Laid-Back (Sort Of) Weekend

I can't believe it's August already! I have been traveling since July 2; so far, in only 30 days, I have visited: 15 states (NY, NJ, PA, OH, IN, IL, WI, IA, MN, SD, WY, MT, ID, WA & AK); 3 countries (Canada, Bermuda & Turks and Caicos); and 2 US Commonwealths (Puerto Rico and the US Virign Islands). Before my trip ends, I'll probably visit about 11 more states (OR, CA, NV, UT, CO, KA, MO, AR, TN, KY & WV). I've driven almost 6,000 miles, plus traveled another 3,000 by ship. I've been to 5 National Parks/Monuments (Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Effigy Mounds National Monument, Badlands National Park, Mt. Rushmore & Yellowstone National Park) and will probably visit at least 6 more (Kenai Fjords, Denali, Crater Lake, Redwoods, Yosemite, Capitol Reef, & Rocky Mountains).

This weekend we stayed pretty close to home-well, my dad's home, that is. On Saturday we went to Anchorage to the street fair and out to dinner at this awesome place called Suite 100. We also went to this used bookstore called Title Wave Books-so awesome! Used bookstores are my favorite places to hunt for treasures. I got 3 books about Alaska plus a novel for about $25-you can't beat that. We also went to the Alaska Wildberry Gift Shop, where I saw the world's largest chocolate fountain:

Man, did I want to dive right in there! But my dad wouldn't let me. Afterwards, we went to a few scenic places in the city, where I was able to see a nice view of Anchorage from a park near the airport:

Today we went to the Iditorad Trail Headquarters. That's me petting the statue of Balto:

We also had the salmon tonight, along with some yummy shelled peas:

 

Although my dad cooked the salmon to perfection and it had a nice flavor, I unfortunately didn't like the texture. So I just had peas, corn, bread & cheese. But at least I got try some really fresh salmon.

Tomorrow we're heading on an overnight trip down to the Kenai Peninsula, which I'm really excited about. We're going to see some Russian Orthodox churches in Kenai and maybe go tide-pooling in Homer. Then we're going to stay overnight at a place called Summit Lake & then drive down to Seward, stopping at Exit Glacier along the way. In Seward we're going to have a look around, maybe go the Sea Life Center (which is an aquarium) and then go on a boat cruise in Kenai Fjords National Park, where we'll see a glacier and hopefully a bunch of wildlife! And I'm also hoping that somewhere along the way some Alaskan king crab legs see the inside of my tummy!