Over the years we've been to Alaska close to a dozen times. Needless to say we're kind of fond of the state known as "The Last Frontier". Getting here this time was a little more challenging than previous adventures. We've cruised here from San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver. While living in Texas we also flew to Anchorage several times from Dallas. This time we started the journey a little further away in Tampa, which added a couple of hours of flying and a layover in Minneapolis. The extra hours in the plane, combined with wearing a mask and being stuck on the back row of a completely full flight from Minneapolis, had Beth and I pondering if this was going to be our last trip to this huge and amazing state. We've been here for a little over a day, the circulation is returning to our lower legs and we're already talking about the prospects of future visits.
Having lived in Texas for over twenty years we were constantly bombarded with the saying "everything is bigger in Texas". While that may be true in many instances, when it comes to size Texas comes in a very distant second to Alaska. Alaskans are quick to point out that you could fit Texas into Alaska two times. Surrounded by water on three sides, Alaska with 6,640 miles of shoreline also easily wins the title of "state with the most shoreline". If you're keeping score, Florida comes in a very distant second with 1,350 miles of shore line. Massive snow covered mountains, lakes and rivers everywhere, the scenic coast line, abundant wildlife and not too many people (even less right now since the cruise ships aren't running) makes this a perfect match for what we enjoy.
We landed in Anchorage just before 9:00 PM and while it's not quite the "land of the midnight sun" yet, it's getting close. Sunset is currently around 10:30 and the sun is making it's way up by 5:00. By the summer solstice (June 20 this year) there will be over 22 hours of sunlight. On the other end of the spectrum, on the winter solstice (December 21), Anchorage will have only five hours of sunlight (approximately 10:30-3:30).
We're not planning to spend too much time in Anchorage on this adventure but we did enjoy the beautiful spring morning that we woke up to after getting some rest. The temperature was in the 50's and not a cloud in the sky. We were pleased to see that the Snow City Cafe had survived the pandemic and was doing a bustling business. When we went to leave, the friendly server who had taken care of us said "enjoy your time in Alaska". We laughed and wondered how she figured out we weren't residents!
Just a few blocks from the Snow City Café is Elderberry Park. This small park overlooking the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet is the downtown trailhead for the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. This trail is a part of a very extensive trail system in and around Anchorage We had really enjoyed biking part of this eleven mile paved, multiuse trail before (there are plenty of bike rental shops near the trailhead). This time we enjoyed a nice walk along a section from the Elderberry Park trailhead past the intersection with the Chester Creek Trail before turning around. It's a nice flat trail with amazing views that can be enjoyed on foot or bike at this time of year, or cross country skies in the winter.
A trail, a bench and a view........
After a quick trip to WalMart, we left Anchorage a little after noon heading for our next destination, Homer, which is located on the Kenai Peninsula. Our GPS told us it was a little over a four hour drive, but this wasn't a race to get here so we stopped and detoured numerous times along the way to enjoy the scenery. We made it to the Ocean Shores Hotel a little before 6:00. The view out our window is like a post card (and makes a great blogging spot). We've enjoyed visiting Seward, which is also on the Kenai Peninsula, but this is our first time visiting Homer. We're looking forward to a few days of exploring this area and all it has to offer and of course, sharing some of it in this blog.
