trips & nearby jaunts

In the last few weeks, we have managed to take a trip down to Whittier, which is possibly the grayest and rainiest village on the planet.  Whittier is considered the western gateway to the Prince William Sound (which opens up to the Gulf of Alaska) and is located about an hour south of Anchorage.  Other than its "beautiful" weather, it features North America's longest shared tunnel (one way passage for cars & trains).  On a side note, this is also where the Alaska Marine Highway Ferries arrive & depart out of for the Anchorage area.

Despite the rain & cool temps, it really was gorgeous along the ride.  Mountains that just shot straight up from the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet.  When you were able to see through the heavy rain, mountains topped with a considerable amount of snow were visible.  I can't wait to see this again on a clearer day.

I was hoping to stop on some of the look out areas along the way with the kids, but again the rain was too heavy each time we saw a good turn off.  One that I especially would like to see was the Beluga Point (to see the massive Beluga Whales).  I know it would really be a special treat for the kids to see that.

The other thing I would like to get a better (and closer) look at is this glacier seen in the picture below.  It is in the center of the picture and looks like it is a passage of ice.  This glacier is right outside the staging area of the tunnel where vehicles line up north & south bound to go through the tunnel.  Anyways, Alaska has 100,000+ glaciers, but I'm hoping to see some up close & personal while we are up here in Alaska.

The Hecks have also taken some closer jaunts in the area...

The other evening after dinner we threw the girls in the stroller and Thomas jumped on his bike and we went for a 2.5 mile run/walk down to Ship Creek.  Loved it and got some great exercise with the kids!

Although some certain little ones dozed off to sleep (Marilyn just happened to wake up at this moment).

Finally, in our neighborhood this week, the kids & I went on a leaf hunting excursion.  What was the mission?  Find only the best yellow, orange or red colored leaves that have already fallen from their tree.  Why you ask?  For a craft that Mommy has up her sleeve for next week.

The kids took the mission very serious...

... because only the best of the best colored leaves would work & be acceptable! :)

And of course we had some fun playing in the leaves, kicking the leaves and playing some hide-n-seek in the trees.