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Trip to Kenai and Homer! - {Living in AK}



My father-in-law's life long dream has been to visit Alaska, and this summer he was finally able to do it! Him and my mother-in-law flew in at the end of August and we had a blast and the best part is, they got to meet their 4th grandchild! We also got to see a few new places when they visited which is always fun. On August 29th, we were off to Anchorage! On the way, we drove the 12 miles into Denali National Park and saw some Moose right on the side of the road. And yes, that is snow...in August.




The next day, we headed to Girdwood because dad wanted to go up the Arial Tram at the Alyeska Ski Resort! The highway from Anchorage down to Girdwood is right along the Turnagain Arm and on our way, I spotted a few Beluga Whales, literally on the side of the highway! I didn't get a good photo because they didn't jump out of the water (do beluga whales even do that? haha) but it was really awesome. The photo below is the very small city of Girdwood from the top of the ski hill.


Alyeska Resort from the top of the Ski Hill! The tram takes you up 2025 ft. to the top of Mt. Alyeska (which is 2300 ft. elevation).




After eating some lunch at the top of the ski hill, we made our way to Kenai! We went through the Turnagain Pass and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. Below are photos of Kenai Lake. My husband, dad and I had to climb our way through the woods, but it was SO worth it when we reached the outlook!




Finally, we made it to Kenai and explored a little bit. That night, my husbands parents watched the baby and we got to go out and walk the beach! It has been years since I've been to any beach and I am a total beach bum, so I was pretty excited. Even though it was windy and rocky, it was still awesome to be near salt water and to hear the waves rolling in and out!



The next morning we woke up and started our drive to Homer. This drive was equally as breathtaking! On the way we saw three active volcanos, Mt. Redoubt, Mt. Iliamna, and Mt. Augustine.


After taking a few photos, we drove the rest of the way to Homer! It was really neat because right when you get there, there is a pull out where you can see the Homer Spit and Mt. Augustine (one of the volcanos).





I think the Homer Spit was one of my favorite parts of this trip! It was so cute and full of tiny local shops and restaurants! It reminded me of a little beach town, which is super weird to think about in Alaska haha, but anyways, I got this awesome mug from Homer Clayworks there. This shop was SO cool and four local artists displayed their work there. We also ate at Captain Patties which I definitely reccomend if you're traveling to the Homer Spit! We had some delicous sea food.



After staying the night in Homer, my husband and I split from his parents and headed home. Since we've lived in Alaska, my husband has prayed to see Mt.Denali (formerly known as Mt. McKinley and also the tallest mountain in North America). We've headed to Denali National Park and to Anchorage around 8 times and until this point never had a clear enough day. Well on our way back from this trip, God gave us the clearest, most beautiful day and we finally saw the mountain!





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