gayleaboone
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2009
Hello--
I am new to the discussions, but several of you have sent messages asking about my Alaska trip (7/22-7/29). I went with my 9 yr old daughter and we had an amazing time!!!!!! I am happy to answer any questions. Also, I am posting below some information that I sent a friend who is going on this week's Alaska adventure:
"Some thoughts:
1. We had a great group: 2 nine year old girls; one 11 yr old girl; three 11 yr old boys; one 13 yr old girl; one 16 yr old girl; and a set of 4 yr old twins. So plenty of kids. The guides said there have been plenty of kids on all of the tours.
2. There were lots of nice adults, too: two sets of mom and dad; one set of grandparents; two single moms (including me); one grandmother alone with her grandson; and three couples without children.
3. Our guides were great and well informed: Jesse and Rae. If you have the same guides pls tell them hello for us!
4. We had very cool weather and we loved it!!!!! We did not have the gloriously sunny weather that other disboard members had, but it did not really seem to matter. The weather was sometimes sunny, sometimes drizzly, and sometimes cloudy. It never got above 60 degrees, but the air was so refreshing that it was marvelous to experience the cooler temperatures. We had our windows open every night! It has made Texas seem dreadfully hot and oppressive.
5. Clothes: We brought layers of clothing as suggested and that worked well. Mostly we wore a t-shirt, pants or jeans, and carried a fleece jacket and rain jacket with us. Some people brought fleece vests and that seemed a good idea because when hiking you had your arms free and didn't get too warm.
But most importantly bring gloves and a hat for the Kenai boat trip. I would also suggest that you bring 2 sets of gloves for younger kids---one set may get wet and you may need them for the next day.
We brought too few pants and too many shorts for the weather we had. I would suggest you bring 2 pairs of shorts and then bring pants or capris for the rest of the bottoms.
No need for skirts or dressy pants at all----VERY casual. Even at the farewell dinner most people wore jeans.
The kids again enjoyed the indoor pool, so bring swimsuits. The hot tub at the Alyeska is particularly nice.
The guides carry clear plastic ponchos on the bus if you need them.
6. Fairbanks.
My daughter and I had a few hours upon arrival, so we went to Pioneer Park: a free park which has pioneer houses moved there from around Fairbanks; some shops, a playground, dioramas (in the boat) of early colonies, etc. Simple but charming. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed it and it gave us some background.
Others said the museum at the University of Anchorage was remarkable, but we did not get there.
The guides and the hotel will give you a shuttle schedule for certain attractions; however, we found that the guys at the front desk (Andrew, etc) were very willing to take you in the hotel van to the same spots (and pick you up) if you are short on time, or if you just missed the shuttle pickup, which only comes once hour.
The Sophie Station is an apartment hotel; it is fine but basic. The dinner menu at the hotel is very pricey; My daughter and I opted to grab a pizza on the way home from Pioneer Park (asked the hotel guy to stop at the Great Alaska Pizza shop while we picked it up) and ate it in the "living room" of our apartment. Another option seemed to be to get a snack in the bar area. Others ate at the salmon bake at Pioneer Park.
7. Denali
We both enjoyed Denali and the trip there. The puppies are darling and the kennel and its owners are really interesting.
Denali is breathtaking. The hotel is good, with a magnificent view. Clearly the best hotel in the area.
You have one afternoon free in Denali. Some people took extra excursions: flight trips to mt mckinley, etc. My daughter decided that she did not want to take a plane trip to see mckinley, even though that would have been my choice. She decided that she wanted to go see the sled dogs used by the rangers in the Denali national park. There are free demonstrations at 4:00 each afternoon that depart from the visitor center at Denali (board the park bus from the visitor center at 3:20). She enjoyed this, and never seemed to regret not seeing mckinley. (Plus it saved me $350 each for the mckinley flight!)
We just grabbed a light meal in the hotel that night.
8. Alyeska/Girdwood
You will love this hotel---pretty, great sheets, lovely location. If you have a few moments, take the easy "Winner" trail on your left as you go out the rear of the hotel----it has soothing ferns, babbling brooks, etc.
There is some free time listed on day 6, but don't pre-pay for any excursions until you see if Rae is going to give an extra hike that afternoon, which you MUST take if she does it.
My daughter and I just went to the hot tub and then ate dinner at the hotel on the free night. Some people ate at the Seven Glaciers restaurant at the top of the mountain, but I gather it was more for adults. There sounded like there were some fun places in Girdwood that the guides recommended.
9. All three of the boat trips were exciting for both me and my daughter----we saw wildlife, incredible scenery, and enjoyed meeting the rowers/captains of the boats. The landscape is breathtaking. ABD does an amazing job of getting you away from the tour buses.
10. Mosquitoes were there, but not nearly as bad as you would think. The guides carry OFF so no need to bring it (but we never actually needed any)
11. We had very turbulent seas for our Kenai Fjords cruise----so bad that the captain turned us around half way. Many in our group got seasick (fortunately my daughter and I did not). This is the first time this summer that this has happened on one of the ABD trips, so I don't think you will have the same experience.
The kids (once on shore again) all thought it was a great adventure, and the stories about how bad it was just keep getting bigger! = )
Before we turned around, we did get to see seals, otters, puffins, sea lions, etc; the only animal we did not see was a whale----next time!
I am really glad, though, that I brought those pressure wristbands for seasickness with me and put them on my daughter just before we set out on the water. I had a second set for me but gave them to another 9 yr old who didn't have anything. (I don't usually get seasick) Neither girl got seasick while using the wristbands.
Remedies used by others: The mother of the 4 yr old twins gave them Dramamine, which put them immediately to sleep, so they did not get sick but also didn't get to see anything. One family used ginger tablets, but got sick anyway.
Anyway, bring some medication of your choice or wristbands for this, just in case.
The guides earned their pay that day!
12. Last day---Anchorage:
The guides had a 6:00 am and a 12:00 noon bus run from the hotel alyeska to anchorage and the airport on our last day (your schedule may vary depending on the flight times of your travelers). We took the noon bus, which dropped us off a the Marriott downtown which held our bags. You then must pay to get to the airport from the Marriott.
We had an extra day in Anchorage the day we flew in at the beginning of our trip, and did some of these things then:
--Visitor Center on 4th (in a log cabin) has free shuttles to various attractions around town.
--The federal building catty-cornered from the log cabin has a nice movie: Alaska's Coolest Animals.
--The nature center in the same federal building also gives a free historical walking tour of Anchorage at 2:00 pm that meets on the front steps of the federal building.
--The ceremonial starting line for the Iditerod is a few blocks down from the log cabin and includes a statue of a sled dog (some say it is Balto)
--The Alaska Zoo is small but good-----but it is a $25 cab ride out there so I'm not sure I would recommend it.
--The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail can be picked up at the end of 5th street (a few blocks from the Captain Cook Hotel--the 2 yellow towers). You can walk or bike along the shore of the Cook Inlet---very scenic. (you can get bikes at the gray house a block from the trail on 5th street)
--One of my regrets: My daughter wanted to go to the zoo instead of the Alaskan Heritage Center. So, we never got to the Heritage Center, which I have heard is really good. I definitely would choose the Heritage Center (even not having been there) than the Zoo. One of my daughter's friends saw it last year and enjoyed it.
--We ate at the Downtown Diner on 4th street for a lunch, and it was fine---had good chicken noodle soup. One of the guides recommended the F St bar and grill---looked great--very local and not touristy--but my daughter didn't see much on the menu that she wanted, so we passed.
--The Iditerod shop is in the 5th street mall if you want books, patches, etc from the race.
13. Like on our other ABD trips, they show movies on the bus trips, and the guides are great and keep the kids busy. Sometimes the kids would silently read a book, but most often played together. The bus always had fully stocked snacks, water, and purell.
14. I thought ABD did a great job on this trip. The logistics would be a nightmare to do on your own, and yet our logistics were handled seamlessly. Often we saw no other tourists at all where we traveled. You are going to have a wonderful time!!!!!!!!!!"
And in response to some questions that my friend posed:
"--shoes. No need for hiking boots. I brought 2 pairs of tennis shoes for my daughter and she rotated them.
--rain. Yes, we just marched forward!!!! It was always more of a drizzle than a driving rain.
--i never heard anyone mention using the laundry.
--i tried to rent a car for our first day and a half (in anchorage)--cars were all sold out.
--the Anchorage Marriott where you can store your luggage on the last day is right downtown, so shopping, tony knowles trail, national wildlife center, and visitor's center are all within walking distance. There is a shuttle from the visitor's center to the native heritage center---
--my blackberry worked everywhere, even denali, for both emails and phone coverage!!!!!! I didn't bring a laptop with me. There was some issue about wi-fi at the hotel alyeska, but I think it had to do with the hotel charging for use of their laptops.
--re helicopter, flight tours: our fellow adventurers did not do much of these extras. One couple without children did the mt mckinley and glacier flight and another family did atv's in denali. So there wasn't a lot of talk from the other kids about these excursions. I think there have been groups where nearly everyone did an excursion, so that may impact what your daughter is willing/desiring to do. I was also thinking about doing the fly to the glacier and mush/dogsled, and my daughter thought she would like to do this while we were doing our planning, but then didn't want to when we got there (I think she was fine with the number of activities that ABD provided)
--if you call the concierge at the Alyeska, they will pdf to you a long list of activities and excursions, along with timing, prices, etc. that are near the hotel or leave from the hotel. It was interesting to see ahead of time. I think one family may have taken an excursion that last morning from the hotel since their flight was late that evening.
--When you get to fairbanks, the guides will give you a list of extra excursions that can be taken from the Grande Denali. Some extra excursions apparently sold out earlier in the summer so they want to give you an extra day to book them if you'd like."
I am new to the discussions, but several of you have sent messages asking about my Alaska trip (7/22-7/29). I went with my 9 yr old daughter and we had an amazing time!!!!!! I am happy to answer any questions. Also, I am posting below some information that I sent a friend who is going on this week's Alaska adventure:
"Some thoughts:
1. We had a great group: 2 nine year old girls; one 11 yr old girl; three 11 yr old boys; one 13 yr old girl; one 16 yr old girl; and a set of 4 yr old twins. So plenty of kids. The guides said there have been plenty of kids on all of the tours.
2. There were lots of nice adults, too: two sets of mom and dad; one set of grandparents; two single moms (including me); one grandmother alone with her grandson; and three couples without children.
3. Our guides were great and well informed: Jesse and Rae. If you have the same guides pls tell them hello for us!
4. We had very cool weather and we loved it!!!!! We did not have the gloriously sunny weather that other disboard members had, but it did not really seem to matter. The weather was sometimes sunny, sometimes drizzly, and sometimes cloudy. It never got above 60 degrees, but the air was so refreshing that it was marvelous to experience the cooler temperatures. We had our windows open every night! It has made Texas seem dreadfully hot and oppressive.
5. Clothes: We brought layers of clothing as suggested and that worked well. Mostly we wore a t-shirt, pants or jeans, and carried a fleece jacket and rain jacket with us. Some people brought fleece vests and that seemed a good idea because when hiking you had your arms free and didn't get too warm.
But most importantly bring gloves and a hat for the Kenai boat trip. I would also suggest that you bring 2 sets of gloves for younger kids---one set may get wet and you may need them for the next day.
We brought too few pants and too many shorts for the weather we had. I would suggest you bring 2 pairs of shorts and then bring pants or capris for the rest of the bottoms.
No need for skirts or dressy pants at all----VERY casual. Even at the farewell dinner most people wore jeans.
The kids again enjoyed the indoor pool, so bring swimsuits. The hot tub at the Alyeska is particularly nice.
The guides carry clear plastic ponchos on the bus if you need them.
6. Fairbanks.
My daughter and I had a few hours upon arrival, so we went to Pioneer Park: a free park which has pioneer houses moved there from around Fairbanks; some shops, a playground, dioramas (in the boat) of early colonies, etc. Simple but charming. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed it and it gave us some background.
Others said the museum at the University of Anchorage was remarkable, but we did not get there.
The guides and the hotel will give you a shuttle schedule for certain attractions; however, we found that the guys at the front desk (Andrew, etc) were very willing to take you in the hotel van to the same spots (and pick you up) if you are short on time, or if you just missed the shuttle pickup, which only comes once hour.
The Sophie Station is an apartment hotel; it is fine but basic. The dinner menu at the hotel is very pricey; My daughter and I opted to grab a pizza on the way home from Pioneer Park (asked the hotel guy to stop at the Great Alaska Pizza shop while we picked it up) and ate it in the "living room" of our apartment. Another option seemed to be to get a snack in the bar area. Others ate at the salmon bake at Pioneer Park.
7. Denali
We both enjoyed Denali and the trip there. The puppies are darling and the kennel and its owners are really interesting.
Denali is breathtaking. The hotel is good, with a magnificent view. Clearly the best hotel in the area.
You have one afternoon free in Denali. Some people took extra excursions: flight trips to mt mckinley, etc. My daughter decided that she did not want to take a plane trip to see mckinley, even though that would have been my choice. She decided that she wanted to go see the sled dogs used by the rangers in the Denali national park. There are free demonstrations at 4:00 each afternoon that depart from the visitor center at Denali (board the park bus from the visitor center at 3:20). She enjoyed this, and never seemed to regret not seeing mckinley. (Plus it saved me $350 each for the mckinley flight!)
We just grabbed a light meal in the hotel that night.
8. Alyeska/Girdwood
You will love this hotel---pretty, great sheets, lovely location. If you have a few moments, take the easy "Winner" trail on your left as you go out the rear of the hotel----it has soothing ferns, babbling brooks, etc.
There is some free time listed on day 6, but don't pre-pay for any excursions until you see if Rae is going to give an extra hike that afternoon, which you MUST take if she does it.
My daughter and I just went to the hot tub and then ate dinner at the hotel on the free night. Some people ate at the Seven Glaciers restaurant at the top of the mountain, but I gather it was more for adults. There sounded like there were some fun places in Girdwood that the guides recommended.
9. All three of the boat trips were exciting for both me and my daughter----we saw wildlife, incredible scenery, and enjoyed meeting the rowers/captains of the boats. The landscape is breathtaking. ABD does an amazing job of getting you away from the tour buses.
10. Mosquitoes were there, but not nearly as bad as you would think. The guides carry OFF so no need to bring it (but we never actually needed any)
11. We had very turbulent seas for our Kenai Fjords cruise----so bad that the captain turned us around half way. Many in our group got seasick (fortunately my daughter and I did not). This is the first time this summer that this has happened on one of the ABD trips, so I don't think you will have the same experience.
The kids (once on shore again) all thought it was a great adventure, and the stories about how bad it was just keep getting bigger! = )
Before we turned around, we did get to see seals, otters, puffins, sea lions, etc; the only animal we did not see was a whale----next time!
I am really glad, though, that I brought those pressure wristbands for seasickness with me and put them on my daughter just before we set out on the water. I had a second set for me but gave them to another 9 yr old who didn't have anything. (I don't usually get seasick) Neither girl got seasick while using the wristbands.
Remedies used by others: The mother of the 4 yr old twins gave them Dramamine, which put them immediately to sleep, so they did not get sick but also didn't get to see anything. One family used ginger tablets, but got sick anyway.
Anyway, bring some medication of your choice or wristbands for this, just in case.
The guides earned their pay that day!
12. Last day---Anchorage:
The guides had a 6:00 am and a 12:00 noon bus run from the hotel alyeska to anchorage and the airport on our last day (your schedule may vary depending on the flight times of your travelers). We took the noon bus, which dropped us off a the Marriott downtown which held our bags. You then must pay to get to the airport from the Marriott.
We had an extra day in Anchorage the day we flew in at the beginning of our trip, and did some of these things then:
--Visitor Center on 4th (in a log cabin) has free shuttles to various attractions around town.
--The federal building catty-cornered from the log cabin has a nice movie: Alaska's Coolest Animals.
--The nature center in the same federal building also gives a free historical walking tour of Anchorage at 2:00 pm that meets on the front steps of the federal building.
--The ceremonial starting line for the Iditerod is a few blocks down from the log cabin and includes a statue of a sled dog (some say it is Balto)
--The Alaska Zoo is small but good-----but it is a $25 cab ride out there so I'm not sure I would recommend it.
--The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail can be picked up at the end of 5th street (a few blocks from the Captain Cook Hotel--the 2 yellow towers). You can walk or bike along the shore of the Cook Inlet---very scenic. (you can get bikes at the gray house a block from the trail on 5th street)
--One of my regrets: My daughter wanted to go to the zoo instead of the Alaskan Heritage Center. So, we never got to the Heritage Center, which I have heard is really good. I definitely would choose the Heritage Center (even not having been there) than the Zoo. One of my daughter's friends saw it last year and enjoyed it.
--We ate at the Downtown Diner on 4th street for a lunch, and it was fine---had good chicken noodle soup. One of the guides recommended the F St bar and grill---looked great--very local and not touristy--but my daughter didn't see much on the menu that she wanted, so we passed.
--The Iditerod shop is in the 5th street mall if you want books, patches, etc from the race.
13. Like on our other ABD trips, they show movies on the bus trips, and the guides are great and keep the kids busy. Sometimes the kids would silently read a book, but most often played together. The bus always had fully stocked snacks, water, and purell.
14. I thought ABD did a great job on this trip. The logistics would be a nightmare to do on your own, and yet our logistics were handled seamlessly. Often we saw no other tourists at all where we traveled. You are going to have a wonderful time!!!!!!!!!!"
And in response to some questions that my friend posed:
"--shoes. No need for hiking boots. I brought 2 pairs of tennis shoes for my daughter and she rotated them.
--rain. Yes, we just marched forward!!!! It was always more of a drizzle than a driving rain.
--i never heard anyone mention using the laundry.
--i tried to rent a car for our first day and a half (in anchorage)--cars were all sold out.
--the Anchorage Marriott where you can store your luggage on the last day is right downtown, so shopping, tony knowles trail, national wildlife center, and visitor's center are all within walking distance. There is a shuttle from the visitor's center to the native heritage center---
--my blackberry worked everywhere, even denali, for both emails and phone coverage!!!!!! I didn't bring a laptop with me. There was some issue about wi-fi at the hotel alyeska, but I think it had to do with the hotel charging for use of their laptops.
--re helicopter, flight tours: our fellow adventurers did not do much of these extras. One couple without children did the mt mckinley and glacier flight and another family did atv's in denali. So there wasn't a lot of talk from the other kids about these excursions. I think there have been groups where nearly everyone did an excursion, so that may impact what your daughter is willing/desiring to do. I was also thinking about doing the fly to the glacier and mush/dogsled, and my daughter thought she would like to do this while we were doing our planning, but then didn't want to when we got there (I think she was fine with the number of activities that ABD provided)
--if you call the concierge at the Alyeska, they will pdf to you a long list of activities and excursions, along with timing, prices, etc. that are near the hotel or leave from the hotel. It was interesting to see ahead of time. I think one family may have taken an excursion that last morning from the hotel since their flight was late that evening.
--When you get to fairbanks, the guides will give you a list of extra excursions that can be taken from the Grande Denali. Some extra excursions apparently sold out earlier in the summer so they want to give you an extra day to book them if you'd like."
My DS celebrated his 9th birthday last month on our Alaska adventure. Hope you guys have as much fun as we did!
I'll just keep asking as questions come to me!
