Although I am excited about all the possibilities awaiting me in the New Year, I am sad today because tonight I leave my hometown, Anchorage, Alaska. I make the trek up North every year around the holidays to spend Christmas and New Year’s with family and old friends, and have such an amazing time, every time. And I think a lot of that is attributed to the fact that I know what there is to do in the City of Lights, that one might not necessarily find in a tourist guide book. So should you also be making the trek up to A town anytime soon, here is a list of 5 things I highly recommend you do while you’re there:
1. Eat, eat, and then eat some more. My favorite restaurants are in Anchorage, including The Bear’s Tooth (gourmet burritos, pizzas, bear, theater), Mooses Tooth (gourmet pizza, beer, amazing salads), La Mex (best Mexican I’ve ever had),Glacier Brewhouse for pastas, salads, and delicious seafood, Simon & Seaforts (freshest halibut this side of the Chugach Mountains), Artic Roadrunner – get the Arctic Cheese (burger) with a side of their famous onion rings, yum!
2. Drink the Red Goat, aka Kaladi Brothers Coffee. In other cities, coffee lovers flock to Starbucks. In Anchorage, one only drinks KBC coffee, freshly roasted in Alaska!
3. Go for a hike. No matter what time of year, people in Anchorage hike year round, so there’s always a trail. My favorites include Flattop, The Dome, Nearpoint, and Bird Ridge.
4. Hit up the shops in the SoNo District. What is SoNo you may ask? Why, it’s South of Nordstroms of course! Even if the shopping scene doesn’t compare to say 5th Avenue in NYC, just off of 5th Avenue in Anchorage you can still enjoy the cute shops and the eclectic selections in Her Tern, Skinny Raven, About Face, Out of the Closet, and Second Run.
5. Drive to Alyeska on the Seward highway. This is, by far, my most favorite drive in the whole world. You get the most incredibly scenic views of mountains just shooting straight up out of the inlet, as you drive practically on the edge of a cliffs on a windy little road. Look out for sheep on the cliffs, Baluga whales in the inlet, or bald eagles soaring overhead!
The moto in Anchorage is Big Wild Life, so be prepared for the adventure of a lifetime! image via
