We have a few vacation spots we love to return to; however, after being inspired by family friends’ experience of working at a fishing resort in Alaska, we knew it was time to put this journey into motion.
For our first voyage to this mountainous wildlife paradise, we opted for an Alaska cruise to get an overview of the cities and the different experiences available. Now after traveling to Alaska, I can without reservation say we will go again, but our next trip will be a land-based one to further dive into Alaska culture.
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Jennifer Thomas
Writer Jennifer Thomas, in the middle seat at right, traveled to Alaska with her family and their friends, the Zollers, of Cape Coral. Here, they're all on a summer sled ride. The dogs train year-round.
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Jennifer Thomas
Hannah Zoller and Kylie Thomas
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Jennifer Thomas
Kylie learns to fly fish on her trip to Alaska.
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Kylie Thomas enjoyed fly fishing with her parents in Alaska
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Jennifer Thomas
A float plane took the Thomas family to their fly fishing destination in Alaska.
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Jennifer Thomas
Writer Jennifer Thomas traveled to Alaska with her family and their friends, the Zoller family, of Cape Coral.
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Jennifer Thomas
Glacier Bay National Park
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Jennifer Thomas
Writer Jennifer Thomas traveled to Alaska with her family and their friends, the Zoller family, of Cape Coral.
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Jennifer Thomas
Kylie and Hannah in Ketchikan, Alaska
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The waterfront wharf of Victoria, British Columbia.
“Alaska has a little something for every member of the family,” says Sarah Leonard, president and CEO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association. “With plenty of outdoor activities like wildlife viewing, hiking, kayaking, flightseeing, glacier trekking, fishing and more, every region in Alaska can be an adventure and makes for an ideal multigenerational travel getaway.”
Planning vacation experiences gives everyone something to look forward to and the anticipation is something that builds up until departure day. Going to someplace completely new with a completely different climate required planning — traveling to Alaska is not as easy as having a beach day.
In advance of our trip, I fully vetted out other friends’ experiences and gathered their advice (i.e., dress in layers; in July you will not need winter gear, but a rain jacket is essential; save up for the excursions that are unique to Alaska and not available here, and sample the local cuisine). My biggest tip for your Alaska trip: Bring binoculars. The wildlife viewing, even from a distance is spectacular.
“We would advise parents traveling with kids to Alaska: Plan ahead. Alaska is the largest state in the United States and offers an extensive amount of activities great for all ages,” Sarah suggests. “It is also helpful to talk with experts at a visitors’ center or tourism office for ideas on planning a meaningful travel experience, especially to experience the state’s rich culture and history. Families can also order a free official Alaska state vacation planner on TravelAlaska.com that is filled with resources to help with planning.”
Opting for a round trip cruise out of Seattle, our ports of call included Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay National Park, Ketchikan, and a stop in Victoria, British Columbia.
When researching the excursion opportunities, we got together with the family we were traveling with to allow the kids and adults to select what each wanted to do.
Our first stop was Juneau, and here is where my husband, Bill, realized one of his bucket list dreams. It was also something that I personally wanted to experience. Salmon fishing in the middle of a river in Alaska where we landed in our float plane. The flight was just as mesmerizing as the fishing to see this countryside via air. The salmon were running, and many different species were caught. The experience was heightened by our personal wildlife encounter with a family of brown bears.
Funny story about the float plane: Since this was a semi-private tour, it was just my family and two other fishermen with the pilot, and all six of us were from Florida.
Jennifer Thomas
Writer Jennifer Thomas traveled to Alaska with her family and their friends, the Zoller family, of Cape Coral.
“The salmon fishing trip was one of my favorite things we did on our vacation,” My daughter, Kylie, now 14, recalls. “Fly fishing was something I had never tried before, but with the help of my dad I got the hang of it and loved wading out in the waters. The first fish I reeled in is something I’ll always treasure. Oh, and the bear family was so cool to see in their natural habitat.”
While we were fishing, our traveling companions ventured on a whale-watching tour that did not disappoint. Cape Coral resident Louise Zoller says she loved watching these marine creatures breach the water and do their dance.
An activity that’s especially memorable for families to experience together is looking for wildlife, Sarah says. “Wildlife is found in all areas of the state and each region makes for very different viewing opportunities — from bears to birds, marine wildlife, moose, Dall sheep, migrating caribou, herds of musk ox and more.”
In fact, viewing wildlife is one of the most popular excursions among families visiting Alaska. According to the Alaska Visitors Statistics Program, three quarters of visitors who fly and or drive to the state participate in wildlife viewing activities.
Alaska certainly made an impressive first impression on us. And the 49th state, which celebrates 60 years of statehood this year, did not disappoint in any port.
We docked the next day in Skagway, and this was the girls’ selection. Louise’s daughter, Hannah, who is also 14, and Kylie chose the summer dog sledding experience where we all rode in a sled led by a pack of dogs training for the infamous Iditarod race, and it concluded with dog sled puppy time. The dogs continue to train throughout the summer on dry land to prepare for their winter races and sledding jobs.
Sarah also recommends dog sledding for the family.
“Most tours include first-hand stories from competitive mushers and ample time spent snuggling pups-in-training,” Sarah says.
The next day was the reason I personally was so excited for what we were about to witness. We sailed into Glacier Bay National Park where a park ranger boarded our ship and provided some great education into this wonder. Sailing into Glacier Bay and witnessing this striking beauty for me personally summed up Alaska. Pure pristine beauty and wonder. The ship rotated around in the bay to ensure all sides of the ship had up-front views. I can’t even explain what is was like to hear the ice calving into the freezing waters.
After this experience, I could have called my trip complete, but we were just halfway done with our Alaska adventure. Next was a stop in Ketchikan, the Salmon Capital of the World. We all agreed upon an outdoor activity — Jeep tour with canoeing. The views were spectacular. I could have just sat in the middle of the lake soaking up this natural beauty. At our “base camp,” we enjoyed cider, hot chocolate and salmon chowder, and we explored the area with a small nature hike.
Our final port of call was Victoria, British Columbia, and I have to say this was one of the most beautiful cities. The flowers are bountiful and the waterfront wharf area with the floating colorful houses was delightful. You could really see the British influence on this capital city, and the Victorian architecture was stunning. We also walked to Victoria’s China Town and ventured into a Chinese restaurant for a tasty experience.
A day at sea returning to Seattle concluded our Alaska journey but not our vacation as we spent the day doing the famous Seattle attractions, including Pike Place Fish Market (complete with the throwing of the fish) and the Space Needle.
This is one bucket list trip that goes to the top of our family journeys. Now the questions are: When do we go back? And where do we go next?