Alaska – Anchorage

July 9 Monday 

Gage & Reid's last day with us in Alaska. After breakfast at the Bagel Factory we headed downtown to see what there was interesting to do. Reid noticed segways for rent at Bear Square. We checked into it and they could do a 2 hour tour of the city on segways! Everyone was up for that and so we booked a tour for Gary, Gage & Reid for 2pm. Checked out the visitor's center and then they grabbed a quick lunch of reindeer hot dogs before the ride. For those of you who are not sure what a segway is, I have included some pictures. The tour starts with a 15 minute crash course on how to ride a segway and they all took to it like fish to water. 

In line for reindeer hot dogs

Ready to tour!

On the tour!

Gage chilling after tour!

Reid chilling after tour!

 

We met Marc & Ann Phillips for dinner at Bear Tooth Theater Pub.  This is a great local restaurant which has delicious pizza (among other things) and is a favorite with the locals. Marc is the brother of Carol Peters who I worked with for years at Cornell. When she heard we were headed to Alaska she introduced us via email and what a great connection they have been! Marc is the Director of Recreational Programs at the Moseley Sports Center at APU (Alaskan Pacific University). The first thing he did for us was to provide a spot to park our RV at the Center while we were in Anchorage. Then he offered to give Gage & Reid a guided tour of Mt. Marathon. Marc and his wife Ann have run that race many times. That didn't work out as the mountain was closed while were in Seward because of the missing racer which I had mentioned in a previous post. Both Marc and Ann have been so welcoming to us...we sure have appreciated their hospitality. We had a great time at dinner talking about our adventures and Marc and Ann's experiences of living in Alaska. They lead an adventurous life...both having climbed Mt. McKinley several times and are avid bicyclists, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. Thanks Carol, for the introduction! 

With Marc and Ann at Bear Tooth

11:30pm came too quickly. We had to have the boys to the airport in plenty of time to get through security and catch their 1:43am flight home. Our 17 days with them went by way too fast. We had such a good time with them here. Tried to squeeze in as much Alaska and adventure into their visit as possible. We will miss having them here with us. 

Leaving Alaska! :(

 ____________________________________________________________

July 8 Sunday 

Time to head back to Anchorage so Gage & Reid can catch their flight early Tuesday morning (1:43am). The first time we drove through Turnagain Arm it was rainy and foggy, not very picturesque, but on our return trip it is a sunny day and the scenery is beautiful. 

Turnagain Arm

We got to Anchorage about 12 and first on the agenda was to find a motel. Finally secured a room at a Motel 6, not far from downtown Anchorage and the airport.

Plugged in at Motel 6

We ate lunch at Humpy's where Gary and I had eaten when we were in Anchorage waiting for the boys to arrive. Very casual place, but good food. We did some walking around downtown since the boys had not seen it yet. We did some shopping. Lots of activity as it was a Sunday so we decided to come back the next day and find an adventure for the boy's last day in Anchorage. Don't know if I mentioned before how beautiful the flowers are in Alaska...thought I would include a few pictures of some of the ones in downtown Anchorage. 

 Beautiful flowers!

Oh, by the way, Gary ran into Sarah!