I started my trip with my typical routine I usually do when getting to a new place. I find a hot local diner for breakfast, in Anchorage, it was Snow City Cafe. The food was INCREDIBLE! I loved it so much I came back twice for their coffee to go and once more for food during my stay. Once at the diner, this is when I do research on the city, or simply ask my waitress/bartender for recommendations. This time around I knew I wanted to get some hiking in, see some wildlife, explore the city, see glaciers, eat amazing seafood, check out the nightlife, etc. Since I didn't have a car and it was pretty rainy for most of my trip I decided to opt for the Coastal Trail (a 12-mile long trail you can access by foot from downtown that allows you to make it as easy or as difficult of a trail you want). On this trail, I did see a moose, super cool to see and actually a lot nicer than you would think. Went on an impromptu trip to their "beach"/motocross practice area that had incredible views. Walked around the Anchorage Saturday Market and picked up a stunning new piece of handmade jewelry. Saw the neighborhood pet "Star the Reindeer". I met a super lovely older couple at a really cute pizza parlor called Fat Parmigan. They just got off a cruise ship and reminded me how small of a world it really is. They live about 20 miles away from me, in the greater Chicagoland area. I also met a politician that manages the campaign for someone running for State Senate. Anchorage is quite small.

Other than exploring the city and meeting amazing new people I napped A LOT. I would go out and explore during the day, come back and nap, go out explore some more, come back and nap, at this point, it would be 9 pm and I was ready for the night to begin. My body clock was like "hey it's sunny out you should be up", and I would stay up extremely late. My body was confused for a few days if not an entire week following my trip.

Enjoy the beauty

Sunday we drove into Seward, it's a beautiful 3-hour drive South of Anchorage through the mountains. The views were absolutely incredible and the people I was with were great for a road trip. Seward is the town where everyone drives into for the 4th. A super cute town with extremely friendly people. We went to dinner and met some other friends here. Watched fireworks right on the water (which started at midnight and even though it wasn't fully dark, Seward has more mountains than Anchorage, therefore, gets slightly darker and you were able to see the fireworks). I couldn't have imagined spending a 4th any other way. Beautiful views, fireworks, Alaskan beer and vodka, A LOT of laughing, bubbles, and most importantly new friends. On the 4th Seward has a huge 4th of July party and marathon. It's called the Mt. Marathon and is extremely known in the running community. We watched the start of the men and women race and went to the finish line for the men portion. Let me tell you that looked DIFFICULT, and I've done a Spartan Race. I would not want to be running that (especially after drinking the night before). But it was so amazing to see people do it, run up that mountain and come back with joy in their eyes. I felt their accomplishments and had mad respect for the runners.

And just like that my time in Alaska was over. The trip was memorable and I highly recommend it to anyone that wants an out of the ordinary trip. I would definitely go back and check out things I didn't get a chance to do: Glaciers, Flattop, Dog Sledding and the Iditarod. A few fun facts I noticed when there: