July 2010
Alaska has always been near the top of my list of dream vacation destinations. This year, I finally made it there. After spending Canada Day in Vancouver, BC, we spent a week travelling by cruise ship to Seward, AK with stops at Ketchikan, Juneau, Hoonah, Skagway and Hubbard Glacier. Cruise ship is about the only way to visit most of these locations since most aren’t accessible by land. However, you don’t have to spend much time stuck on the ship since just about every day you’re in port at another city. In the second week, we ventured into Alaska’s interior travelling by bus from Seward to Anchorage and by train from Anchorage to Talkeetna and to Denali National Park. After 2 nights in Denali, a bus took us to Fairbanks. This part of the tour was even better than the first. We got out of the touristy areas that cater to the cruise companies and got to see real life in Alaska. After two weeks enjoying Alaska (and never seeing any darkness the entire time), we flew to Seattle and spent one day there before returning to Philadelphia and going back to a diet that doesn’t include salmon with almost every meal. I took over 4,700 photos and saved about 1,300 of those photos. Approximately 600 of those are displayed here. They are arranged by day. I suggest starting with day one and working your way through in order to get the best feel for the trip. I also shot a few short video clips.