Well, even though things have looked down for me the past month, this weekend was worth my trip here. Me, Dina, Danilee, Tommy their kids Trent and Ryley and our new friends Sterling and Kneely went to Anchorage for the fourth of July weekend. The drive there was 6 hours but was breathtaking. I have never in my life seen mountains as big as those! They were beautiful. The water was an amazing color blue and most mountains still had some snow on them. I saw on moose cross the road, and got to drive through Denali. I have seen a little bit of Mt. McKinley one day here in Fairbanks but unfortunately it was too cloudy to see McKinley this weekend.
We got a late start on Friday (as usual), and I got an amazing deal on priceline negotiator for our hotels. We were all excited and headed off on our journey. We got to Anchorage at around 6pm and settled into our hotel rooms. The hotel was really nice, it was an extended stay deluxe suite and for the first time in a month I got to sleep on a bed! I know that sounds silly but Dina and I do not have beds here at the house and have been sleeping on cots for the past month so neither of us wanted to get up on Saturday or Sunday.
Friday night we freshened up and went downtown Anchorage to a really cute outdoor restaurant. I got to eat fresh Alaskan Red Salmon.....and it was AMAZING! The best salmon I have ever had. After that the girls went walking downtown and did some shopping until the fireworks show at midnight. At 11:30 we met up with the guys and headed over to the baseball field. It was weird because the sun was setting at that time, so it was still pretty light outside. I have always watched fireworks when it is pitch black so this was different but pretty. It got a little darker in Anchorage because it's further south, so by 1am it was weird to see the sky get dark because I have been used to constant light. When the fireworks were done we headed back to the hotel and crashed for the night.
Saturday we woke up, ate breakfast at Sterling and Kneely's room and then headed out to the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation. The drive there was AMAZING and something I will never forget. That whole stretch of road is beside the sound and all you see is beautiful grayish water, huge snow covered mountains shooting out from the sound, and beautiful clouds. The whole time I was saying "whoa", "look at that", and then I had to pause and thank God for creating such incredible beauty. I felt so close to the Lord driving along something so beautiful! I cannot understand how someone could see something like that and deny that there is a wonderful creator that formed that with His own hands. We stopped to take occasional pictures and after getting lost we made it to the conservation. There were bears, moose, bison, elk, reindeer, fox, eagles, and linx all within an amazing backdrop of the mountains. It was really cool to see the Alaskan wildlife up close because I have never seen some of those animals before. After that we went to a town called Whittier. To get there you have to pay to go through a tunnel carved out in the middle of a huge mountain. Trains go through there to take tourists to and from the town, but after the trains go trough they let cars and buses drive on the train tracks to get to the town. It was kinda weird but very cool too. We popped open the sunroof and saw all the rocks and little waterfalls. It was 2 1/2 miles and when we got to the other side it was sooooo pretty! It is a little fishing town and as soon as we got out we saw a HUGE princess cruise line ship docked. There were boats, trains, and once again amazing snow covered mountains. we drove around, and then ate at this beautiful restaurant that overlooked the sound. I couldn't stop staring out the window at God's beauty! After we were done we headed back to the hotel, and watched for wales the whole way back but did not see any. We then went to a place called Alaskan Wildberry Farms. They have a lot of chocolate and jelly that they sell and ship all over the world. They had the "Worlds Largest Chocolate Waterfall", it was kinda stupid but....it smelled soooooo good and I had to get a picture by it, b/c I am a chocoholic! :) We tasted a variety of chocolates, and walked around the gift shop. We then went to a sports bar where the guys played pool and the girls split a huge piece of chocolate cake. It was 1am till we got back to the hotel and went to bed after an exciting day.
Sunday we went to a local church, then went out to lunch at this place called the Peanut Farm. It was good, and the weather was beautiful. After that we met up with Sterling and Kneely and headed back to Fairbanks. Along the way we stopped to take more pictures, and stopped in Denali to eat dinner at the famous Alaskan Salmon Bake. Again, another good meal. The Denali area is sooooo pretty. It has beautiful resorts, amazing mountains, a huge roaring river that people go rafting down, and cute little shops. After that we continued home and arrived back here at like 9pm.
All in all this trip was amazing. There were times of frustration, and impatience on my part, but I got time to myself away from the others (which I needed) and saw things I will never forget. It was the best 4th of July ever!
I am trying to get better at blogging everyday, and will try to be more consistent to fill you all in! Miss you all!
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