For the past month, I’ve heard one particular question often:

“Why the heck are you going to Alaska?”

My favorite response was “I told my brother I’d take him anywhere in the world for his birthday. He picked freaking Alaska!”

But then I set foot in the savage, stunning, completely breathtaking beauty of Alaska and now I can’t thank Matthew enough for picking this wonderful state. I got to go whale watching, ride a four hour train through White Pass in Skagway, past sprawling jagged mountains bathed in snow and waterfalls dancing across all of them, close and far. So many waterfalls! Beautiful conifer and broad leafed trees, jade green and bright yellow. Snow everywhere and yet we enjoyed 80-degree F weather.

View My Alaska Photo Album here on Facebook!

I can tell you right now one of the best parts of this trip was being reunited with my travel partner and best friend, Rachel Rofe! Now that she lives quite a ways south of me, it’s hard for us to hang out as much as we’d like. But this cruise was a blast.

One day our entire ship coursed up Endicott Arm, through ice fields and fiords toward a massive glacier. Most will enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity nestled in heavy jackets, mittens, hats, and scarves, bracing themselves against a torrid wind and icy air.

But for us, we sunned ourselves in tank tops and bathing suits. 90-degrees that day. Clear blue skies.

I got a lot out of this trip. More than I could have hoped or imagined.