Hi everyone! I know that I’ve been slacking on blog posts lately, however that’s because I’ve been fulfilling a promise that I made to myself at the beginning of the year. That promise was to travel more and I’ve been doing my best to make that happen.
My most recent travels took me on an unforgettable adventure and showed me one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. I took a short, but well worth it trip to Alaska, which is somewhere that I never knew should be on everyone’s bucket list. From camping on the beach in Homer, to halibut fishing and brewery hopping, this was one I’ll never forget. We saw volcanos, glaciers, sea otters and the Northern lights.
The trip started off with a 12-hour layover in Seattle, which was a blessing in disguise because I was able to reconnect with an old friend and explore a city that I’ve never been to before! We took the train from the airport in Seattle down to the super touristy area of Pike Place Market where we saw the “throwing of the fish” and then sat and had a beer overlooking the water. We had an awesome brunch at Matt’s in the Market filled with great cocktails and the best fish sandwiches I’ve ever had! This place is located above the market and is famous for their Pacific Northwest cuisine and their BOMB bloody Mary’s. After wandering around the city and finding the best view we could, we ended up at Elliot’s Oyster House. The food and drinks were out of this world, but the view was what really got me. Sitting on a pier overlooking the water while slurping down oysters is a great place to be. To sum it all up, There’s nothing better than a day-trip adventure, but I’ll definitely be back to Seattle to do some more exploring.
We made it to Alaska late that night and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hit up an Anchorage dive bar. It was everything you’d imagine a crappy bar in Alaska to be, along with locals buying us rounds of beer. The next morning we took a four hour drive to Homer and set up camp on the beach for the night. One thing I noticed about this state is how friendly and trustworthy everyone seems to be. We bought firewood at some stop along the road and paid for it by dropping money in a box. So many things here seem to be based on the honor system, which is very unusual and refreshing to see.
Sleeping in a tent on the beach and watching the sunset (around 9pm at that point) and sunrise was incredible, but the highlight of my trip was the halibut fishing. We got on a boat at 7 in the morning and fished all day long with a couple of strangers and a local who was our captain for the day. While it was a bit more gruesome than I’d imagined, we had the best time taking in the sites and enjoying the beautiful weather.
If you’re ever in Homer be sure to hit up the Salty Dog Saloon. It’s a tiny bar that even I had to duck through the doorway to get into. The walls are covered in dollar bills that patrons have written on and it’s a great spot to get some local Alaskan brewed beer. I didn’t realize how big beer and breweries were in Alaska until visiting. That night, our captain and a few of his local friends joined us at the campfire where we got to see some faint views of the Northern Lights which were more than enough for me.
Overall, my take away from this trip was how important it is to be open minded when it comes to traveling. Sleeping on a bed full of rocks and watching a 40 pound fish be filleted may not have been my first idea of a vacation, but it was most definitely the best one I’ve ever had.
