Take a moment to think about Alaska. What’s the first thing that pops into your head?
Blankets of snow?
Incredible, craggy mountains?
Glaciers?!
Uh, yeah. Bucket list item, for sure.
And Sohrab and I have just checked it off!
We just got back from a weekend trip to Anchorage, Alaska for a family wedding – and the main event (aside from the wedding, of course!) was a group excursion on a glacier cruise. As much as I’ve wanted to go to Alaska, there are plenty of other places that are higher on my list – so, of course, attending a wedding there was the perfect opportunity to go north before too long. While this was a short trip, we were able to squeeze in a lot of what Anchorage has to offer, and I’m so excited to share our itinerary with you so you can make the most of your trip to Alaska, too!
Thursday
We arrived on Thursday afternoon, landing at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport at 2:30 pm. We settled into The Lakefront Anchorage with a drink on the patio, watching float planes land on the lake (Lake Spenard/Lake Hood is home to the largest floatplane base in the world!). I could say we sat there long into the night, long after the sun went down, but that’s the thing – the sun didn’t set until around 11pm! Not to mention we had a rehearsal dinner planned at the 49th State Brewing Company in town.
The Lakefront Anchorage is a dream – from sweeping views of Lake Spenard to cozy rooms with Alaskan flair, it’s a great home base for your frontier adventure. There’s two good restaurants in the lobby which give you access to the deck on the water – we tried both, since one offers breakfast and the other offers a bar. The Flying Machine is the breakfast bistro, and you can get your cocktails at the Fancy Moose Lounge. They both serve lunch and dinner, and they were both able to accommodate our large party, but if you’re looking for a quieter spot, I’d recommend The Flying Machine since the Fancy Moose can get a bit rowdy.
Don’t those names just make you feel like you’re in Alaska already?
Friday
Ah, wedding day! But, since the wedding wasn’t until 3pm, we had the morning to spend wandering the lakeshore, getting a different view of the floatplanes as they landed and took off from the water.
The wedding took place at the beautiful Kincaid Outdoor Center in Kincaid Park, just a few miles away from the hotel (and the airport!). As we traveled into the Alaskan forest to the venue, we passed a few moose eyeing us from behind the trees!
It was a sunny evening of laughter and love. I donned my purple hair and a floor length blue gown, while Sohrab repped his Slytherin pride in a classy suit ensemble:
Saturday
We rose long after the sun (the summer sunrise is around 4am!) to get an early start on Saturday to catch the bus that would take the 50 (!) of us to Whittier, Alaska. If that name sounds familiar, that’s because it used to be a US Army base, and Princess Cruises makes a pit stop there for some glacier excursions. Three guesses what we were there for!
But before I dive into the glacier cruise, can we talk about the drive to Whittier? It took a couple hours, and that’s not only because of distance. There’s a tunnel that separates Whittier from greater Anchorage, and it’s only one lane. To make sense of this, they’ve created a traffic pattern allowing each direction to pass through, alternating, every half hour. Going into Whittier, we needed to get in line for the tunnel before traffic opened on the half hour. Leaving, we needed to pass through on the hour. If you miss your window, you get to wait. Good thing the view isn’t half bad:
It’s a unique experience going through a tunnel that’s not much bigger than the bus you’re riding on. I’m sure it would be less nerve-racking to drive through in a car, but don’t hold your breath – the tunnel is 2.5 miles long!
Once we reached the other side, we were practically already in Whittier, a very small town where most residents live in the same building.
Yeah, you read that right.
We made our way onto the Phillips Cruises catamaran and found our reserved seats on the middle deck, with sweeping, climate-controlled views of the scenery. Since the cruise left port around 12:30pm and got back at 5:30, we had plenty of time to explore. From the hot lunch served at our tables to the bar downstairs, there was a lot of indoor space to enjoy – but that’s not what we were there for!
We were able to get up at any time and wander the 3 different decks (indoor/outdoor) for a different take on what it feels like to go 40mph through Prince William Sound, past an assortment of snowy peaks, bald eagles fishing for salmon, bears, and, of course, glaciers. Plural.
Pro tip: if you’re going on a glacier cruise, bring layers. And your camera.
It’s cold.
Maybe that’s why Phillips Cruises’ 26 Glacier Cruise is only available from May – October.
Or maybe it’s the crazy short days. In the dead of winter, the sun rises around 10am and sets at 4pm!
Let’s just say that summer in Alaska is a delightful escape from the heatwave the rest of us have been experiencing this season. We donned our puffy jackets and braved the chill to fully take in what it meant to be standing just a few hundred feet from miles of ancient ice.
The best part of the cruise, other than, you know, visiting glaciers, was the fact that Phillips Cruises was so willing to slow down when we saw something interesting. You can’t plan for a bald eagle watching you from an evergreen or a pod of orcas surrounding your catamaran (yes, it happened! 😍), but they were ready for anything. Our guide was able to answer all of our questions and teach us a bit about the Alaskan wilderness along the way. Oh, and our entire trip consisted of weaving our way through a maze of floating sea otters. Need I say more?
If you haven’t visited a glacier (or 26) before, I can’t recommend it enough. It was so humbling to explore Prince William Sound, in the shadow of so much natural history.
Sunday
We initially planned to take a floatplane out for a spin on Sunday morning, but it just didn’t work out. Hey, gotta leave something to do the next time we’re near the Arctic Circle! Our flight back to Los Angeles wasn’t until mid afternoon, and since The Lakefront Anchorage is so close to the airport, we were able to spend a leisurely morning with family enjoying our breakfast while watching the planes land on Lake Hood. We finished our trip by driving into town to discover a small farmer’s market that offered everything from fresh wild salmon to local handmade goods. It was the perfect ending, giving us a final taste of what Alaska has to offer.
At the airport, we found the perfect stickers for our Away luggage to commemorate the trip (you can get $20 off at that link!), enjoyed one last Alaskan beer, and then we bid Anchorage goodbye. Sometimes, all you need is a quick weekend getaway!
