Talkeetna, he sells out everything. He makes enough to get them through the winter, making more knives for the next year.
It was a lot of fun, good crafts vendors, good truck stop food (we had really good salmon burgers) and fun photo shoot opportunities. We got to do lots of walking, and were ready to finish our drive to Denali.
The trees lining the highway slowly gave way to impressive mountains, Chugach mountains on the right, and Denali on the left. Although we had showers early in the day, the day had brightened and the clouds had lifted. They had not lifted enough to see the tip of Denali, but the mountains showed off for us and we were suitably impressed and delighted.
Delicious salmon burgers:
Road Hazards leaving Talkeetna:
The entire day, we kept meeting interesting people from all over, coming to visit Denali. One woman we met at the North face oversight, said “this really is a special place, isn’t it?” and I agreed. There was a grandeur and a silence that reinforded the grandeur. It didn’t make you feel small; it made you feel you were experiencing something immense.
Denali is behind us, shrouded in clouds.
You’ll notice we are all dressed warmly. The temperatures are in the 40’s F. We were never cold; we were just happy it wasn’t raining. Even in the clouds and cold, the mountains were spectacular.
Alaska 2026: Fred Meyer and Leaving Anchorage
I started the day anxious – was this horrid hotel room an omen? Today we were to drive to Denali, what if something went wrong??
We packed, we joked around and we went to breakfast. The breakfast was simple, but well prepared and had choices we like. In addition, we met a man from Houston and his wife, of Indian descent, who was later joined by his daughter and her friend, and we learned they, too, were headed to Denali. We had a great conversation, chatting away, and by the end of breakfast we were feeling much more positive.
As we headed out, I saw a giant stuffed polar bear and AdventureMan wanted to take my picture with it, so we had a lot of fun. We spent a few minutes taking photos for other people who wanted the same photo with the bear.
It’s a little dark and drizzly as we start. Across the street is the Puffin In, and if anything, it looks worse than the place we stayed. On the road to leave Anchorage, AdventureMan spots this and it brightens our spirits:
We had decided we wanted to pick up a few things for the road, small things, snacks, bananas for our breakfast cereals, and water. AdventureMan said, “Hey! A Fred Meyer!” and we were elated.
Fred Meyer is a West Coast grocery/department store we love. I was able to grab a coffee – and couldn’t resist a Starbucks Alaska mug for our son. We were in and out in minutes, found everything we needed, and were back on the road. The road was straightforward, only a turn here and there, and we were on our way out of Anchorage to Denali, and the road was smooth with very low traffic.
Corn in Pensacola is under 50 cents a cob
Welcome Easter in Pensacola!
If you live in Pensacola, you feel truly blessed when it rains as early gardens are planted, and dry weather means a drought in Florida. We have had beautiful sunny weather, good for planting seeds and sprouting them, and we need the rain to ensure their survival and vigorous growth. Thanks be to God for a glorious rain.
We had a strong crowd for the early service this morning; the flowers were stunning. I totally missed that the alter flowers were a metaphor for sunrise until our priest pointed it out.
This was the quiet service, the sanity service. Our family will be serving at the next service, the children’s service, after which there will be an Easter Egg hunt. There will be a brass band and celebratory trumpets at the two later services, making a joyful noise indeed! We will all meet up for brunch later. A festive and joyful day, The Lord is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!
British Isles: Lerwick, Shetland and Jarlshof
We are finally here! Were were excited about visiting the Shetland Islands back when we did The Wake of the Vikings, but the weather made the water too tough to dock or tender in, and we had to skip the Shetland Islands. It was particularly disappointing to AdventureMan, as he had watched every episode of Shetland, a mystery series on Netflix.
As it turns out, he wasn’t alone – one of the first things the guide mentions is that everyone wants to see where the murders were committed (and through the trip, she showed us!) but that the show made The Shetlands look like the murder capitol of the world, when in truth, daily life tends to be very routine, and crime of any kind is limited. And everybody knows everybody.
Probably half of our bus had watched the show, or read Ann Cleeves addictive books about Shetland, and there was a lot of enthusiasm and appreciation from the people on the bus when the guide pointed out the places where the crimes really did not take place.
On our way this morning, this cracked me up. The local ferry, the North Link, with a big Viking on it passes the huge Viking ship as if we were barely moving, LOL. I guess it just struck me as funny. Maybe he’s pointing the way, thinking we are lost.
Today, it is cloudy, but they are high clouds, and foggy, the kind that burns off by late morning, and AdventureMan spots a seal sporting in the Viking Jupiter wake as we are docking.
I was wearing a skirt, but I change into Levi’s because it is chill, this is Juneau, Alaska, where I grew up kind of August. I wear a shirt under a sweater, and carry a windbreaker, which I later don when we hit Jarlshof, our destination today.
En route, we pass gorgeous bays, fields full of fat, happy sheep, contented cows and frisky Shetland ponies. We stop for a break in Hoswick where I find a gorgeous handmade coffee cup, and love the old crafts demonstrations set up there. It was still very early – barely 8:30, so they had gone to some trouble to be open when we passed through.
In this village I see something that blows my mind, an entire hedge which is a fuchsia shrub. Fuchsias are special to me; I used to buy one for my Mother for Mother’s Day. I have tried to keep hanging fuchsia’s almost everywhere we have lived, but they are very particular – don’t like heat at all, and need just the right amount of water. The guide tells me this is a hardy fuchsia, and they are grown all over the Shetlands because they love it there. What luxury!
We see a tall ship out in the adjoining bay. Our guide is smart, and a good story-teller. She tells us not much really grown in the Shetlands to support life; the trees are mostly gone, some grow potatoes and vegetables in family plots, but the main industry, until the oil fields came, has been fishing, particularly herring. There are herring stations near where our boat is docked, and she tells us there were women called the “gutting girls” who would flay and salt the herring and put them in barrels to ship around the world.
We learned the Shetlands have only been a part of Scotland for the last 500 years; before that they were largely settled by Danes and Norwegians. The streets are named after Norwegian kings, and their language is a marvelous combination of Norwegian language patterns coupled with Scottish vocabulary.
We reach Jarlshof, literally the house of the Earl, and there is a ruin of a medium sized stone house with more-or-less modern dimensions. The treat, though, is that (like Scara Brae in the Orkneys) a large storm uncovered ruins of dwellings dating back more than 4,000 years, built partly underground but covered by sand over the years.
The people who lived here were smart, and inventive. They created archways and strong tunneled wheel-houses, for living, for storage, or so the anthropologists and archaeologists surmise. The truth is, no one knows how or why, or even who made these dwellings. No one really knows whether they died out, or were driven away when the Northmen invaded, or if they assimilated – most of the Orkneys and Shetland Islands have a large portion of Nordic blood running in their veins.
Seeing these early dwellings is a thrill, and it is further thrilling knowing that there may be even earlier dwellings underneath these ones. No one wants to destroy what they have found so far to search for earlier peoples.
Equally thrilling is that while we are touring Jarlshof, the sun breaks through and the landscape looks different, no longer shades of grey and diffuse with fog, now it is bright and shines with energetic colors.
You never know when suddenly you will find a treasure, and today, as I was exiting through the Visitor Center, I saw some truly gorgeous scarves, in classic colors with classic patterns, created by a Scottish Heritage foundation. I couldn’t resist. Sometimes you see something special and you know it. This scarf thrills my heart.
Leaving Jarlhof, we are stopped by a gate across the road and a red light. The road crosses the airport landing strip, and a plane is landing, stopping all traffic in both directions until the gates are lifted once again. We watch the plane land, and then we proceed. I’ve since learned from Ann Cleeves that this is Sumburgh Airport, into which investigators and medical examiners fly from Aberdeen when there are all these murders in Shetland.
Our ride home is beautiful, again the hills with sheep and cows and ponies, even a few goats. We see small farms, we reach Lerwick where the Viking Jupiter is docked and see granite and sandstone buildings, a high street for shopping and modern supermarkets. Our guide is very proud to tell us that most of the shops in the Shetlands are privately owned, with very few chain stores. Shopping is more personal. Mail order through the internet is iffy – because everything has to come in by air or by sea, weather plays a big role, particularly the wind and rain, and no one guarantees “next-day” delivery.
Back on board, we both choose Malabar beef curry with roasted carrots and are delighted. Afterwards, we go down to the main lounge for coffee, then to the spa to exercise and to recover from our morning.
I try to carve a time each day when I can write this journal while our memories are still fresh, but there is so much! I wake up in the middle of the night remembering new things I need to tell you about!
We are starting to think about packing. Every time we think about it, we put it off. Our ship just departed Shetland for Bergen, Norway, where we will spend the day tomorrow, then depart on Monday for home. We can pack tomorrow.
Leaving Shetland – even the skies and seas are the Shetland colors of my scarf!
Maybe this was the best day of our trip?
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