The Real Alaska

Yesterday we went out of Anchorage and experienced a little of what the "real" Alaska is all about. We drove down to Portage Glacier with Dane's dad and met up with Dane's 3 cousins, 2 aunts, and Grandpa Dalzell (and a partridge in a pear tree?). It was beautiful to see so many mountains while we drove right on the edge of the inlet. We saw the Alaska train on our way (Ty can't wait to ride on the "yellow and blue train") and many beautiful wild flowers. Portage glacier is one of many glaciers that we saw and it was beautiful with the aqua blue hue that it emits. After a visit to the visitor's center (where I took a nice little nap during the informational video), we went back and saw Girdwood and Alyeska Resort. Girdwood is a little hippie town that turns into a great skiing place in the winter. We ate lunch at Chair 5, a nice little restaurant that's first rule on the menu is "No gunfights, beer brawls, or cursing." I guess the dark winters tend to take their toll on the locals! We then saw Alyeska resort, where Dane used to work when he lived here in 2001. It was beautiful. We ended the day with a great bar-b-que with steaks made by Dane and his dad. Then we stayed up too late playing Hawaiian Rummy (if you've never played, I'll have to teach you!).

Today we plan on laying low...we have a big family dinner tonight at Dane's grandparent's house to celebrate his and Dustin's birthdays and also to say goodbye to his 2 aunts and their kids.