A 16 year old’s birthday dream - the Lahtinen Family’s trip to Alaska (Traveler stories series)

Heather, one of Jennie’s 2024 clients, joins Jennie to share about their family adventure in Alaska to celebrate her son’s 16th birthday. We talk about how they decided where to go, how much they spent and all about Evan’s backcountry adventure!

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Mike’s cabin in Talkeetna

Denali bus tour

Heather’s podcast

What to pack for Alaska in summer

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Transcript

Jennie Flaming: 0:00

Jennie, welcome to the Alaska uncovered podcast with me, your host, Jennie Thwing Flaming, my occasional co host and full time husband, Jay and I bring you accurate, helpful and entertaining information about Alaska, travel and life in Alaska, before we start the episode, we would like to thank our Patreon members for making this podcast possible. You can join them at the link in the show notes. We are so grateful for your support of independent podcasts. Enjoy the show. Our sponsor for the month of February is the Unalaska Visitors Bureau. We'll tell you more about them in a little bit, but for now, thank you Unalaska for your support of the podcast.

Unknown: 0:58

Well, my guest today is Heather Lahtinen, and this is one of our Alaska traveler story episodes. And Heather and her family, which includes her husband and her teenage son and young adult daughter, went to Alaska last summer, in July, 2024 and they live in the Pittsburgh area. Fun fact, Heather also is a podcast host. Her podcast is called flourish Academy, and I'll put it in the show notes, but it is a podcast about helping professional photographers get more clients and make more money. And Heather herself is a photographer. So Heather, welcome to Alaska, uncovered. Thanks for being here. Thank

Heather: 1:45

you so much for having me. Jennie, this is so interesting because a few years ago, we were driving to Florida on our annual vacation, and we were planning, thinking about planning this trip to Alaska, and Craig and I, my husband, we were like, We cannot do this on our own. What are we even thinking? So as we were driving, he went to Spotify and searched for Alaska travel tips or podcast, and your podcast came up, and so instantly we just binged, I mean, however many episodes. I mean, we were driving for 17 hours. So yeah, we listened to a ton of episodes, and we had agreed, like, Listen, you have to get in touch with her. Why do we not just pay her to do everything? She clearly knows what she's doing. And so that's when, when I got home from that vacation, that's when I reached out to you, yeah, yeah. And it's

Unknown: 2:37

so funny, because from that very first conversation, I'm like, Oh, I gotta get have after their trip. I gotta get back with Heather and have her come on the pod. Because I think your family, um, you, you just had so many fun ideas about what you wanted to do. And I love that you were, you were sort of planning this around your son's birthday and the thing that he wanted to do. So I'm going to ask you more about that in a minute, but I am just so glad you're here to share your story. So to start off, Heather, let's talk a little bit more about why. A little more about the birthday and seemed a little overwhelming, but I helped you with that. Yay. Yeah. So tell me a little more about like, why and where your son sort of had this idea that this is what he wanted to do,

Heather: 3:28

of course. So when our oldest daughter is now 22 and Evan is five years younger than her, so he's 16, and I don't know when they were about 10 or 13, we told them that when they turned 16, they could pick anywhere in the world that they wanted to go. Now, this was pretty nerve wracking Jennie, because at the time, we did not have the finances to support such a promise, but I thought to myself, it was really important to me to give them experiences rather than gifts. So my thought is, when I want something and I decide that this is important to me. I ask myself, How can I make this work? Yeah, so I just started saving, of course. And Ella chose Italy in 2018 and shortly after that, Evan chose Alaska. And he was, I mean, obviously he was looking all over the world, and he just thought Alaska looked really cool. He likes adventure. He, you know, he's a 16 year old boy, so he doesn't so much like people to go somewhere where he could maybe get kind of off the grid and experience nature and wildlife. But fun fact, and I don't even know if I shared this with you, but I don't remember the year. I remember I wasn't alive. It was probably 1964 1965 my dad hitchhiked from Pittsburgh to Alaska.

Unknown: 4:48

You did not tell me that, that's awesome,

Heather: 4:51

insane, right? But obviously it was a different era. He went with my mom's brother. So my uncle, they decided, let's go work in Alaska. For a summer. And funny, people still do that, except I think most of them fly to get there, but they hitchhike. They made it. They spent several months in Alaska, and then he somehow found his way home. But that story has always stood out for all of us. I don't know if that factored into Evan's decision, but it's still a pretty cool fact.

Jennie Flaming: 5:20

Super cool. I love it. And by the way, for those of you listening, we did try to get Evan to come on and talk about this himself, but he was like, no thanks. So Heather, you'll have to speak for him. Okay, cool. So when you got in touch with me, you told me like we're planning this trip around. You know what Evan wants to do for his 16th birthday, which was super awesome. And, um, I'm just going to add that you that he really wanted to do, like a backpacking trip, um, but no one else wanted to.

Heather: 5:56

This is so funny. He Yeah, because he's into adventure, he wants to get out. So he says to us, I would love to do like a backpacking trip. And I instantly knew that he wouldn't do it with a group, because I'm sure there's a lot of group activities like that, yeah. So I was like, Okay, I could, I guess I could hire him a private guide, not knowing what any of that looked like it, because I also knew that. Well, first of all, there was no way. Ella and I were going, we're just, We'd like some comfort items. Craig was considering going, but then we were like, I don't know, just be really cool for Evan to spend some time with a guide backpacking in the mountains. Just, I just think it would be a really great experience for him. So I had asked you, is, is that even a possibility? Is that something people do, and you were like, Yep, I know a guy, which, every time with you is so funny, like, Yep, I know a guy. I've got a guy, which is why you're such a great resource.

Unknown: 6:59

I feel like I say that all the time, like, oh, I that's someone who does that. Oh, man, yeah, okay,

Heather: 7:07

yeah. So that was great when you said that. But you know, at first, Jennie, I mean, I have to be honest, I had no clue what that would cost. I just, yeah, I had said I had given you a budget of about 15,000 for 10 days. I think it's important to talk about these numbers for people who are listening, because if you're like me, and you're starting out, you just do not have a clue.

Unknown: 7:26

I love it. I love that. You're game to talk about that. Yeah,

Heather: 7:30

where are you even starting? So I had said we would like to keep it under $15,000 and here are some of the things we would like to do. And I've got to tell you, you were just an expert expert at putting all of those puzzle pieces together. And I don't even know how you did it, honestly and in a way that, like, suited not only our budget, but everything we wanted to accomplish. And you, you were up against big things like airfare.

Jennie Flaming: 7:56

That's a touchy Yeah, like the

Heather: 7:59

airfare from Pittsburgh to Alaska. Oh my gosh, if I ended up getting a really good deal, you know, what else you recommended that coupon book?

Unknown: 8:08

App, yeah, yes. So there's one thing that this I can already tell is going to be great about this episode. Heather is I'm going to be like, Oh, in another episode, we talked more about that. So, yes, the coupon book that you're talking about is the Alaska tour saver, and we actually have talked about that in several other episodes. Scott McMurray, who puts the coupon book together, has been on the podcast twice, and so I'll put a link to that in the show notes. But also, there's other episodes about that, and Matt from go hike Alaska that took Evan on the backpacking trip. I'll also put that in the show notes. And Matt has also been on the podcast, um, we talked about day hikes near anchorage in May. And then, um, he also did one last winter, about a year ago about snowshoeing. So, yeah, so for those of you listening, I'll try to keep mentioning when we have other stuff and what I can put in the show notes. And

Heather: 9:09

I want to come back to that, because I want to share that whole experience with Matt in the wilderness, because I think it's really good. But when you first sent me that app, I was a little bit nervous of how to use it with airfare. I was like, Wait, this app can get you a discount on airfare. I've never heard of such a thing, yeah. I was a little like, wait, what? And it was so simple, it gave me the coupon code. I actually have a lot of Alaska Airlines miles. I have the credit card, yep. But I did the calculation, and that time, it was a better deal for me to use that coupon code, yes, my miles, yes. I don't know if that's always the case.

Unknown: 9:52

It depends. It depends on when your trip is, how many people it is, where you're coming from. It's not always the case, but it can. You, like you said. And for those of you listening, we're talking about the Alaska tour saver, which is coupons, either in app form or a book form. You can get both. And this one that Heather's talking about is it's basically a two for one on Alaska airline. No, yes, yeah. Basically it's a two for one. But there are only certain months you can use it and certain days of the week. But if you can make that work like you did, then you can save, like,

Heather: 10:32

1000s with that, 1000s of dollars, like it was a really big deal. I don't have these numbers in front of me, so don't quote me, but I want to say at the end of the day, our airfare ended up it was definitely less than 3000 maybe just over 2000 for the four of us, which is incredible, because when I first started looking I was like, Whoa, this is going to take up like, a decent portion of our budget. Yeah, I'd recommended the app, and again, I was just, Okay, listen, I was confused. I tried to download the app, and I guess it gets released at a certain time of the year. It does, yeah, yeah. I went to it too soon, and it wasn't working. And I'm like, I'm lost. I don't know what to do. And I think I even may have asked you, and you're like, it comes out a certain time, and then it worked fine. So, yep,

Unknown: 11:19

yep, yeah. And you know, if, for those of you listening, if you follow that link in the show notes, then you'll go to their website, where they'll say whether or not it's available.

Heather: 11:33

I know, no, I was confused. I don't know why.

Unknown: 11:36

I know. Hey, you're not alone. Not everything was

Heather: 11:39

so confusing that I was, yeah, before we even tried to get started, I was so overwhelmed. I was so happy. I found you. And then you travel a lot, so you're not always available for obvious reasons, yeah, and you only take clients certain times of the year. However you have it structured. And I was like, Please. I'm begging you. Let me pay you to do this. I cannot do this

Unknown: 12:01

without you. It was perfect. You were planning during the winter.

Heather: 12:06

So much. Thank goodness, thank goodness, because I just don't know how we would have done that without you. I was so, so happy. And I felt like, I gotta tell you, I felt like this was a kind of big, a big deal. So I was telling everyone, I'm like, listen, there's this podcast about Alaska, and there's this lady, Jennie, she hosts it, and I don't want to brag, but she's the one planning our trip. So we hired kind of a big deal.

Jennie Flaming: 12:30

Oh, that's so funny. I love it.

Heather: 12:36

Okay, so the airfare is good, and then you took what we had given you, and you came up without itinerary. Yes, yep. And then we changed, you know, you came up with the itinerary. Sorry, you came up with the itinerary. And then we, like, looked at it, and we're like, okay, we want to spend a couple of days here, a couple days there, but not too long there. And, you know, and our main track was anchorage up to Denali, then stopping in Talkeetna in between, and that, you know, and staying for a few days, and that worked out

Unknown: 13:03

beautifully, yeah, yeah. And, you know, one thing I remember about that, that I want to, I want to mention for people listening, is originally, you had an additional location in there, and after I put that draft together for you, you were like, You know what? We think this is a little too much. We want to take this section out and have more time in the other places. And I want to ask you how you felt about that decision. But what I want to tell folks listening is, you know, all the people I've worked with as clients or people I've taken on tour, they never say, I wish we'd gone to more places, correct? Like, yeah. So you could be the one, someone who feels otherwise. But I thought it was really cool that you were like, This feels like a little too much running around. Yeah. So, so maybe talk about, if you feel comfortable, like what that was, why you took it out, and then how you felt about that decision.

Heather: 14:07

For the record, Jennie, I will openly talk about anything and everything, including finances, because I like to share and I like to help people. Yeah, yeah, it was wrangle st Elias, and it's at, it's east, right by by a decent amount. And we had a couple of days driving over there and then driving back, yeah. And we looked at that, and we were like, That's just too much time in the car, yeah? And we were so, so thankful that we did that. It would 100% the right move, yeah, if we had, I think we would have just been dead. I think we would have been so tired. You know, even what we did do, we thought, oh, man, we could have used an extra day in each one of those places. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, no, that was definitely the right move to cut that. And I think sometimes we go. Into this. I think this might be a heather problem. I act as if I'm never able to go back there and go to different places, yeah, like as if this is the one and only opportunity for me to visit Alaska, which is simply not true. Like it's not hard to get there. I could go back anytime I wanted, but it's like we get in our heads. I need to see everything. I need to see everything right now and not miss a single thing. And it, which is no fun if you're exhausted, yeah. So I'm, I'm glad we did that, and I actually, we did talk about this as a family. We're like, where would you go back to? If you could go back, I would spend more time in talking to Yeah, I loved that little town. Loved it. It's pretty fun. It's so fun. It was like, perfect. You could do a lot of things. You could still get up to Denali, because not that far, you know, and you could still get around you do your flight scene tours out of there. And then if I had to do, if I could go back, which I could, I would like to go explore the Seward area, yeah, down there, because we didn't make it down there, but yep, our decisions, every decision we made or that you suggested for us, was perfect. Like, we could not have been happier with the Airbnbs everywhere we stayed was like, so fun and different. And loved it. Loved it. And

Unknown: 16:18

I just want to say again for those of you listening, it was, it was your family, Heather, that looked at that and was like, this looks like too much. That wasn't something that I said, right? Yes, so I, I would just encourage, even if you're having someone else plan your trip, it's still your trip. So it's still really important to be like, Okay, this, is what's really important to me, right? Like, you knew that that hike for Evan had to be the center of everything, and that was going to happen based out of Anchorage, right? So you knew you were going to go there as a starting point. And I just think that's so important to like, another thing that I really want people to know about your family is, I felt like you all did a great job of talking together about what you wanted, and so I think that gave you, as the person who was doing, who was kind of taking the lead, like, the confidence that you weren't going to get there and have your husband be like, Well, where did this come from? Yes, right, because Craig and Evan were there when we had our time together. And I know you got their feedback. And Ella's, I know she's not living with you anymore, um, and I think I really want to encourage other people, if you're planning a family trip and with any family members who are older than five years old. Get their input. Yeah,

Heather: 17:43

you make it sound so nice, and I guess it is, but the truth is, I went to I went to them, and I said, Listen, I don't want any complaining. I don't want anything. So you have to tell me now what your thoughts are on staying in this Airbnb for two or three nights, or whatever it is, and headed in this direction, like it was, like a Speak now or forever, hold your peace thing, yeah,

Unknown: 18:05

and that's awesome. I mean, you don't have to be like, super woo, woo. About it. You just be like, Listen, guys, this is the deal. This is what's happening. Love it. Okay, cool. Um, all right, I want to ask you a little more about your time in Denali, because that is something, you know, people love national parks. People want to go to Denali. They should go to Denali because it's amazing, and it can be a little bewildering to like, figure out, you know, if people have been to say Yosemite or Yellowstone or Great Smoky Mountains, it's like you could do some research. You can find a place to stay. You could kind of drive around and explore. And Denali is quite different. So could you share a little more about what you did in Denali on like, if there's anything you do differently, or think people should know about that experience? Yes.

Heather: 19:05

And interestingly enough, we arrived probably two days after they contained the fire, so the entrance to Denali was closed leading up to our trip, and while we were, I mean, we were concerned about it, but we were like, well, we'll just figure out something else to do, like we wouldn't let something like that ruin our vacation if, if we couldn't go. But I was very relieved when, when, yeah, got there and it was open. So the first afternoon, we were just kind of looking around, and we got to the visitor center, which is beautiful, like everything is beautiful and very well done. But my son, Evan, who does not like people well, he was a little taken aback by the number of people at the well. Home Center. It's very crowded there. Obviously, everybody's like, trying to figure things out, you know? And then they disperse out. So it's fine. And, like, you know that? I know that. But, man, he was, like, in my ear, like, I hate this. I He was, he's just a teenage boy, okay, relax, yeah. He's just like, I hate all these people. I hate it here. And I said, Evan, this is just part of the trip. It's necessary. We will find where we want to go, yeah, just relax. So we did. We found so that day, we found a trail. Oh, we walked over to the dog sledding display, demo, yeah, yeah. So fun. It was so fun. We got to see them. We got there in time for the demonstration, and the dogs came out, and oh my gosh, it was like we learned. So we loved that. And so then he perked up, you know, and we had walked there and walked back. That was super fun. I definitely recommend that. And then the next day, we had booked the bus tour. So the bus goes out to remind me of the miles, the mile markers, right? Yeah,

Unknown: 21:05

so right now it's mile 43 Yes, it goes further. At the moment, the road, I'm sure people listening probably know this, but the road, there was a landslide, a major landslide, and like a long term problem area just past that, it's called the pretty rock slide. And at the moment, there's been, there's a like span bridge that the engineering is amazing, amazing, um, and so, but it's like a five year project. It'll be open in 2026 or 2027 so yes, right now, all the transportation in the park only goes to mile 43 but

Heather: 21:49

I don't want anyone who's listening that hasn't been there to be disappointed by that, because it was amazing and it was plenty long enough. Jennie,

Unknown: 21:56

it's a long time on a school bus, right? Yep, that would want it to go any further. Yes, you're not alone in that. Yeah. So we,

Heather: 22:05

we got on that bus and, Oh, this guy, Wayne, was just awesome. He's just telling us everything. And then we got to savage river. We were, we were coming up on savage River, and there were two busses stopped, and a lot of cars and people everywhere, and it was like a traffic jam, you know. And he's, like, he said, well, there must be something going on. There must be some type of wildlife, or we would be sitting here. So he pulled up and there was a grizzly bear, ah, I mean, like, right there, just playing in the water, and, like, totally unawares, or didn't care that anybody was there. It was, like, interesting. He was just doing his thing. Wayne also told us that he's probably an adolescent male. Oh my gosh. Jennie, he was huge. I was like, if that's an adolescent,

Unknown: 22:54

yeah, yeah, they are big, yeah, they are. So

Heather: 22:58

it was, he was playing, and then he laid on the ground and was scratching his back. And I almost died. I said, you guys, we are watching a grizzly bear scratch his own back, right? Like this is really happening? Is this really happening? It was mind blowing to us, which reminds me, when we were walking on the trail. We stopped several times, and we were just taking photos. And we were like, Is this even real? How is this even real? It's so breathtakingly beautiful. Yeah, you can't even, I mean, you see pictures, it's just really So, okay, we saw the grizzly bear. We were there for several minutes before he kind of, you know, lumbered off into the distance. But they had clothes or put Rangers in that area until they were they have like, protocols for that, I guess, yeah,

Unknown: 23:48

they do. And that area there at savage River is one of the few places in the park that has like actual formal hiking trails, yeah, you know. And so I am not surprised that they were like, we need to not have people on this trail. Pretty much locked

Heather: 24:05

it down. Yeah, yeah. And so then we got beyond that, and we saw ptarmigan. Are those, those things that look like chickens? Is that what that is? Yes, reminded me of my chickens. We saw doll sheep, of course, and some Fox with her kits. And again, winning was just awesome. We got to mile 43 and he explained to us that you could get off and look around and get back on, or you could stay and just grab another bus. Well, when we got off, it was so windy. I was like, Oh my gosh, I didn't realize we were on Mount Everest today it was, yeah, cold and really windy, yeah, Craig and Evan wanted to stay and hike. And Ella and I were like, I think we'll just like, we're done. Yeah, yeah. So they stayed. We went back. Had a lovely time again. On the way back, Wayne was telling us everything, and Craig and Evan got back, I don't know, a couple hours later, but they. Actually saw a black wolf, I believe that they thought was pretty cool, yeah, and pretty racy, yeah, very Yeah. I've never seen a wolf in 10 alley. Yeah, he thought it was so neat. Evan couldn't stop talking about was pretty cool. Um, so that adventure was just even more awesome than I would have thought, like I was really excited for it, but to actually, and it was, I wouldn't think being on a bus like I thought I was going to be annoyed by that, because, you know, when I graduated high school, I was like, I'm never getting on a bus again, like a school. So I thought it might, but it was fine, and it was so enjoyable to, like, honestly, not have to drive, yeah, you know, just sit there and look. And he we stopped a couple times. There's, like, restrooms and like, nice restrooms and lookouts and stuff. And it was just a really, really lovely day I enjoyed. So I would highly recommend that bus tour. And then, just like planning some hikes on the trails. You know, their their maps are excellent. They tell you, you know, the difficulty, how long it is, if you can loop it or not, yep. And that was all very helpful. We didn't do any big, big hikes in Denali, just like some small ones. But, yeah, I think we could have maybe benefited from another day. Yeah, we had two days there.

Unknown: 26:18

Yep. I think what would you have done on that third day, if you I

Heather: 26:22

would have gone on a longer hike. Yeah, I would have found another trail. I like, the loops so and maybe, you know, like, packed something to snack on, and, yeah, just taking a longer walk. But it was still just really, really awesome to see, like, breathtaking, just beautiful. Yeah, you know,

Unknown: 26:42

I'm so glad that you talked about that, Heather, because nobody thinks that they want to take a bus to her. I know I just need her. I mean, nobody does every and it's funny because, like, I'll often have people contact me and be like, is there another way to do this? And like, well, not really. I mean, you can, you can walk into the park on some of the hiking trails, and you can do flight scene over the park, and you can do flight scene, um, in some cases with a glacier landing that's inside the park. But, like, I think what people mean is, can I just drive, right? No,

Heather: 27:23

no. And I was one of the I was one of those people, Craig, and I would have said, well, can't we just drive? We just, well, yeah,

Unknown: 27:29

everyone does, yeah. Everyone says that, right. Not everyone is as honest and open as you are, Heather, but I think everybody is like, I

Heather: 27:39

don't want to do that, but that's a mistake. That's like, that's like, just misguided logic, because we didn't know, because a couple of things. Number one, you have to drive slow because of the way the road is, like, it's not a finished road, you know? So you have to drive slow. I cannot imagine what the traffic would be if everybody took their call. You would hate it. You wouldn't it would ruin the experience. Honestly, you hate people. You would hate everybody in the way they drove. So, yeah, the fact that it's limited just to skilled drivers, yeah, who know what they're doing they have a schedule, keeps it so orderly and organized. It's It's act, I am certain it is actually more enjoyable that way than driving. We just, like, hung out. We had our snacks. Always good to have your snacks, you know, in your water. We just hung out on the bus and, and I would assume that most of the bus drivers are like, Wayne, they're just awesome. They just share all kinds of things.

Unknown: 28:36

many of them have been there for decades, yeah, like, it's a job that people it's not like, uh, like, do this for a couple summers in college. I mean, there are people who do that, but most of the drivers have been there a long, long time.

Heather: 28:52

Was very, very enjoyable. Don't worry about the bus ride. I was quite comfortable. It was fine. It was fun.

Unknown: 29:00

Yeah, awesome, cool. Okay, anything else you want to say about Denali before we

Heather: 29:08

No, Denali is good. Um, you had explained to us that, you know, restaurants in Denali were not only expensive, but there's like, not a super ton kind of them. So finding something there was this, like, there's this, like, mall on the cliff side. Do you know, I don't know what it's called. It's like, almost like a strip mall, yeah, yeah. They have a lot of little places to shop and eat. We went there and did some, like, gift shopping and stuff, and that was fun. We enjoyed that, but I don't know, and we were tired. So one night, actually, Craig went to the store and picked up food. And because we were in an Airbnb, we just had, like, dinner in, yep. And I really enjoyed that, because we were kind of getting sick of eating out. Yeah, if there is one place we blew our budget, it

Unknown: 29:56

was food. Yeah, it's easy to do that. Yeah. Just. Everything,

Heather: 30:00

yeah, you had, you had set appropriate expectations. You're like, it's expensive and it was, but there's,

Unknown: 30:07

there's, yeah, guys, it's expensive, and then there's, like, whoa, hot dogs are $15

Heather: 30:13

expensive, correct?

Jennie Flaming: 30:14

Like, they are, incidentally, yes. But

Heather: 30:16

even like talking to because we need to talk about that too, I love talking, yeah, we went, when we first got there, we went to get ice cream. Okay, so there's this fireweed ice cream. I had never heard of fireweed. I did not understand any of this. I thought it was super fun that it was, like, bright pink, you know? So we go to this little place with fireweed ice cream, and we get four small ice cream cones, and it's $40 and I'm like, Okay, I mean, can we share ice cream? Yeah,

Unknown: 30:45

I know it's really, really expensive, and I'm really glad that we're talking about that too, because it's also really expensive for people who live there. Like have to eat there all the time. Um, it's never thought of that. Yeah, I think, I think sometimes people, at least when I am in Denali and telkina, but especially Denali, really, anywhere in Alaska, you know, people are like, whoa. Price is Whoa. And I try to prepare people for that. And I'm also like, you know, this is a remote location. Everything has to get shipped in this, this whole place is only open for four months. Like, yes, you know, that doesn't make it hurt less, but I think sometimes people are like, are people just charging a lot because they can and and yes they Yes, but also it's like, you know, that's just, I mean, that's how it is in rural

Heather: 31:47

Alaska. Yeah. No, you did. You did prepare us appropriately. And I, and I appreciated those thoughts, because it's that was just in line with what I was thinking. It has to be hard to get things here. They have to make all of their money in four months, right? They live here, everything, everything is a little bit more challenging in terms of, just, like, existing, yeah? So, you know, we're the tourists, so we bring in money to support them. Like, it's all it's all good, and even if somebody is overcharging to make money. By the way, I have my own business, so I like, like, no kidding, they want to make money, right? Yeah? Like, that's the point of having a business, right? So, yeah, I paid for the$40 ice cream, mostly with a smile on my face. It was delicious.

Unknown: 32:34

Did you know that Alaska is the number one ice cream consuming state in the country, per capita did not know that. Yeah, Alaskans eat ice cream year round. There's ice cream everywhere all year. Okay?

Heather: 32:52

It was good, which, oh, also, when we got the ice cream, it was like 50 degrees and raining that night. Yes, when we arrived, you had prepared us. I think this. I can't say this enough how important it is to work with someone like you who sets appropriate expectations. So there was no turn in which I was disappointed, because everything was expected. So you had said, you know, basically, bring clothes for all four seasons because you don't know what you're going to get. Yeah, that's true. And when we arrived, it was pretty chilly and rainy for the first several days, um, maybe, maybe three. And we were like, Oh well, that's a bummer. But Jennie, oh my gosh, we used your name so many times. Remember Jennie told us? Remember Jennie said, I said, Jennie said, Don't go there. You know, I can't remember. But anyway, it was like, you had said, like, people just still do things. Like, rain doesn't stop. Alaskans, yeah. And that really stuck with me, yeah, if it's gonna rain, we're not gonna just, like, stay inside and play cards and, like, wait till it stops raining, because you might be waiting a long time. Yeah? So because you had appropriately prepared us for that, not only did we have the right clothing and the hats and the gear, but it was just like, Okay, we're gonna go take a hike, even though it's raining and it's cold, like, I wouldn't normally do that on a vacation or even at home. You know, you'd wait till nice weather, yeah, but you you don't know if nice weather is coming now. It turns out that after day three or four, it cleared out in the rest of our trip was beautiful, sunny, it even got a little hot one day,

Unknown: 34:34

you got, yeah, yeah, yeah, and then you got to deal with the bugs. Which will, we'll talk in a minute. We did, we did, we'll come back to that. Yes, we will come back to that. One other thing I wanted to just say about food and prices is that strategy of just going to a grocery store and buying some food is a really good one, and you can really save a lot of money that way. And that's one. Thing, you know, even on our group, the group tours, you know, for the company I work for that does that we do that on most of our tours, is like, stop at a grocery store and we're like, hey, you know, if anybody needs toothpaste, or you just don't want to, you just want to get a few muffins to have for breakfast, instead of, like, going and having a full cooked buffet for $30 you know, you can do that, so I just want to emphasize that as a great strategy for saving money on food. Yeah, Alaska has great restaurants like you don't want to miss that entirely, but, you know, you don't need to do that every single day. That's right, yeah, all right, we're gonna take a short break, and when we come back, we'll talk a little more with Heather about her trip. Our sponsor for the month of February is the Unalaska Visitors Bureau. Unalaska is located in the Aleutian Islands and the Aleutian Islands pepper the southwest region of Alaska, halfway out on the Aleutian chain, a dramatic emerald green landscape greets visitors to one of Alaska's most remote communities. It feels a world away, even though it's just a two hour flight from Anchorage. Unalaska has a rich history of the youngagon people that have lived in this region for over 10,000 years. Unalaska is also located 50 miles from the great circle route, which in turn makes the international port of Dutch Harbor a bustling working community. The island is known for their indigenous culture and abundance of seafood. World War Two history outdoor activities, including hiking, fishing, camping, kayaking, beachcombing, beautiful wildflowers and marine life to view as you walk or drive by the surrounding ocean, if you are looking for something really unique to add to your Alaska itinerary. Make sure that you check out Unalaska and Unalaska. Thank you for being our February sponsor. All right, everybody. We are back with Heather lawtonen, and we are talking about her family's trip to Alaska in July of 2024, so Heather, let's follow you all down to tell kitna, which I know you loved, tell everybody kind of what you loved about tel kita, and a little bit about the flight that you did while you oh

Heather: 37:38

my gosh, yes, I would love to. So you booked us an Airbnb, and the host, Mike was the most delightful person I have ever met, super high adventure guy like highly recommend Mike's cabin. So if you want to include that Airbnb link, so we can give Mike some loved this guy. So he had this cabin. It was just we were just maybe, like five minutes from downtown, talking to so it was perfect, because you put us out in the wilderness, which is what we wanted, but we were close enough to town that we could get something to eat or, like, explore or do whatever we loved. Loved. Loved that cabin. He had trails on his property that we hiked, and I was a little I all of us, except for Evan, we were very nervous about the bear and the moose in the area. Yeah, because, I mean, there were signs everywhere, like they're everywhere, and we didn't, you know, necessarily have any way to protect ourselves. So it was like, early on in our trips, we were a little bit nervous about that, but we hiked from his cabin down to this overlook with one of the many rivers. Also. I did not realize the number of waterways. So many, so many everywhere, water everywhere, the the lakes, the rivers. So while we were there, we took a flightseeing tour with k2 aviation that was probably, I gotta think about this, because I want to be honest, the most epic thing I've ever done, yeah, I mean, honestly, yeah, I could easily believe that it's really cool. It was so cool and so awesome. And you know, the weather in Denali, in that area, is very dynamic. So they had told us, you know, if there's something going on, we'll call you the day of, and they're constantly come to find out. They're constantly shifting schedules because of the weather. So they had called us and said, Hey, we can still do your tour, but we can't land on a glacier. We had paid for a Glacier landing, yes, and they said we can either reschedule you for tomorrow, or we can just give you, like a regular tour. And they were so kind. They were like, we would be disappointed. And I was like, listen, safety. First, if you don't think we should land, then we're not gonna right because, of course, I support that. Well, we didn't want to reschedule because we had planned. So we were like, we'll take the regular tour, you know, whatever that is. So we go on this little, tiny, little, tiny Cessna plane. And my daughter has this look on her face, like, I'm not sure she's gonna get on this plane, but she did, and they distribute us by weight, and she's tiny, so they put her in that one seat in the very back, Greg and I in the middle, and Evan up front, with the pilot, which I loved, because this was his trip. I loved that for him. Yeah, the pilot, we took off and we started flying. And again, we were just, I think we were shocked in awe and silence. We just couldn't even speak at how breathtaking it was. And he was so great showing us around, and we saw he's like, that's this glacier. That's that and Jennie, I don't know what I was thinking, but that's not what a glacier looked like in my mind. What I don't I don't know, but it was 10 times more amazing than you could conjure up in your brain, even with like, yes, seeing it in person is like, This is unreal, and he's explaining about the mountains and the weather and just everything it was. I don't know even how long our tour was. I lost track of time because it was so amazing. I want to say it was probably an hour, maybe hour, maybe hour and a half. It doesn't, yeah,

Unknown: 41:24

it was probably between an hour and an hour and a half. Yeah, that would be typical.

Heather: 41:27

We saw some moose, and then we saw a moose with a calf, and then we saw a bear. And I was, like, a little bit nervous about getting motion sick, because yeah, and to get that way. Yes, listen, I was totally fine, totally, totally fine. And we're headed back towards the airport, and Ella says, look, there's a bear. And he does this maneuver with this plane, okay, but he like, cuts it pretty sharp and drops. And my stomach was like, No, thank you. Oh no. Like, thankfully I did not get sick. But, you know, who wants to get sick on like, this little, tiny Cessna plane. So I was like, playing it cool. Jennie, look, I was playing it cool. I was like, sitting there, like this, like, Okay, so we're good, you know, like, we're headed back, or whatever. No more. U turns like that. So we land, and we get out of the plane. Everybody's like, mind blown. And I'm like, do you think I could get a ginger ale, or is there some saltines? Does anybody have some? And I was like, Mom, are you sick? And I'm like, I just need a minute. Yeah, it's just, like, it just when you said, look at the bear, he turned. And then so my husband, who has got to be the smartest, most brilliant and handsome, shall I say, man on the planet. Oh, I brought you saltines just in case. Oh, what a hero. We had them in the car, and then I got to trail, and I was totally fine, yeah, but we have video and photos from that that are just Yeah, and listen the smile and delight on my son's face like I will never get over because he's, he's kind of stoic, you know, and he was, he's talking to the pilot, because he plays these pilot games, and he, like, knows a lot of stuff, yeah, he's, like, asking the pilot these Questions. No, none of us understand what he's talking about, and he they're just having this conversation. Oh, just Yeah. It was really heartwarming and beautiful. Like, I got off that plane, and after I got my cell teens, I said, You know what? I think I could die happy. Like, if I died today, I would just be, like, satisfied that we got to do that. Was amazing. Highly, highly recommend. And by the way, they gave me a partial refund because I had paid for the landing that we didn't get to do. So it was like, This is amazing. I felt such a winner.

Unknown: 43:52

Yeah, I Oh, that's so relatable. Heather. Like, I mean, it's just flightseeing in Alaska is just the best. And especially in Denali, it's really, it's amazing.

Heather: 44:08

You have to do it if you if there's like, one, one adventure that you want to do and you want to save for, I would just highly, highly recommend. And I'm sure there's a lot of different outfits, but we k2 was awesome. They were very professional, and if you felt very safe, you know, with their procedures, and which was important because you're on this little bitty plane, yeah,

Jennie Flaming: 44:29

yeah, they do an amazing job. Like I might add all flight scene companies to you in Alaska, yeah. But, um, we also have an episode of the podcast with k2 so I know that's like, amazing, yeah, and it was about a year ago, so you could go back and look at that. It's about flightseeing over Denali, and he has said to us, we asked him, How many do you schedule a day? And he said, Five. I think maybe five per pile. I don't know, but, and Craig said, How often do you actually do five? And he said, almost never, yeah, because it changes so much. So you just, if you go into that, into it with that expectations that like, like, give yourself a couple days, yep, and know that something could get shifted. And you really do just have to roll with the punches when you're there, yeah. And it was totally fine. I think a lot of people get really, really disappointed when something changes on them, yeah? And that's just no fun, you know. Like, just lower your expectations and have fun because it's gonna be amazing no matter what.

Unknown: 45:34

Yeah. I totally agree. Did you see Denali the mountain on your flight?

Heather: 45:43

Okay, no, yeah,

Unknown: 45:46

I didn't know that, by the way, those listening. I didn't know the answer before I asked. I was guessing, because July was overall, not a great month this year for seeing the mountain. Um, but that's the other thing, is, don't get hung up on, like, seeing the peak of Denali, well, flight scene, like, obviously, it's very cool if that happens, but they're not going to take you up if you're not going to see something amazing and correct, don't even care about what you didn't see because, like you said, Heather, you're going to be like, What in the world is even happening right now that is such a try not to get too like, attached to that particular outcome, like, and just have the experience. They're not going to take you up. And not just came to you. Other companies that operate out of Healy and the entrance area until key that they're they're not going to take you and give you a bad experience or an unsafe one. But sometimes it's about safety, but other times it's just like, there's nothing to see today. We're not doing this.

Heather: 47:01

Yeah, correct. So Craig was a little obsessed with seeing the peak of Denali, not in our tour, not in the plane, but just in general, yeah. And no, we didn't see it when we were flying, because the weather was questionable that day, and it was, yeah. And I've heard, I think, I think maybe I heard this from you. You said that, like, Denali has its own weather system.

Unknown: 47:20

You've probably heard that from many people, is like, you can have a beautiful blue bird day, right everywhere else, and you can't see danelli. You can also have like, crazy wind, rain, fog, and then for like, two minutes it'll be like, whoop and there it is. And then, like, you know, all of that is possible. So, yeah, definitely true. I

Heather: 47:42

think that we were there in that area for a total between Talkeetna and Denali itself. I think we were there four days, and we saw the peak of the mountain for a couple minutes, one or two times, yeah, from Mike's cabin, actually, yeah, it was later in the day, and it was like you saw the base, and then nothing, nothing, nothing. And then this peak, yeah,

Unknown: 48:05

yeah, that was, I love it too. Like, sometimes, one place that that I sometimes stay when I'm with guests is at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, which has great views also. But of course, the mountain has to be out. And, you know, I have definitely, like, pulled up there in a motor coach and and then had people looking like, down, like, no, no, it's up there. And they're like,

Heather: 48:32

you can't even believe how I

Unknown: 48:33

love it. I know, yeah. And then sometimes I love it too, when we arrive and, like, the weather has been kind of funky. And I'll be like, everybody go out here and look right now, and they're like, well, we want to put our get in our room. Like, no, no, this comes Yes, because it's brief, yeah. So if you see the mountain, you gotta, like, stop what you're doing and have that experience, because it's not a good guarantee it'll be there in an hour.

Heather: 48:59

We did so we saw in like that was great. You know, love it. That whole experience in talking to was just so fun. We just loved every minute of being in talking to awesome. I'm so glad you loved it. Yeah, so cool. Okay, so let's talk a little bit about Evans grand hike. Oh my gosh, yes, back down to Anchorage. We went, Yes. We flew in and out of Anchorage. So we ended the trip in Anchorage in an Airbnb, and Evan was going on his hike, and then we were doing all kinds of fun things just around town, you know. And, you know, Jennie, I thought about it for a minute. I was like, so I spent a lot of money to send my son into the wilderness was somebody I've never met I know nothing about. I mean, I just got his name a week prior. I mean, so there's a lot of trust involved there, I guess I would say, but I honestly wasn't, I wasn't worried about it. So Matt showed up at our Airbnb in. And he had prepped us with a list of things that Evan needed to have, yeah. So it started with packing their backpacks. And you just don't realize how much goes into how he does it, the order he does Yeah, yeah. Strategy was like, Wait, it was so much more than any of us knew, and it was so good for Evan, because Matt made him take everything out of his backpack, line it up. Yeah. He explained to him every single thing they were putting in, why they were doing it, how he was like, curving it around this other thing, why this, remember, you know, and it ended up being about 35 pounds Evans backpack. Evan is very, very fit, so he works out on a regular basis. He's very muscular, you know, testosterone and a 16 year old boy, right? For days. So I wasn't, I wasn't worried about his strength. I was a little concerned about, like, the stamina of that kind of walking, you know, we made sure his shoes were good. Everything was good. So they took off, and the three of us sat there, and we were like, like, we had plans, but we were like, what do we do now? Evan's gone, you know, like, okay, Matt had a satellite phone so he could periodically check in with me, which was super kind, you know, to just let me know they were alive. So that was really so he, he got in touch with me when they broke camp, they stayed overnight, and then I guess they summited this mountain peak. I don't know the names of these things, and and then they came down anyway. It ended up being 17 miles up and back, yeah. And Matt brought him back the next day, so he was gone a day and a half, kind of like, Yeah, like that. And, I mean, he, they both looked pretty beat up.

Unknown: 51:49

But Matt, I know there were, well, Matt told me that there were many bugs involved, yes,

Heather: 51:55

yeah, oh yeah. It was pretty rough. But, um, when they when they came back, Matt said he just did fantastic. He was like, I was just so impressed by his ability to do things and learn things. And he said, When he started out, Matt led. Matt told me this. Matt said I wanted to lead when we started out, because I didn't want him to smoke me there, yeah. And he said, on the way back, I let him lead. Yeah, he learned a lot of really neat climbing techniques and how to do things. So much about breaking camp and storing your food away and sealed containers and everything that you bring comes back with you, and just the whole experience. Evan, I'm so grateful he did this. I asked him to, but I didn't know if he would. He took a ton of video and photos on his phone. Oh, fun. Where if him narrating, like telling me, oh, that's Oh my gosh. It was just so, so, so amazing. It was more than we could have even asked for. So epic. But Jennie, I have to tell you, the best part is Evan, and Matt left, and Evan just collapses on the couch, and he's just sitting there, like in a daze. I was like, are you okay? And what I saw on his face was accomplishment. Like, oh, that's so, so proud of himself, and felt so accomplished. And he said to me, Mom, my friends are at home playing video games and sleeping, and I just summited a mountain. Yeah, if you can just stop for a second and take in the importance of giving a 16 year old, yeah, that type of experience, yeah, that will, like, alter his life or the direction of his life forever, to feel that level of accomplishment. I gotta tell you, it's absolutely priceless, yeah, to give a kid that feeling. So I just was, like, my heart could have burst that day. Oh, so, so I wrote you this big, long email about it. You know, it was like, so grateful. And then he said I did get bit up a little bit. And I said, he said, I did what he told me. I sprayed my clothes. I wore two layers, I did all of the things. And I I said, Okay, well, we have some stuff, right? Whatever. He goes and takes a shower, and he comes back and he says, um, it's worse than I thought. And I said, What do you mean? Turn around. Oh my gosh, Jennie, his back must have had 1000 bites on it. It was, he was covered something or several somethings got into a shirt and just, yeah, ate him up. Like I have never witnessed, like I was like, Is there such a thing as mosquito poisoning? Because he has a he, yeah. I mean, so we went to the store, we bought more cortisone, anti itch stuff. But you know what was so impressive to me, my kid, I'm so proud of him. He's just the best traveler. He doesn't complain. He never He must have been miserable, and he never complained about it. I was like, are you okay? Because if that were me. Me, oh my gosh, or my daughter, we would be, you would hear about it a lot, yeah, and he never said a word. And I was like, Do you want me to hit your back, like? And he was just like, you know, scratch it a little bit. And, oh, his legs too. His legs got a little bit, but nothing like his. I mean, so man, I have to wonder, did he really spray his clothes down like we told him to and did he really, I don't know. So when your guide, whether that's Jennie or someone else, when your guide tells you to do something, I'm gonna go ahead and suggest that you listen, or you will pay the price.

Unknown: 55:34

Yeah, by the way, for everybody listening, another thing that can really help in that kind of situation, is, like, just straight up Benadryl, yeah. Difference, yeah. Put him honestly, like, yeah, you just kind of have to get through it. Oh, poor guy, yeah.

Heather: 55:52

But that was, I think if you were to ask him now, he would 100% say it was worth it. Oh, for what he experienced. Yeah. Like, that's awesome. It's just, I have a couple pictures of him that I'm like, I need to get them printed, because I don't know, it just gives you that feeling of, like, accomplishment.

Unknown: 56:10

Yeah, that's a huge deal. Yes, confidence,

Heather: 56:14

feeling like you could do that, you could figure that out and do that. Oh my gosh. I really do believe that this, like, set a direction for his life that we will look back on and say, like it was because of that hike. I'm not. I know it's It might sound like I'm being dramatic, but I really think it's that important. So if you if you have kids or that age, and it makes sense to teach them these skills, but even younger kids, like with their parents or with the guide, would make sense? I think it's it would be really important to do for your children. Yeah,

Unknown: 56:48

yeah. And um, so just a reminder again, you know Matt, who we're talking about, who was Evan's guide, owns a company called go hike Alaska, and they also do day trips, right? So it doesn't have to be backpacking, and that is in the show notes, and we have those other episodes about it. One other thing with Matt. Another thing I wanted to mention is a little over a year ago, November 2023 we had an episode about traveling with kids in Alaska. And it we covered as with Aaron Kirkland, who's written about family travel in Alaska for like, 25 years. And so we talked about different like we talked about very young children and school age and teenagers. And one of the things that she talked about in that episode was for teens, especially, if you can give them opportunities where they can, like, stretch their wings or do something a bit dangerous, yes, in a safe way, that this is a great opportunity for that. And I think that the episode that we had about cruising with kids. We also had that conversation so with with Jenelle, so yeah, just wanted to throw that in there as well.

Heather: 58:08

Oh my gosh. I think it's such a good experience for kids too, to stretch their wings, to feel sort of independent, but like you, like scared in a safe way, like put even Ella getting on that Cessna, yeah, yeah. It was a big deal for her to get that fear. Yeah. Evan doesn't seem to have fear. He was just, like, going for it. But I'm sure, I'm sure there had to be some hesitation, yeah, to be out in the wilderness with a stranger. Listen, I loved Matt. He was the, he's an amazing person. He was the perfect guy for him. Like they Evan still talks about some conversations they had. He's like, Oh, Matt told me, you know, you know this or whatever. And again, I mean, it was, I was trusting you and him. And I was just like, Yeah, take my kid. Here he is like,

Unknown: 58:54

and it just turned out to be a fantastic, really epic experience. Yes, yes, amazing. Thank you for that. Oh, you're welcome, and thank you for sharing about that. I think this is so helpful for other parents and other stickier Yeah. Okay, so we also were going to talk about packing a little bit, um, so you kind of had to be ready for anything when it came to weather, and you kind of experienced everything when it came to weather. So what do you want to tell folks about? Okay,

Heather: 59:32

I just want you. Jennie, you to consider when you say to someone, hey, you should pack really light so you can travel lightly. Oh, but also pack for four seasons that that is like a difficult prediction. Okay, I know, I know it is pack your hiking pants, your hiking boots, your water shoes, your raincoat, your gloves, your hat. Oh, but you probably need shorts, maybe a t shirt, maybe. And you know all of these things, but we really did. Take that into consideration, and we kept things pretty streamlined, because, well, we were moving a lot. We were moving from place to place, and we each had, like, some type of, maybe suitcase and, like, backpack, yeah, you know, everybody could be responsible for their own things, yep. So, you know, nobody's like, I'm not carrying your stuff, you know, or whatever, and that worked. I'm trying to think I probably still did over pack, but not by much, just like what ended up happening, I feel like, was I, I got, I got into my Alaska vibe, okay? And I wore the same outfit almost every day, and I kept washing it, because that's

Unknown: 1:00:39

what everyone does everyone, even me, I wear the same like, well, I know better now. So like, when I'm working, I bring two pairs of pants for two weeks, because, yes, that's what I'm gonna wear, and then I wash them a couple times.

Heather: 1:00:53

That's exactly all I needed, yeah, and like, 2t shirts and, like, some sort of jacket or, like, I actually had, like a hoodie or two plus my rain jacket, yeah, which, oh my gosh, we love the great outfit. Yeah, it was perfect. Yeah, it was perfect. So I probably could have cut a few things from it. But overall, I was pretty proud of us and impressed, yeah, with how we packed and thankful for Airbnbs with laundry. Yes, yes. That made it very nice. I think even if you're staying in hotels, if you play in at least one part of your trip where you have access to laundry, that's super helpful.

Unknown: 1:01:32

Yep, totally agree. Yeah, way better. I mean, I don't have to. I know you weren't there for two you were there for like a week and a half, right? 10 days, yeah, um, I don't, I don't have two weeks worth of clothes at home,

Heather: 1:01:48

right? You know, maybe you can't go to right, without laundry

Unknown: 1:01:50

at home, so that's why. But I think I could do that when I was traveling,

Heather: 1:01:53

right? So we were able, so you can do it, you can do it, you can pack your I think I maybe had one pair of jeans, like I traveled with, you know, that I flew with, yeah, and then the rest was, like, leggings, or, like, hiking pants, waterproof pants, yep. But, like I said, it had, the weather had cleared up after a few days, so we didn't even need that gear. Oh my gosh. I was so glad I had that rain jacket, though, with that hood. Yeah, amazing. Yeah, hiking boots, I basically Ellen. I each we wear the same size shoes, clothes, everything, so we can interchange, which is really helpful, yeah? So I think when we took one pair of hiking boots each, I think I may have taken one pair of tennis shoes to fly, but I wasn't wearing those, like, yeah, when I was in Alaska, yeah, but yeah, that was good. So I think we maybe could have done a teeny bit better, but we really did try to listen to you, because I'm a rule follower. Again. It was like, You guys better not do that. Jennie said, Don't do that. Jennie said, Okay. She told us

Unknown: 1:02:57

you know, most people don't just do what I tell them to do like you did. I

Heather: 1:03:02

did. I did well. I figured you had the best knowledge. What? Why in the world would I think I knew better? Like, why would I try anything without consulting with you? You

Unknown: 1:03:12

know what? Though, what you do know better is your family yes and how you like to travel. So I really want to emphasize that for folks too. Like, like, Yes, I know a lot about Alaska. I've been there with a lot of people. I've helped a lot of people plan their trips. But I don't you know i You are the expert on your family, your travel style, or your friend group, or whoever it is that's traveling. And something that really helped you guys is that your family kind of knew yourselves and how you you wanted to do things, and that's something I wouldn't have been able to help you with. I mean, I can understand that, but you have you. It really helps if you can say, you know, we don't want to be in the car for more than x right times, or we're not very outdoorsy, but we love scenery, or we want to be hiking and kayaking every day, or whatever it is like those are. That's the part where you're you're the expert. Oh, you know what I did want to ask you, when we were doing our flight scene tour, and there's so many waterways like we had mentioned, yeah, every once in a while, every once in a while out there in the wilderness, you would see a house, yeah? And you're like, wait a minute, yeah. How in the world are people

Heather: 1:04:35

now, some of them were right at the end of a small lake, so they have a plane, you know that lion. But some of them weren't, like, how are these people getting to these homes? Well, it could be flight on a plane. It could be on a boat or a snow machine in the winter. Um, interesting. Probably boat or plane. Yeah, yeah. I was like, now that's remote. And Evan's like, yep, that's how I'm gonna. Live off the grid. I'm gonna live in Alaska, off the grid. And I'm like, Okay, well, we'll see, but maybe I don't know. But you know what, I he used to always say that, and I was like, let's wait till he gets a girlfriend, and then he might change his mind. And sure enough, he has a friend. Yes, he does. And I just wonder if he's feeling the same way. I don't know. He hasn't said lately, but

Jennie Flaming: 1:05:25

okay, well, I'm looking forward to finding out if he actually

Heather: 1:05:28

makes that happen. It will be interesting how this plays out for Evan, because he's, he's often wanted to be adventurous and sort of off the grid like that. And we live remotely. We live outside of Pittsburgh, but we have 35 acres in the woods we homestead, you know, got it, yeah? Not like, not like Alaska homestead, okay, this is like, city person homestead. And he doesn't like to be around people, so he wants to go off. But he's also incredibly intelligent, so he's, I'm gonna say, because I like to brag on my kid, he's number one in his class. Oh, he could do anything he want. Colleges are already recruiting him. Yeah, he can eat and do anything, and it will just, who knows. I, you know, I'm here to support his journey no matter what he decides. But it will be interesting, sort of, please help.

Unknown: 1:06:12

Yeah. Well, Heather, is there anything else that you want to share about your trip with everybody before we wrap up?

Heather: 1:06:19

Okay, I was thinking about this because I thought you might ask it, you know, there are places in Anchorage. Anchorage is a city, yep. And there are places in Anchorage that you know weren't as lovely as others. Let's, shall we say, you know, you drive through certain areas and you're like, oh, okay, Anchorage is like a normal city with normal city challenges. Let's say that we were anticip I mean, I'm just making note. It's like, if you go to Hawaii and you go to Honolulu, it's like a city. I mean, a city is a city, like, wherever you go, yep. But the this is funny, when we were getting ready to leave, and we were like, you know, you're ready to come home, I said to Ella, what do you miss about home? And she said, dark. Yes, the dark, yeah. So we knew about the light, okay, and I had packed an eye mask. And I think Ella had one too, and maybe Evan did, Craig didn't. It was that is an imperative packing item for me. Some people can do it, but you don't realize how much your body needs those cues, yeah? Like, get tired. So our bodies were, like, and we were on East Coast time, so it took us a minute to get used to it, yeah, and we were really tired, like, the first couple of days, just kind of from traveling and stuff. So just take an eye mask, and if it's the summer, you know, because it's not going to get dark till much later, and your body's going to be confused. A lot of the Airbnbs, I'm sure the hotels, have blackout curtains. My favorite, my favorite, though, was at Mike's place. He had curtains, and he had a note on it, and it said Alaskan blackout curtains. And behind the curtains were garbage bags.

Unknown: 1:08:01

Yeah, that's people use tin foil for the same Yeah, hilarious. That was

Heather: 1:08:09

That was fun. That was interesting. Um, I do think it's important to just expect the weather to do what the weather is going to do. And, yeah, let it stop you from anything. I think that's like the best advice I could give, because when you told me that, I really took it in, and I was like, oh, so then when it happened, it was not a big deal, yeah, like, oh, it's raining. Let's go take a hike. So what? Yeah, yeah. So that was good. Now we, we were super lucky to find you, incredibly grateful to have you help us and play. Jennie, there's just no way I could have done that on my own. I don't want to do it on my own, yeah, because there's so much to do and see in Alaska that, you know, it's just helpful to have an expert to help you sort of narrow it down based on what you want to do. Like, yeah, I

Unknown: 1:08:57

think that's really true. Heather, and I loved working with you and helping helping you pull this trip together for your family. It was really, really fun. So, yeah, thank you for inviting me to be part of it.

Heather: 1:09:12

Oh my gosh. Are you kidding?

Unknown: 1:09:15

I would thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story with everyone i i really think this is just so great for other people to hear, like the the kinds of things that worked for you and your family. So thank you so much for sharing it. Yeah,

Heather: 1:09:30

it's my absolute pleasure. I hope, I hope everyone found it useful. Yes,

Jennie Flaming: 1:09:34

thank you Heather. Hi everyone. I hope you enjoyed this episode with Heather, getting to know her and her family and plan this trip especially for for Evan, with such wonderful people in Alaska and amazing guides like Matt, it was just so fun. So I hope you enjoyed hearing about it too as part of our Alaska trip. Traveler stories series. Before we go, I want to thank the Unalaska Visitors Bureau once again for sponsoring all of our episodes in the month of February. Thank you, Unalaska. We'll see you next time you