I spent 48 hours in Alaska, with no itinerary, flying standby. It was amazing!

I travel full-time in my RV with my adventure partner, JW, and aim to see all 50 states by 2025. Alaska is now my 41st state to visit! While I would love to spend a summer in Alaska one day in my RV, a short trip with my son was an amazing experience. 48 hours in Alaska doesn’t seem like much but it was a fantastic micro introduction into this wild state.

This spring, we workamped in Arizona to be closer to my family for a bit. Knowing I wouldn’t be back in the area till at least the end of the year, my son and I decided to take a short mom/son trip. My son works at the airport and has the benefit of free standby flights. So, he took care of our flights, I packed, and we headed off to the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport very early on a Tuesday morning.

Flying standby is not always easy, but we did have great luck! We had a layover in Everette, Washington. Pain Field Airport isn’t a bad place to hang out if you have to hang out in an airport for a few hours. With only two gates, it’s small but has lots of comfort. With a few hours of layover, we relaxed and booked a hotel. We only pre-booked a tour to see the Northern Lights (more about that later).

We booked our stay at The Lakefront Anchorage. We wanted a mid-range hotel, and The Lakefront was perfect. Located on Lake Spenard, about a mile from the airport and less than four miles from downtown Anchorage. They have restaurants on-site and an airport shuttle.

After a long day of traveling, we arrived at our hotel about 6 pm. We checked into our room and ate at the Fancy Moose Lounge Anchorage (located on-site). Everyone said to try salmon in Alaska, so I tried the salmon tacos – so good! We took a short nap and headed out for an evening Northern Lights tour. It was uneventful except for seeing a baby moose. Honestly, we did not enjoy the tour we booked at all, so we will skip over that part.

DAY 1 – ANCHORAGE

Shopping / Lunch / Hiking

Being up late the night before, and my son rarely takes vacation time, so we opted for no alarms and slept in. My son wanted to shop, I wanted to see nature, and we were both hungry. So, after walking around downtown and doing a little shopping, we stopped for lunch at a local brewery. We checked out Tent City Taphouse and loved it. Add this to your list of places to check out while in Anchorage. I ordered the Anchorage Style burger, and my son had the Tent City burger – hands down, some of our best char-grilled burgers! They offer 24 local Alaskan craft brews on tap.

Next up – nature! We went on the AllTrails app to find the nearest hike. We headed to Far North Bicentennial Park. We were here end of March with lots of snow and visited in the afternoon. There is lots of wildlife, depending on where you go and what time of day. We didn’t see any wildlife, but it was magical! We did several trails and hiked about 5 miles. The Campbell Airstrip was so beautiful! Fluffy snow and amazing mountain views! Check the trail maps here: Trails of Anchorage. We had so much fun just taking in the beauty, laughing about hiking in the snow, and finding dog sleds only trails was a first for us. Finding an airstrip among all this snow was also a first for us!

DAY 2 – KENAI PENINSULA DRIVE- ANCHORAGE TO SEWARD

Car Rental / Wyland Mural / Fur Shop / Visitor Center

I decided to rent a car for our second day in Alaska. It was surprisingly inexpensive to rent a car in Anchorage. We took the shuttle from the hotel to the airport. Picking up our car took almost no time. We upgraded and rented an all-wheel drive crossover (Mazda CX-30). They have everything from passenger vans to trucks and 4×4 options.

On our way to the Visitor Center, we found a Wyland mural! If you’re not familiar with Wyland, he is a marine life artist and conservationist. He is famous for his 100 full-size marine life murals around the world. WYLAND. The Whaling Wall Mural is five stories high and over 120 meters long. It is located on the western wall of the J.C. Penney store building. MAP of Whaling Wall Mural.

Our next stop was David Green Furs. This is a great stop if you have never seen this craft in person. Knowing that the entire animal is used for all purposes in places like Alaska is incredible. This multi-generational business has been in business for over 100 years! The story behind this family business is incredible and full of history. Staring out, making one garment at a time from the customer’s own pelts. To WII military contracts supplying Alaska Scouts full-length muskrat parkas and fur ruffs for the Air Force, growing business. The family then moved and opened a shop in Anchorage in its current location on 4th Avenue.

The first planned stop was the Visitor Information Center for suggestions on where to drive to and to grab a few maps. Anchorage’s downtown Visitor Information Center is located at the corner of 4th Avenue and F Street, behind the Log Cabin Visitor Center. Beware and use caution, there is black ice when parking in the Spring time. Just after I warned my son, I slipped and fell, getting into the car. Here you can pick up a free road map (never travel without a paper map), brochures, ask a local for itinerary ideas, and we picked up a few stickers.

Here, you will also find the Log Cabin Visitor Center built in Homer in 1954 and moved to Anchorage. Here you will find a few photo opportunities as well. Information Centers are also located at the airport and a second downtown location at the Historic City Hall.

Anchorage to Seward – Driving The Seward Highway

The Anchorage Pro at the Visitor Center recommended we drive the Seward Highway down to Seward, stopping to take in the views, have lunch, and come back. So we did! We visited at the end of March during the Spring Break-up. It wasn’t too cold, and the roads were cleared. It did rain and snow a bit, and it was breathtaking! My son noted that the snow on the side of the roads was always brown and dirty, but those mountain views were incredible. We had never seen anything like it before or that much snow!

BE ROAD TRIP READY & PREPARED!
Be sure your gas tank is full, you have a paper road map, water, phone chargers, jacket layers, and of course, snacks! Do hit the bathroom before you leave (with snow-plowed roads and not a lot of places to stop along the way), Depending on the time of year you are exploring.

The road conditions will greatly depend on the time of year and the time of day you are traveling. Take your time and enjoy the views and be sure to stop and take a few photos. We saw several bald eagles and their nests along our way.

Seward Views / Lunch / Alaska SeaLife Center

When you arrive at the end, mile 0 is the Alaska SeaLife Center. Keep driving; you will see a waterfall to your right and a pull-out / parking lot to your left. When we visited in March, it was still covered in snow. We took photos and were in awe of the views overlooking Resurrection Bay. Don’t forget to stay out of the road when taking a photo of Lowell Creek Waterfall. Due to the snow conditions, we couldn’t drive past this point.

It’s now time for lunch! Not everything is open in the Spring or open every day. We heard good things about The Highliner Restaurant. I enjoyed a clam chowder bread bowl, and my son had the Date Burger. Both were delicious!

We had a bit of time left in our day, so we headed to the Alaska SeaLife Center, featured on the National Geographic Show Alaska Animal Rescue. The Center is small and can be explored in sixty to ninety minutes (depending on whether you have kids). This SeaLife Center is the state’s only permanent marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation facility. Combining a public aquarium with marine research, education, and wildlife response, makes this an amazing facility and a great place to check out in Alaska.

Seeing the Puffins and King Elders was my favorite part of this Center! Walk through all the exhibits, don’t miss stopping by the touch tanks, and head outside (upstairs) for the off-display animals and those amazing views! Take in the awe beauty outside from the parking lot as well.

After driving around Seward, checking out the views, seeing more bald eagles, and taking a few more photos, we headed back to Anchorage. It was getting dark and starting to rain as we headed out.

Last Night in Anchorage – Dinner

We had dinner at Foutry Nine State Brewing on night two in Anchorage. We enjoyed the vibe and food, and I loved the beer here. Perfect tater tots, and the Nitro McCarthy Dry Irish Stout goes perfectly with any burger your order. Not into beer? No problem, they also have Alaska Craft Soda. We ordered the Elk Smash Burger and World Famous Yak Burger to try new things. The Yak is local Alaskan raised and our first time trying it. It was a big gammy for us but overall good. The Elk Burger is a bit greasy but tasted delicious!

That is a wrap! On day three, we had a late morning flight to catch. We stopped at the Harley Davidson of Anchorage to pick up a souvenir for my Mom and headed to the airport. After returning our rental car, I grabbed a Bento Box and a Cold Bew Coffee for a late breakfast. Yes, it was delicious! We flew to Seattle, where we had a longer layover due to several full flights (we flew standby). BUT we got the last two seats on the last flight out of Seattle to Phoenix.