Pat2003

After reading so many of your posts on Alaska I strongly believe it is time for you to plan your next trip. The main purpose of my post is to ask you whether you would do Kenai Fjords cruise again? Which one and why? How many nights are you going to dedicate to Seward and why? How about Homer? How long are you going to stay there? Why? Did you ever think about driving to Alaska? What other places in Alaska do you wish to visit? You always have so many great ideas, suggestions and experiences hence I may just copy your itinerary.

BayouGal

And here I thought I was going to clean my house today, Pat! LoL I am working on a trip for next summer. Still in the early planning stages, however, so don't have an itinerary per se yet. Will depend on how long we can both take off work. We are going to be empty nesters this year [youngest of 4 starts college this fall] and we have kind of forgotten how to travel without kids. . . but, oh, the savings! ;-)

Yes, I'd definitely do the NW Glacier Kenai Fjords (9.5 hr--ours was 10.5) trip again. We went on a dreary, rainy day last summer and it was still fabulous. We saw so much wildlife--the reason our trip was an hour longer than normal--even saw a hump back whale breach about 30 ft from our boat. The glaciers were magnificent. Also, want to do more kayaking among the glaciers. I LOVE glaciers.

I want to MOVE to Homer. DH is not too wild about the idea--couldn't take the winters, but I'd try it in a heartbeat. So now I'm trying to talk him into summers in Homer, and rest of the year here. I think our professions would lend themselves to that, too.

When we retire, I think driving will be something we'll jump at the chance to do. Right now, we couldn't get that much time off.

I want to "see the bears!" Didn't do that last summer. And gosh, I could go on and on. When is your next trip?

BayouGal

Pat, have you seen JC98's photos? OMG, stunning shots! Check them out--there's a link near the bottom of "JC98, waiting on your detailed Alaska trip report!" It'll make you "Alaska sick", though, so be warned (as opposed to "homesick." LoL)

corwin

bayougal,
i read about your love of glaciers in another thread last night, and here it is again! i understand your attraction to them. in two photos i've taped to the wall my glaciers (yes, i'm attached) reveal, in a 'head-on' at the waterline, their underwater beauty and size in comparison to the above water glacier part. i am so riveted my these photographs, torn from magazines, i should get them framed. the hold my attention the way a good thriller does. i am riveted by glaciers. do you know where i can find more pictures?

BayouGal

Search online for glaciers if you want to see photos online. Starting points might be Columbia Glacier, Glacier National Park, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska cruise websites usually have glacier photos, and Mt. McKinley photos from the air usually show the many glaciers originating there. Once you get started, I'm sure you'll find lots of photos.

dwooddon

I also have several glacier photos at

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/209893/index.html

Pat2003

BayouGal, keep me posted as you come up with new ideas for your trip. As to moving to Homer, you would be surprised how mild winters are in Homer. Lately winters there have milder temperatures than in Northeast, for instance. Unfortunately it also means less snow, melting glaciers, less moisture for tundra and less food for wildlife. We too contemplated spending a whole summer in Homer but decided on Anchorage as it is more central so we could get to many more destination. We are seriously thinking about driving to Alaska in 2007 and spending there 2-3 months. However, I cannot imagine being on a road for so many days, driving so many miles with a cat on the back seat. 10-12 days on the road scare me. How, where and when do we do laundry? How do we eat healthy food, how do we find out places to buy buy fresh fruits? Are we going to be too tired to enjoy Alaska once we get there? So many things to consider. As you see I never took a very long road trip.

BayouGal

Pat, it sounds like you are the one that needs to keep me posted!!! Please keep me posted on your 2007 plans. It'll be here before we know it! I really would LOVE to hear more about your summer in Alaska. What year was that? Did you have an apt or an RV? Are you retired? I think we could easily work part of the year there if that's what it took for us to live there awhile, (if not all year yet), we are a pharmacist and a nurse/educator.

Pat2003

I'm sorry for a confusion. I should say we decided on Anchorage in 2007. We would definitely rent a house or apartment. I found one house on vrbo but it costs about $5,000 per month. I cannot imagine staying in RV for a few months. I need my space and washing machine. No, I am not retired but my husband is. I am involved in research in the university and fortunatley most of the time able to coordinate my travels with requirements of my research. Nothing better than having dependable graduate students conducting majority of work.

BayouGal

Who knows, Pat. Maybe a miracle will occur and DH will want to spend the summer there next year, too. At the very least, we are planning another trip. I am so looking forward to it. And yes, I can definitely second the blessing grad students can be!

Pat2003

BayouGal, just use you power of persuasion.
Meanwhile, we are getting ready to go home to hot Northeast after spending almost a full month in NC.
Our trip to Alaska is coming in a few weeks. If you want me to check anything out for you, accommodations or attractions, let me know know and I will be more than happy to do my best.

dfrostnh

I just wanted to let you both know I'll enjoy seeing your trip plans. It's interesting to talk with people who vacationed in Alaska and went back to live. One couple we know hauled water for several years because none of the drilled wells worked out. Finally figured out a way to get well water. Pat, many campgrounds have laundry facilities but you can always simply stop at any laundry (bring a book). If you are traveling when fresh produce is available, you can get a list of farmers markets from the state dept. of agriculture. On our first trip to AK my husband and son drove across country but I flew to Seattle where we met up and then we took the ferry to Skagway. Then drove two days to Anchorage. You do want to be careful to plot out your stops when you go thru Canada so you know where the gas stations are and when they open. The information is available, you just need to dig it up. We've only spent a month at a time in a camper on the east coast but you figure it out. I loved Homer but if I were spending the summer I might pick Palmer.

Pat2003

dfrostnh, thank you for so many helpful ideas. Our plan to drive to Alaska and spend there a whole summer is for 2007. I read some posts here yesterday on Arizona and came up with another and newer idea to first drive to Arizona and spent there a whole month of January. If on this trip to AZ my husband and I won't drive each other crazy and our cat won't have a fit around every curve then we can start planning our road trip to Alaska. Otherwise, my husband and I would fly, as always, and spend two-three weeks in Alaska. We cannot stay longer as we feel it wouldn't be fare to our cat. She misses my husband too much. She really doesn't care whether I'm back or not but that's an another long story.

dfrostnh, why would you chose Palmer? We love Anchorage and it is so central to all outdoor activities but would consider Palmer if you convince me this is better place to be for a whole summer. May I also ask where is your home? You wrote your son and husband drove across the country from home while you join them in Seattle. Did they speak to each other when you join them? Did you take your own car on a ferry? We cannot consider a ferry as we are going to have a cat with us.
Did three of you drive back home all the way from Anchorage?

dfrostnh

Hi Pat, I'll try to get the name of the store in Soldotna. It's in the main shopping area. We spent a weekend in Palmer at Alaska Garden Gate B&B. I like gardening, liked being in a more quiet area than Anchorage, and it seems to be further north. There's a lot of traffic around Anchorage even though it's probably one of the most beautiful cities in the world. My son and husband are very close and it was a good chance to be together after his final year in the military that was spent overseas. Yes, it was his car on the ferry and it stayed in AK for awhile. We flew home. Our son drove back to NH later. People can take animals on the ferry but they have to stay in the vehicle. There are set times during the day when people are allowed onto the car deck to take care of their animals. Last year Alaska Air charged $35 per cat to fly from ANC to NH. We live in NH. When we spent so much time on the road one summer I was surprised how well we did although I will admit to getting a bit peevish during one laundry place. I remember thinking that we might be able to survive retirement.
Did you visit the store in Homer where they made fleece clothing and canvas bags? It was quite a large store but they said they started in a school bus.

jetset1

Sweeney's, the workingman's store,
We know what you're looking for!

Right on the Kenai Spur next to Mykal's restaurant. J.

dfrostnh

Thanks JetSet!

Pat2003

Thank you dfrostnh, great information and a lot to think about. We cannot take our cat on a plane. She is 20 and there is no way we would expose here to be in a carrier for so many hours. She is in a great health and physical shape but at her age the vet and we are against any sedatives.
Only one more month before our visit to Alaska this year.
Thanks Jetset1. Do you know the best places for berry picking between Soldotna and Homer?

Pat2003

Corwin, check this website for more than 3,000 photos of Alaskan glaciers
http://www.alaskastock.com/resultsfr...alaska+glacier

jetset1

Pat2003~ I will get some juicy info. for you on where to pick berries. Now that they are full of fish, the bears shouldn't be as much of a threat(never wise to get into a jam with one)..
I will remind you that nickel size blueberries are across the bay from Homer. Makes the puny ones that come in the muffin boxes look microscopic by comparison! J.

Pat2003

J., thanks again and I would love to get all juicy information on where to pick all juicy berries. If you want you can e-mail this info to me or just post it here. When is your trip to Hawaii coming up? I'm so excited for you.