Bittersweet Alaskan Memories ~ Part One

The washing machine has been tirelessly churning loads of sun kissed, sweat drenched, dirt smeared, windblown, suitcase smashed clothes all day long.

My husband, the kids and I just got back home after ten days of traveling through Anchorage, the Alaskan Inside Passage, Vancouver, and Washington state. In many ways, it really was a wonderful family trip.

And it was such an amazing blessing to share these memories with so much of our extended family … my in-laws, uncles, aunts, cousins, and family friends.

But sadly, amidst all of this, it has also been one of the most heart-wrenching trips we have ever taken as a family.

Bittersweet is the word that comes to mind. Very bitter. Yet very sweet. A trip full of smiles and laughter and many tears. I’ll write about this later.

For now … where do I begin?

Well, our trip started with a 5 1/2 hour flight into Anchorage, Alaska where we landed at 1 am in a surprisingly bustling airport — the sky still lit with lingering daylight. We were all a bit of a mess after that flight.

I finally fell asleep a little after 3 am.

But here’s a view of a summer sunset from our room at the Marriot Hotel (photo courtesy of my mother-in-law). Truly beautiful. Our cab driver told us that in the summer, it doesn’t get dark in Anchorage until 1:30 am at times … and the sun rises as early as 3:30 am some mornings …. talk about a long day!

The next morning, I woke up feeling surprisingly fine — okay, decent.

Later that day, my husband, kids, in-laws and I clamored into a window-canopied train for a five hour ride along the Kenai mountain range, multiple stunning glaciers, forests, and glassy lakes.

As the train rolled along, the weight of God’s grace was overwhelming. I was so thankful to be traversing through Alaska with my family, chomping on my berry infused beef jerky and indulging in a bowl of salmon chowder.

The moments on this train felt refreshingly slow and sacred. Just a year ago, I was hardly able to step out of my home without collapsing.

And now this was outside my window.