Things No One Will Ever Tell You About Alaska

I have a treat for you today! As you may know, today marks the journey of our first trip to the beach as a family of three (and a half). Lord, help us! Instead of boring you with- wah, I don't wanna take a 10 month old on a roadtrip or a post saying OMGah, he won't stop crying- I decided I'd grace you with the presence of one of my favorite Alaska bloggers. Her name is Kristin and she is great! Although, we don't share the same feelings for America's largest state, I still enjoy her witty posts, yummy sounding recipes, and reading about her life in Anchorage. She's so sweet, too. In her email to me she wrote, "I originally took a more sarcastic tone {with the guest post}, but I know that you really like Alaska so I went with informative." See? How nice! hehe You know you like her already... 

 Hi!  I'm Kristin from Kristin's kNook.  Just like Mrs. K, I'm an Army wife...and I live in Alaska.

I found Mrs. K's blog awhile back.  Or maybe she found me.  I can't remember, but I'm glad it happened! Guest-posting while she's on vacation was a no-brainer.  Of course, I have to talk about Alaska. Her blog drew me in because she had been stationed in Alaska.  There's a lot of Army wives out there, but I'm always interested in the ones who've learned to thrive in the non-traditional duty stations (interested in a completely non-creepy way, of course :) In our 3 years in Alaska, we've done the touristy things.  In my opinion, if you've done it once, you've done it all.  Sure, paying $50 a ticket to see a whale and get seasick on the ocean is fun.  But, seriously, all the whales look the same.  And I can guarantee you that the time you spend simultaneously freezing and throwing up on the boat are not worth a glimpse of a whale's tail.   At least not to me.  If it's worth it to you, then you'd fit in just fine here.

Things No One Will Ever Tell You About Alaska 

1.  You cannot see Russia from Alaska. Well, if you fly above northwest Alaska in a plane and it's a clear day, you may be able to see Russia.  It's 58 miles from western Alaska, across the Bering Strait, to Russia.  No one lives in that part of Russia though.  Russia is big.  And cold.  Look at a map.

2.  Drinking is expensive. When your buddies go out and Facebook a bunch of pictures of them drinking tasty microbrews, what they fail to write in the caption is that each of those beers is costing them between $6-$12.  And that means a night out is going to end up costing close to $100 (if you're out with a date/spouse and you factor in tips).  I came from a town where it cost me, myself, $20 for a night of mixed drinks.  Culture shock indeed.
 3.  Eating out is REALLY expensive. Would you believe that the expensive restaurants in Anchorage don't put their prices on their online menus?  That's how they get you.  Let's put it this way:  A "fancy" dinner is going to cost you and your spouse $90-$100, if you include 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, 2 drinks, and maybe dessert.  Plus tip.  I usually pick either a drink OR dessert in an effort to save money.  Many people I know go out to some of these restaurants all the time.  They, my friends, are what I call "nuts".
 4.  We have everything you have! Truly, we do!  The only chain restaurants/stores that I notice myself missing are Panera, Dunkin' Donuts, Marshall's/Homegoods, and I'd about kill for a Trader Joe's.  When we went to California last year, I stuffed my suitcase full of TJ food to take back to Alaska. I live 2 miles from Wal-Mart, 3 miles from a Target shopping center with numerous stores, and my Starbucks options are limitless.   While I really miss a few key places, I've never had it so good.  When I go home, I'm confused as to where I'm to get my coffee.  My parents live in the middle of nowhere.
 5.  It's not dark all the time. In the winter, in Anchorage, the daylight gets down to about 5 1/2 hours per day.  Sun comes up 10:15am and sets around 3:30-3:45pm.  That's on the shortest day of the year, December 21.  Barrow is obviously different.  Once again, look at a map.  When people find out I live in Alaska, the first thing they say is, "Oh oh! I just couldn't deal with all that darkness!  I just couldn't!".  This prompts me to answer, "Really??  How'd you feel about all that light in the summer??"  This confuses them, thereby ending the conversation.  Right now, we're at about 19 hours of daylight.  People tend to forget that part of the Earth's rotation.

 

Here's a few tidbits if you want to know more, but please, if you're planning a vacation, talk to someone who has been here!  I want you to get the most out of your experience.  Oh, and you can totally look me up.  We can eat over-priced restaurant food together.  

My husband and I in front of the Trans Alaska Pipeline in Fairbanks

Thanks for reading! I hope you'll go check out Kristin's kNook and see for yourself how much fun she is to stalk ;)