For those of you who prefer to the executive summary and then to just peruse the pics, we...
Survived Class V white water rapids and hours of air/car travel with kids
- Rode a dog sled at the Iditarod headquarters
- Ate the 2nd best donuts ever...from a food trailer (Stan's still takes the top billing).
- Hiked up to an elevation of 3500 feet over 3 miles
- Saw dozens of bald eagles on a river float trip
- Fed reindeer by hand
- Saw brown bears and a 3-year-old Moose
- Enjoyed many local brews (coffee & beer) -- the best: Midnight Sun's Pleasure Town IPA
- Went to the Grand Central Station of float planes...twice
- Hauled the kids in a bike trailer along the coast
- Went to a hippie art & wine fest, complete with camping-style stainless steel beer pint glasses
- Had one kid with 24 hour tummy bug
Saturday 6/27
San Jose to Anchorage
With a flight leaving mid-afternoon plus Oma / Opa taking the kids to swimming lessons or the park, it was surprisingly smooth getting out of the house. Lisa and I even had time to go get a quick bite together and have an grown-up conversation -- our last before the 10 days in Alaska. The family picked us up just on time and I was merrily counting our chickens all the way to the airport.
You know what they say about counting chickens and hatching.
As we turned into Departures, I got a text informing me our flight to Seattle was an hour delayed. No problem. We had a four hour layover. By the time we got through security, our new, 3.5 hour late departure time gave us less than an hour between flights -- which normally would be stressful, but in our situation was STRESSFUL. See, when booking, I had the bright (and much cheaper) idea of using free tickets on Southwest and then transferring to Jet Blue to get up to Anchorage. Of course, changing changing airlines mid-trip means a double dose of getting our bags, checking them, and security again...All of that probably impossible to do in less than an hour. The cherry-on-top was that Jet Blue has one flight a day, so we'd arrive in Anchorage 24 hours late at the earliest. As the whipping cream on top of that, the flight status displays kept giving the wrong information. For example, once we were in the opposite end of the terminal and the display suddenly listed our flight as boarding. We sprinted through the airport Home Alone-style only to find it was an error. Here I was worried I wouldn't get a workout with the kiddos around. Luckily (for us), something happened and suddenly our flight was back to just an hour late. Vacation: SAVED.
Besides a couple exhausted kids, the flight went fine...with Southwest trying to make for the scheduling ping-pong with free alcohol. Note to other airlines who frequently make delays, etc. (aka ALL other airlines): the cost of a beer pays a lot toward appeasing frustrated, tired passengers and makes me all the more of a Southwest fan.
By comparison to our time in San Jose, the Seattle airport was pretty easy -- just got dinner and got the kids ready for the late night flight. Getting kids to sleep on the plane was hard. But we did it. I had some grand vision of transferring them to the strollers and into the cars still sleep. Please stop laughing. They were so pumped to arrive and greet Tante Ness, Uncle Tanner, and Kippen. And they were doubly pumped once we got to their house. So getting back to sleep was nearly impossible, especially since 12:30am there is as light as dinner time at home. Finally, we all zonked out. Exhausted and thrilled that we made it.
Sunday 6/28
Anchorage
As tired as we were, we had a "leisurely" morning at Van/Tanner's place...though it's all realative when you've got toddlers and a 11-month-old puppy running amok. We managed to get out of the house and to an awesome resturaunt for brunch...the place seriously looked as if it belonged in downtown San Francisco versus an Anchorage strip mall. The food was delicious. Next stop was V&T's good friends' house, who were out of town with their similarly aged children, to pick up some necessities...aka TOYS (and a balance bike). This visit was a highlight of the entire trip for the kiddos...so many other kids' things to play with. Upon entering the backyard and seeing the swing set & enclosed trampoline, E mentioned, "I didn't know they had a park."
When we finally ripped them away from the backyard/park, we headed over to Lake Hood near the airport to (1) visit the Aviation museum (come on, how do you think we bribed E to leave the trampoline) and (2) watch the float planes. Within moments of parking, one of these float planes zoomed right over head and landed in the water feet from the front of the car. Less than a minute later, it happened again. And again. And again. We must've seen over 20 in about half that time. We all thought it was really cool.
The aviation museum was cool too, similar to the one near us and with just as good of a gift shop, which both kids were obsessed with. My favorite part was the old control tower that we climbed and listened to all the radio broadcasts of the real control tower and stream of float planes.
Next we headed over to Earthquake park for a short stroll along the coastline. J napped in the stroller and I was amazed to watch E ride the balance bike for approximately a mile! He did so well and kept saying, "this green one is faster than my orange one at home."
Back at the house, as some of us made a mouthwatering ginger chicken, the others played frisbee with kids & pup. We all hit the sack a little early and reflected on what a fun day.
Monday 6/29
Cooper Landing
Tanner and Vanessa left for their jobs before we rose. With some effort, we were able to get out of the house and aimed south toward the Kenai peninsula. The drive to Cooper Landing was spectacular -- towering mountains peaked with snow, glaciers, and the grand waters of the Turnagain Arm. It was hard to keep my eyes on the winding two-lane highway. Both kids napped for part of it...and boy was it needed from all the travel as well as for prep for the coming excitement.
We arrived at Cooper Landing with very awake, very hungry kids and no plan as to where to eat. I anticipated a little town or something, but it was just a few buildings scattered along the winding highway. The best option seemed to be DUDE'S FOOD TRAILER in the parking lot of the rafting guide offices...actually, E loved the concept. "Have you ever heard of a restaurant on wheels?" He'd laugh. Lisa was a little more weary, especially since it had started to sprinkle...but we convinced ourselves it'd be fine -- and wouldn't require us loading the kids back into the car seats or looking for another place in the Alaskan outback. And, boy, was it the right decision. It hit the spot for all of us (grilled PB&J, Po'boy, and grilled cheese)...though the hit was the 3-for-$5 handmade donuts that came with the hole too. As I said before, those gooey treats were 2nd best to Stan's back in Santa Clara. J, liking all things carb & sweet, ate her body weight. And E told the other patrons that, "There's a donut shop by Oma and Opa's house called Stan's. There's another one by our house called Fractured Prune, but it's not open yet. They have tables, but no waiters..." and on and on.
Despite having an hour for lunch and getting into warm/rainproof gear, we still managed to be the last ones of our group of 10 to make it over to the boats. J had a full rain suit on + a rain slick + a life jacket...and she reminded me of the little brother going into the snow in A CHRISTMAS STORY. We were all excited, especially E since he got to use the little kid binoculars. As we walked to the rafts, with several layers and life jackets too, the sun broke through the clouds and cast light from the glittering Kenai river to the vast green ridge of the valley. Taking our seats next to an older couple from Holland, I buzzed with excitement and pride about what we were doing...taking toddlers on a 3-hour rafting trip took some gall. And there we were. Man, talk about awesome parents. No?
Remember what I learned about counting, hatching, and chickens?
About 15 yards from shore, J decided she did not want to be on the boat. She did not want the binoculars. She did not want an apple sauce pouch. She did not want to nap on my shoulder. She did not want to look at the pretty ducks swimming by or the other rafts. Desperate, we ripped through the bags for a pacifier as her shrieks tore across the pristine river scene.
Except...we forgot the paci.
We. forgot. the. f-&*#-ing paci.
We had enough layers, snacks, and toys to survive a month adrift, but the every paci was locked in the car -- only a hundred yards away -- and a hundred yards too far.
In summary: We were screwed.
Of course, I pretended to keep looking and avoided eye contact with all the other passengers on the raft, but I KNEW what they were thinking. Good Lord, we paid how much for this relaxing float through the Alaska wilderness? I can't even hear the river guide and he's sitting a foot away from me.
More desperate than even myself, and more creative, Lisa began to undo her life jacket.
"You can't," I whispered...unable to imagine how she could nurse with all of those layers between the two of them...and throwing aside the fact that J was 90% weened. Lisa's eyes shot to me and there were as frozen as the glacier in the distance. She was going to nurse and shut the kid up, no matter how many layers or river safety rules she broke.
After 8+ years of marriage to Lisa, I knew that look and I quickly turned my attention to E who was patiently watching the view meander by...as if his sister weren't melting down beside him. Within another blink, the baby hushed and it was the most blissful moment...possibly in all of recorded history. Not because I cared about J's shrieks -- rather, that I had already determined that it was going to cost me another $400 and tip to cover the cost for the other passengers.
Honestly, I remember the scenery being amazing over the next hour. And that we spotted a dozen or so bald eagles. And that E had the best time in the mini-rapids and using his binoculars. But most of the time, I spent watching Lisa's jaw clinching. All the clothes / lift jacket made the angle strange, Lisa whispered. And let's just say that teeth were involved to stay attached. For an hour.
After that, J watched the scenery a little and nursed a little. I don't think Lisa's ever been happier to get out of a situation than she was getting out of that raft. Of course, J was totally sweet while we were waiting for the van to come and get us. The others passengers were really nice too...telling us how brave we were and how we should always bring our kids to do things, no matter how difficult (though it wasn't their chapped, raw flesh). During the idle chit chat, they found out we were from the San Francisco Bay area and one of the men, a retired fire chief from the LA area, asked E, "You're not a Giants fan, are you?" E yelled, "GO GIANTS!" And then all of them had a great ride back heckling each other...E chanting, "Here we go, Giants, here we go!" and "Boo, Dodgers!"
We had a nice dinner at Summit Lodge on our way back...having salmon overlooking a pristine mountain lake. E admitatly suggested that we get ice cream at the nearby ice cream shop and we obliged. He had a brilliant time telling one of the workers how there's an ice cream shop by Oma and Opa's house. And another one, by his house and they have..." Luckily, the lady loved it too. Once home, we hung out with T&V until much too late...that midnight sun threw me so far outta whack.
Tuesday 6/30
Anchorage
Between getting food, clothes, bikes, car seats, etc. ready for our outing, it took forever getting out of the house. Just late enough that J fell asleep on our drive back to the float planes...which was cool again and satisfied E's itch to watch them again (though not his desire for another souviener -- though we away from the gift shop without too much fuss. Then it was lunch with Vanessa at this new age-y place -- what's that mean? Well, I had a burger made of beets...if that explains anything. And know what? It was good.
Aiming for our window between naps, we hurried back to Earthquake park, unloaded the bikes and kid trailer and got everyone's helmets on. The kids had been so excited to go on a bike ride and in the same trailer. Off we went, with Lisa and kids in the lead. And less than a mile in: we'd dislodged a chain, J was fussy from exhaustion, and E was asleep. We were trying to head north, but it was so hilly and winding (and with a unhappy little girl in tow), it was time to call the game. So we traded bikes, turned south, and rode off as fast as possible to the car. Moments later, J fell asleep, we turned some corner and the wind died. By the time we made it back to the car, all was pleasant again (ah, life with toddlers). Avoiding the need to move the sleeping kids, we kept on trucking south. Rode in peace for 90 min...snaking along water, through groves of trees with the occasional view of downtown Anchorage.
That night, we cooked salmon. The girls got pedi and while I gor J to bed, Tanner and E watched DEADLIEST CATCH (again so strange that E likes that show with crashing waves and swearing fishermen, when Thomas falling off track bothers him). Learning our lesson from the late night before, we prepped a little and got to bed slightly earlier.
Wednesday 7/1
Palmer & Wasilla
It was a much smoother (and quicker) morning, not perfect but manageable. Nice drive north to reindeer farm in Palmer...even passing Tanner's construction job site that he manages. The only bad part was a call from our house sitter who was at the vet. Bailey broke a toe. So we had to discuss the x-rays, splinting, and pricey bill from a gas station. We knew he was in fantastic hands though and kept our spirits up.
At the farm, loved the horses, bunnies, and dogs. Though, of course, the highlight was feeding the reindeer and elk eating right of our hands. E liked animals, but was enthralled with the various tractors around the place. The adults learned a lot -- like did you know that reindeer lose & regrow their antlers annually. A fantastic (and reasonably priced) experience for all of us -- especially for the kids.
Letting Siri guide us, we ended up down a side street at the Palmer City Ale House and Siri must sure like us, because both the brew and the food hit the spot. J fell asleep on the voyage to Iditarod headquaters in Wasilla. Lisa successfully transferred her to the carrier, but when we saw several 6-8 week old husky puppies running around, we knew it was totally unfair to keep her asleep. It was awesome playing with the pups (by the time we left that day, we revisited them three times). While we were catching with one of the older guys who worked there, we found out that he and his brother run the place and are the sons of the man who started the Iditarod dog sled race.
The best part of the whole day -- for me -- was that all piled on a sled (ok, a sled-on-wheels) and got pulled through the forest while we all said, "mush, mush..." (ok, J grunted, but her heart was in the right place). It was only a couple minutes long, but so much fun, I considered paying to do it again -- though we decided to divert those additional funds to buy Kippen, Cody, and Bailey "LEAD DOG" collars and a few things for ourselves.
On the way back to Anchorage, I dropped Lisa & E off at Tanner's job site for a tour. From the sounds of it, it trumped any dog sleds, reindeer, or even tractors. Still, every time he's doing a construction puzzle or something, he mentions how, "Uncle Tanner would like this puzzle."
While Vanessa picked up pizza for dinner, we took the kids + Kippen to the little park right down the road where J and E developed a love for tire swings. Once Tanner was home, we scarfed down a slice and he took me (+ the Kip-ster) south to Bird Ridge for a hike, leaving bedtime in the hands of the very capable sisters.
I use the term 'hike' loosely since they don't really have a word for 'almost mountain climbing.'
Three miles and 3,400 feet elevation gain.
My legs aren't what they used to be...and I had to stop every few hundred feet vertical to, ummm, take pictures. Tanner was very gracious and never actually called me out for being sluggish. Though Kippen was a little show-off-y with all her bounding and running back to make sure I was still alive. Burning muscles aside, not once did I want to turn around. The view was that of a lifetime: mountains, glaciers, the Turnagain Arm, the 10 pm sun breaking through the clouds in blazing rays...my words aren't doing it justice and the pics only capture about 10% of the breath taking beauty. Tanner caught sight of a bear bum...I didn't ;(...and not much after, we decided to turn around. It was so steep that walking / hiking wasn't possible. It was either run or roll. The three of us decided to run (bomb it, as Tanner says) and it was so. much. fun.
We talked with Oma on the phone back at their place and recounted the hike with the girls. Then it was time for shower and bed. I zonked out so fast, but not without the brief prayer of being able to walk in the morning.
Thursday 7/2
Girdwood
Finally, we started establishing a routine and got out of the hours reasonably fast and headed southbound along the Turnagain Arm. And it was still as breathtaking the third time as the first -- the drizzle / overcast weather making it more dramatic. We almost took too long gawking and arrived at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) with about a minute until the guided shuttle bus. I knew it was going to be full with this cold, windy weather...and we'd have to wait an hour until the next. We zoomed into parking spot, tossed the kids in their warm clothes, and dashed into -- the EMPTY shuttle. We were the only passengers...plus, our guide, Duane, handed the kids lollipops. And then gave Lisa & I chili pepper suckers. Perfect!
The tour was interesting and, being the only patrons, tailored to us. We saw elk, bison and musk ox. E requested to get off the bus so he could see the moose -- after he found out that they were three-years-old, "just like me!" The fox was tucked away out of the weather, which bummed E out, since he was prepared to ask it, "what did you say?" The AWCC had a really cool, Jurrasic Park-esque, enclosure for their three brown bears...that included 25 acres and an open bridge over the whole thing. Within 2 seconds, we saw the burly animals playing and walking around. And about 2 seconds later, both kids decided they wanted the warmth (and lollipops) provided by the shuttle. I stuck around for a little snapping pics. One interesting thing we learned: genetically speaking, Grizzly and Kodiak are all brown bears -- the distinction being just about the latitude they come from...and, to boot, the Kodiak bears are the more southern distinction and are generally larger than the Grizzly. Upon getting back to the AWCC, Duane hit another one out of the ballpark when he pulled out bubbles to blow for the kids.
At the recommendation of T&V, , we hit up THE BAKE SHOP in Girdwood for lunch. Yum! On a whim, we stopped at the Girdwood playground on the way out of town. And here's what I have to say about it: EPIC! I mean: slides and swings galore. A huge sandbox -- in the shape of a train -- with dozens of sand toys. A climbing castle. A play dog sled & team. To say it was a hit (for all of us) would be the understatement of the trip.
That evening, Vanessa volunteered to watch her boss' two children while they went out on their 10 year anniversary dinner. The boys were 8 (going on 14) and 2 (though he was the bigger than E). While the ladies cooked, Tanner and I watched all of them play ball and push car and run around in the backyard. At dinner we all got nicknames which included -- Lemons, Mac'n'cheesy, Edamame, Pasta, Fork...you get the idea. While Lisa and I cleaned, T&V braved a walk to the little park with all of them plus the dog (well, semi-walked, because J got carried and E rode his balance bike). Everyone stayed up pretty late -- even once the boys' parents returned -- hanging out in the backyard. Of course, you had to look at your watch to realize that it was hours past a toddler's bedtime. But we didn't care since they were having so much fun and the night was so pleasant.
Friday 7/3
Whittier
Amazingly, we were up and to the train station with Vanessa EARLY...though we still only made it in enough to pick up the tickets, hit the head, fill the coffee, and do a power-shop at the gift store (in which Van got E his first "fragile train," as he refers to it...really just a grown up model train set). The train ride o Whittier was fantastic. The view from our 2nd story seats -- as expected -- was beautiful and the kids could sit at the very front and watch the engine.
After the train, we had about an hour in Whittier. I expected to look around a little bit to kill the time, though when we finished, we used the leftover 55 minutes to connect with Tanner (who drove) and a couple of Vanessa's coworkers. We boarded our Glacier Cruise and luckily, since we were hungry, were served hot fish & chips within minutes. As we pulled into the Prince William Sound, a Forest Ranger took the mic and started telling about the majestic fjords, pounding waterfalls, and glaciers around us. The ranger told us how lucky we were having the 60 degrees and brilliant sunshine since most days it rains -- there was a chilly wind when we were underway, but I only complain because I'm a snobby Californian ;). E impressed me with how long he listened.
Once the cruise was over, we dashed in the cars and just made the one-way tunnel toward Anchorage...which, if we'd missed, would've meant another hour waiting in car with an overtired set of toddlers. No-Thank-You.
Back in Anchorage, we made it to MIDNIGHT SUN BREWING CO. for dinner and pints. O The place was packed and we almost aborted...through blatantly holding our hungry kiddos in front of a few tables, we snagged a spot and the rest of the evening was wonderful. We even got to try their tap of the day, BRET IPA.
Saturday 7/4
Tanner & Vanessa's House
Happy Fourth of JULY! I think the weather got confused and instead of the perfect day like the day before, it was rainy. Which actually was fine since J thew up in the wee morning hours and it was a good day to just hang out the house waiting for Mark and family. E loved running in the rain and he met another 3yr old boy next door and they rode their bikes thru puddles. Once sufficiently wet, they even went into the neighbors house for more than an hour. Mark and family arrived sometime a little after lunch. There was talk of a hike or a trip to the children's museum, but I think everyone was just having fun hanging out and nothing ever came of an outing other than for dinner. Even though she seemed recovered, J and I stayed home while the rest went out to be safe. J and I played stickers, tea party, and the million other things she could find. From others' accounts, the restaurant sounded delicious. However, I had no complaints on my leftovers from the all the meals over the week. After a little tumble, I picked J up to calm her...within seconds, she passed out in my arms. The rest of us all hung out for some time before hitting the hay.
Sunday 7/5
Hope & Girdwood
Epic day.
Tanner, Lisa and I left at 7:15am for Hope, south to the Kenai again. Got to glimpse a white mountain goat close to the side of the road, curly horns and all. And we saw the Bore Tide, which happens due to the huge tidal shifts in the Turnagain Arm and that effectively create a single 2-foot wave that lasts for miles and miles. There were even a couple people surfing it!
The river guides were really funny... but very helpful as we got our warm gear and dry suits. Right on time, we boarded an old school -- or possibly prison -- bus to the put in site. And for all the fun the guides were before, they quickly switched to 'very serious,' for the safety briefing. For good reason: we were about to spend several hours in a glacier melt river of class 4-5 white water rapids.
Post-verbal instructions, it was time for the big test. Everyone had to do a 100 yard swim across the current and demonstrate our whitewater swimming skills. THAT woke me up. Within seconds my hands were freezing so much that it made the rest of me warm by comparison. Pumped, the three of us passed the test with flying (or, errr, splashing) colors. Though between the tightness of the life vest + the cold + nerves = I had to pee, very bad. Not easy in a dry suit. Luckily, our boat's guide, Mike, unzipped me.
Relieved (to be done with the test...jeez), we got in the boats and the whitewaters of Six Mile Creek (total misnamed...since it was a river by anyone's definitions. The planned route consisted of three canyons with the first 2 canyons of class 4 and 4+. And, yes, one guy (on another raft) fell out in the first rapid...though he kept hold of the boat and was back inside before we knew what was happening.
Sometime between the first and second canyons, during a 20 minute lull in the action, the sun broke through the clouds and the weather decided to reflect the perfect day. Little gray American Dipper birds zoomed around, majestic snow-capped peaks to either side of the lush green meadows banking us, and bald eagle nests overhead.
The peace didn't last long and soon we were in the next run of rapids. Was I scared? Not really. It took a lot of concentration obeying the orders from our guide Mike and the water was cold when it splashed, but there was never really a time I felt my life was in danger or even of going out of the raft. Mostly it was just a thrill -- natures' own roller coaster.
Note something that was almost as fun: listening to Lisa holler during the rapids. She makes such adventures so much more of a full sensory experience.
The final canyon was almost 30 minutes of pure rapids and some of them were crazy. I wasn't aware of how crazy until they showed us the pictures later. I got a small indication, when I realized I wedged my foot so hard under in the side of the raft the I had to do some contortions to get it out. We even surfed a few of the rapids, filling the whole boat with freezing, roaring water (Lisa was still louder).
When Mike told us that the rapids were done (boo) and we jumped in and let the current take us to the take out site. That last float was relaxing (still freezing) and I couldn't help but note how it was an interesting mirror to the first swim filled with nerves, adrenaline, and the need to pee.
The bus ride back, they showed us the pics they took from the shore while we were in the thick of it (for sale, which we bought + a t-shirt). Once back to the parking lot we changed into shorts/short sleeves since the temperature of the beautiful day was 100% different than the water's chill. After, scarfing down the PB&J Vanessa had made for us, we let Kip romp around on the shore of Hope for a few minutes before driving to Girdwood to meet the family at the Forest Festival.
The festival was sort of like Santa Clara Art & Wine...but with less personal hygiene, an overwhelming amount of tie-dye, and more dreadlocks. Still plenty of cool art, three stages of good music, and (the best part) beers in souvenir stainless pint glasses that came with an attached caribeener. The kids' activities were a hit too: rock and wood painting, magic wand making, and a fairy forest (ok, that last one Haley made up, it was just a little wood patch near the beer garden that the kids collected rocks in).
While we were downing our IPAs in the near-perfect weather, we got a recount of Van's great time with the kids, which included an impressive crepe making session. Next headed up to a nice restaurant named Jack Sprat at the base of the ski lodge. E fell asleep in the stroller and slept all through dinner. J -- who also really needed to fall asleep -- instead, fell in love with the Sledding dogs on the side of the road. And while the food delicious and we had one kid asleep, J was so busy (and overtired), it felt like we were watching two kids.
E woke up for the drive back and J zonked...which good since the traffic along the one-lane Seward highway was going 10-20 mph max for the 30 miles back. E had fun pointing out the water falls and construction vehicles. At one point he pointed to a large snow patch across the waterway and said, "That's a glay-cee-err."
Lisa responded, "how do you know?"
"See there's a little bit of blue and a little bit of white. That's glay-cee-err."
Amazed and unable to believe he'd picked up that tidbit from the Forest Ranger narration during the glacier cruise, we asked, "Where'd you learn that?"
"The lady said that on the boat we went on."
Kids will never cease to amaze me. He has no idea where he left his shoes 10 seconds ago, but he absorbs facts about glaciers from a 2 hour lecture...half of which he was playing with a toy train.
After finally getting both kids in bed by about 10:30. J transferred fine, but E's 6:30pm nap screwed up any ideas of an early bedtime...for any of us. We still had a couple hours of packing to do. Very late, (and still, very light). We hit the sack.
Monday 7/6
Anchorage to San Jose
Our layover in Seattle was saved by the fact we got a prime airplane viewing spot in the middle of the food court. And even with that, I could not wait to get on that final plane -- which, of course, was delayed. Once we were on board, though, all went smooth. Oma and Opa picked us up and we happily arrived home just as the sun set for the first time in ten days...for us.
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ReplyDeleteRegards,
Avika