My last visit to Alaska was just over one year ago. It was my fifth time there, but the first time we decided to “make our own itinerary” versus being a part of an organized group. Accompanied by our youngest daughter and her son for a week of beautiful weather and scenery, we used Anchorage as our center of operations, and drove our rental car to places within a 200-mile radius we wanted to see. The city is a special place for me, and I felt confident I knew my way around. But, I never knew there was a place where I could get the above totally non-tourist composition of the city. From Earthquake Park.
While wandering around Earthquake Park, this city bus passed by in bright red color.
The downtown area has this massive sea life mural on a smooth-sided building that was not easy to photograph because of its size.
Beautiful summertime flowers are located all over the city center, and they were like a magnet for my camera.
There are numerous places to eat and drink in Anchorage, but one stands out to me, mainly for sentimental reasons … Humpy’s. My wife and I first stopped here for lunch in 1999, and the Blackened Halibut Sandwich with a pint of Alaska Pale Ale was our favorite. For the following three trips to Alaska we always made a point to go there for lunch. On the last trip last year I made this photo while eating said Halibut Sandwich. True, its a tourist stop and often crowded but it remains a favorite for us.
Lastly is the downtown shopping area. It’s common to see loads of people wandering about from store to store, but as you can see here, not on this late morning. In summary there are many sights in Anchorage, some popular with the average tourist and some not so much. I was looking for the latter.
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