North-By-Northwest: A Vancouver and Alaska Family Vacation, Days 4-5

Saturday morning, we woke in Vancouver and had breakfast before packing our bags and heading for the airport.  It was a good thing we arrived early because we had to go through US customs while still in Canada, then got flagged (randomly) by Homeland Security for a full inspection…at least we were able to bypass the lines because of Lily.

Finally at the gate, the rest of the flight went off without a hitch and Lily slept the entire time.  Our route took us along the Inside Passage of both Canada and Alaska and at times we were rewarded with spectacular glacier and mountain views.

Slept the whooooole flight!

A couple photos of the glaciers from our plane window

Once in Anchorage, we grabbed our bags and headed to the hotel to pick up my sister and her husband who had arrived a couple hours earlier.  We then grabbed a late lunch at a nearby diner before heading downtown to the Saturday Market where we all picked up some treats and/or souvenirs.  Then we returned to the hotel to run some errands before heading to dinner at the Moose’s Tooth Brewery and Pizza Pub…it was delicious and walking distance from the hotel.  It also just so happened that it was the summer solstice so we were able to enjoy the longest day of the year in the state that has the longest summer days in the US.  On our way home from dinner at 10 pm, it was still bright as could be outside.  Sunset was close to midnight and sunrise was just after 4 am so it never truly got dark.

On our walk home from dinner

Sunday morning started early with breakfast at the hotel before heading to the train station for a day trip on the Alaska Railroad.  The route we chose took us southeast from Anchorage along the Turnagain Arm before heading into a mountain valley for a whistle stop at the Spencer Glacier.  It also included an out-and-back layover at the port city of Whittier.  Once in the Spencer area, we did a flat 5 mile hike that took us to a small glacier-fed lake the gave us close-up views of the glacier itself.  I had never been that near a glacier and its size was impressive. 

Lily had a great time on her first train ride!

So many beautiful views

The glacier up close and Lily getting some camera training in

Our train

Family photo by the glacier

Upon completing the hike we did a combination of train and bus to return to Anchorage, where we had dinner downtown at a seafood bar called Humpy’s, which was good, but a little slow on service.  After dinner we called it a night at the hotel.  Tomorrow, we head north to Denali.