Alaska Trip 2014

We went to Alaska.

Here’s the story behind it:

Dan and James have been best friends forever and ever. James is in the Army and his family has been all over the country at different bases and he is currently stationed in Anchorage. We had some flyer miles and time to visit AND James was on leave so we just went for it. We didn’t have huge grand plans or a list of things to see because our sole reason for going was to visit them. If we went in the summer I think we would have MUCH busier doing every single thing we could think of while we were there, but this trip was about as relaxing as they come, hanging out, eating good food, going on long drives, and watching movies at home. It was exactly what we needed at the end of a long wedding season and we got to be around people we love whole heartedly. They just happen to live in a GORGEOUS PLACE!!!

So let me tell ya about it:

The following two photos we taken at 4:00 pm and 10:00am. It was dark a lot there.

Here are James and Lauren fawning over their little girl. It was so fun to meet her ourselves!!! She is the first baby that I have ever met that made me think, “Hmm…. maybe I could do this baby thing!”

Alaska still has Blockbusters!! We decided to pay homage to the good old days and go as a group to walk around and pick it out. Then we ordered Papa John’s and had it delivered. So 1997 eh?
We did A LOT of  “STOP THE CAR I NEED TO TAKE A PHOTO.” Im sure you can image that.




Us being cute. Obviously.




We got to do a few portrait sessions while we were there because really… we could NOT go there and not photograph people in love in that environment. Luckily we have TWO couples who we are friends with who live in Anchorage so we made it happen. You’ll see them soon on the blog so stay tuned.

One of my favorite things we did while we were there was go to a movie at a theater that served delicious pizza and some of the best beer I have ever had. I wish I could have all three of those things again right this moment.

Here are the details for your trip: Bear Tooth Theaterpub serving the Moose’s Tooth Pizza and Broken Tooth Brewing beer, (I loved the Hard Apple Ale omg omg omg omg omg). So now you know and now you must go.

Another stellar experience was the Anchorage Museum. I loved the design of the building. I loved the special exhibit. I loved the kids science area. I loved learning about Alaskan Culture and History. I loved the art. I loved the view. It ruled.




One of the best things about being in Alaska is that literally everywhere you go, and everywhere you look, IT IS BEAUTIFUL! We spent a lot of our time gasping and looking around wide eyed. To give you an example, this is a photo of the Target parking lot.

The most adventurous part of the trip was the hike that Dan went on with James, and a few of James’ lieutenants.  Since I didn’t go, I’ll pass it over to Dan to tell you about it: James and I had the idea of doing a hike up Crow Pass but had no motivation, on the last day we finally decided to go for it. Arriving at the road up to the trail head, we realized it was to icy to make it up by car – add another mile. By the time we made it to the trail head I was already tired! The hike is about 3 miles straight up (or it feels like it) a mountain. Once above tree line the snow got really deep and we switched to snowshoes. I have never hiked in snow that deep or in Mountains that large, it was incredible! We finally made it to our stop at a cabin to try to warm up. It was a welcome rest. We only had about 30 minutes to break before we had to return to try to make it back down before dark. We started in the dark and ended in the dark. The trip was one of the more tiring adventures I have done in my life…

And then we flew home, packed up our apartment, and headed south for the winter.