It started with an early day arriving at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for a 7:00am flight to Dallas-Ft. Worth. The three hour – one hour time zone change flight would put us there around 10:00am CT. We grabbed breakfast bagels at the one open breakfast place in the D terminal. Upon arrival at DFW, we had a terminal change and we picked up lunch there while we waited on our next flight to Anchorage. It’s a six-hour ride from DFW to Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) but it’s three more time zones, getting us in a little after 2:00pm.
From there we were shuttled by the hotel shuttle to the Holiday Inn Express near the airport where we got checked in. Rental cars were very hard to get and the ones you could were very expensive. Instead we used a service called Turo that lets you rent private vehicles much like an AirB&B. Art delivered an older, but functional VW Passat to us to use while we were there.
It was time to go out and see a few things around Anchorage. Sherry really wanted to see a moose. I’ve had three previous business trips to Anchorage and twice had found moose along Northern Lights Blvd. heading out toward Earthquake Park. Just past Earthquake Park, is the Downtown Anchorage Viewpoint, a big gravel lot with a great view of the Anchorage Skyline. We hiked around Earthquake Park with no success and then drove to the Downtown Anchorage Viewpoint.
While seeing the skyline, which is a pretty decent visual, we turned around and there she was. One quite tall female moose and two of her babies following her across the road and into the parking lot where we were. She grazed on trees and brushes along the bicycle park. Cars stopped, people took photos. We eased closer to her while watching for signs of aggression and making sure her and her kids had multiple exit paths.
Sherry got her moose within two hours of being on the ground in Anchorage. It was an epic high for her. Seeing a moose is a big thing, but seeing one in an urban settings is an even more unique of an experience. That was a sign of a good trip ahead.
After momma-moose headed down the bike path, we drove around to another interesting place we had seen on line: Point Woronzof Overlook. This beach head is a great place to watch the sunset over the Cook Inlet, but the highlight is the free-speech style graffiti painted on the large rocks in the area and the Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility Beach Tower. It was quite colorful.
After leaving the viewpoints, it was time for dinner. Multiple people had recommended Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse and said their Halibut and Chips was the best in town. It was really good. Sherry, not being a fish eater had a quite good cheese burger to go with it.
Back to the hotel ready for the next day of adventuring!