Recently, I took about a week and a half off work to explore Alaska with three of my closest college friends. We flew into Anchorage, where one friend’s aunt and uncle live, then spent a few days in Seward, a cute little tourist town just outside Kenai Fjords National Park.

There, we went on a charter fishing trip to catch salmon and rockfish, but we also got to see a pod of whales bubble feeding (Google it!), sea otters swimming, two bald eagles flying behind our boat, and puffins and sea lions hanging out in/near the water along our route.

Another day, we kayaked around Fox Island, exploring a sea cave from the water and enjoying lunch and cocoa on the beach of a little inlet. I was surprised by how calm the ocean was; the weather was just perfect. After 12 miles, we were back to our starting point and returned to Seward.

We did a short hike the next day up to Exit Glacier, where signs indicate the glacier’s retreat over the years, adding a certain sense of glumness to an otherwise enjoyable hike in the mist. After returning to Anchorage, we planned out our next few days, which included a gorgeous hike in Hatcher Pass to two of the most teal lakes I’ve ever seen in my life, and the view was gorgeous from every angle along the trail. We saw a pika and some marmots as we hiked, too!

Finally, we did a flightseeing tour of Mount Denali. Flying out of Talkeetna, our pilot took us so much closer to the mountain than I had anticipated, and it was incredible to see the glaciers almost built into the mountain as well as the crevices filled with ice and snow. Denali truly was breathtaking.

The rest of our trip was filled with card games, watching the Olympics (team gymnastics, swimming and women’s soccer, in particular), cooking fresh fish and just spending time together. I’m still daydreaming about the meals and the laughter we shared!