“We lived in Alaska.”

Here, in the lower 48, many times it blows people’s minds when we say we moved here from Alaska. Our son proudly says to anyone who will ask: “I was born in Alaska”. We still have our front Alaskan license plate on our car, because it’s a good reminder of what a great adventure that was, and also a good conversation starter. And yet, during the three years we lived there, I basically didn’t post anything about our time in the ‘last frontier’, with the exception of our very first trip on our very first week in Alaska, to the spectacular Lake Clark.

I feel like I need to fix that. It’s been a little over three years since we left Anchorage, and it’s time for a few posts to reminisce on our time there, from simple, daily life in Anchorage, to visiting Denali National Park, driving the Old Alaska Highway and visiting Fairbanks in the middle of winter.

First stop: Anchorage, a.k.a. not “the real Alaska”, and yet, where moose literally roam the streets.

We lived in a small apartment on O Place, walking distance from great trails and the best view in town of Knik Arm, Mount Susitna (also called The Sleeping Lady), and, on clear days, even Denali!

For a little boy, there was no better form of entertainment than watching trains and planes (from three different airports -Anchorage International, Merrill Field and Elmendorf Air Force Base) go by all day right in front of our living room window.

We were a short walk from downtown and our favorite breakfast place, Snow City Cafe. We were also very close to our favorite restaurant, Glacier Brewhouse. The best pizza place in town, Moose’s Tooth, was a bit further, but definitely worth the drive. And there was no shortage of great coffee shops in town, such as Steam Dot and Kaladi Brothers. Just thought I’d mention these, in case you ever happen to be in Anchorage and are looking for good food or coffee. And if you’re looking for a good Happy Hour with great views, then there’s Simon and Seafort’s.

Yes, it was really cold and really dark in the winter, and yet there was all this spectacular natural beauty right outside our doorstep that made up for it, like when we spotted a pod of beluga whales right from our living room window, or when we saw the Northern Lights one late night as we were up with our little baby son. We also encountered wonderful people there, who were kind, good friends to us. It was a wonderful opportunity and a great experience for our family, so I’m grateful we can say, “we lived in Alaska.”