Alaskan Adventure

I had an amazing time in Alaska. It was wonderful getting outside in the cool weather and enjoying all there is to do. My first day I got to meet all of the adorable kids Maleia watches and take them to the park. I can't manage 3 kids at the park across the street from me, but Maleia can walk 6 kids a mile to the park. My sister is truly an amazing woman! My first thought was how mad my kids would be to find out I went all the way to Alaska to play with other kids! On day 2 I teamed up with Suzi (wife of Bill's co-worker and Pflugerville native) on a Thelma & Loise inspired day trip to Seward. We were hoping to ride the train, but it was full so we rented a car instead. It turned out for the best because we were able to stop and take some great pictures, including the moose (nicknamed Mickey Mouse b/c Suzi can't spell when texting her hubby). In Seward we took a day cruise out to Aialik Glacier. Being native Texans, it slipped both Suzi's and my mind that DUH glacier = cold! So shivering on our 6 hour cruise we had a great time spotting whales, sea lions, orka whales, puffin, and a bald eagle. We saw a total of 3 glacier on our cruise, but only one that was on the water and could hear the calving. One sight that could have been left off our cruise was all the passengers who couldn't handle the rough sea. Back in Seward, Suzi and I ate at Chinooks where we could look out the window and see the catch of the day, which included a shark and 300 lb halibut! Since we sat all day, our last adventure in Seward was a hike to Exit Glacier. I was a little nervous after reading the post with 3 bear sighting for the day. We only spotted a tree with bear marking and a guy that almost fell in the glacier stream while trying to cross it. We made it back to Anchorage at 11:30 pm, and yes it was still light outside! The next day Suzi and I decided to hike Flattop Peak (I renamed it stair master). At the top we had some amazing views of downtown Anchorage. I hadn't learned my lesson from Seward, but thankfully Maleia told me to dress warmer when she saw me in capris that morning. Unfortunately I slipped in the mud and had to hike down with cold wet mud all over my behind. The next day Maleia and I took the kids to the zoo and had passes to see the polar bears up close! They had a web camera set up on the bears to link to a children's hospital in Houston. Maleia and her friend Barry took Bill, Travis (co-worker & Suzi's husband), and I on a hike to Winner Creek Trail. It was a great trail at the base of the ski resort, but if you stopped walking you were attacked by Alaska's state bird, the Mosquito! The best part had to be the hand tram across the creek. After Bill left for Texas to relieve Nani, I set off with Maleia for a sister's weekend. We drove out to Sutton for the day and then decided to stay true to our Grabinski blood and hustle the pool tables in downtown Anchorage. Saturday Maleia and Barry took me fishing on the Russian River where I very expertly caught 5 fish (you believe me right?). All I really caught was some great pictures of bears (oh my!) and a leaky wader with a foot soaked in really cold water. I was very impressed with all the salmon everyone else was pulling out of the river and just enjoyed not getting swept down river like one guy I saw. I was way too excited to follow the proper "bear safety" in my first bear encounter. Luckily there were several people there to scare the grizzly off. We also saw a mama black bear and her two cubs on our hike back to the car. Sunday we were way too tired to do much before my flight home, but I did try Sushi for the first time at dinner (jury still out on if I liked it). I had a wonderful time, but I have to say the best part was seeing Bill and the kids waiting for me at baggage claim in sweltering hot Austin.