Flat Top

A few weekends ago, Kyle and I went on our first hike! We went to Flat Top, about 20min. from base, still in Anchorage. If you come up to see us in the summer (or spring/early fall) and you want to hike, we will def. take you here.

Kyle took this...obviously.

The view...I thought it was so cool that you could see Elmendorf!




There was still a lot of snow up there! All of the snow elsewhere has been gone for over a month.

And some pictures of us...

Don't believe the hype

We've been looking (ok, I've been looking) at some tourist-y websites lately. One of them was sent to me by Kelly so we could look at the different day cruises and see which we liked best. After we looked at those, I continued to look around the site to see what they said about Alaska because the site was said to be written by Alaskans.

Clearly they are in a different part of Alaska that we are.

They recommended hiking boots for day-to-day wear. Yes, hiking boots are a good idea...if you're hiking. Day-to-day you can wear whatever shoes you want. I wore flats yesterday.

They also recommended wearing layers in the summertime. Seriously? Layers in 60 degrees? I'll be wearing a bathing suit. I haven't worn layers in months. Kyle hasn't worn his thermals in weeks and has worn short sleeved shirts for the past month or so. (Short sleeves to work all this past week.)

Their packing list includes light winter cap/gloves/scarf. Cap? You might want one. Scarf? A light one might be good. Gloves? I don't even know where my gloves are. You don't need them unless you're coming in Dec. - Feb. If you come then, I'll call you an idiot.

I realize we haven't spent a summer here but Anchorage is like any other city, I promise. It's not some wilderness destination. In the summertime, it's known as Los Anchorage (like Los Angeles, get it?) There are lots of places to hike and explore but if you're hanging out in the city, you don't need this stuff. It's like going to Tampa on a chilly day. (Anchorage is pretty comparable to Tampa.)

So there. Bring your normal clothes, hiking boots if you so wish. And lotion. I don't know if it's this dry in the summertime but I've gone through more lotion this winter than I normally do in a whole year. (I'm only slightly exaggerating.)

Work

If you don't know, I work in a small, drive-thru coffee shop in Anchorage. These shops are really common up here, Heidi (my boss) told me that at one point, there were 80 of them in Anchorage. Now there are around 50.

This is the entire shop. The espresso machine is in the back. The area to the left is where the drinks are made. The mocha powder, cups, and milk are also there. The area on the right is where the grinders are.

There are one of these windows on either side of the building. Cars drive up (or people walk up), I take their order, and they wait right there while their drink is made. Then they get their drink, pay, and go about their day.

Sugar free syrups

The sinks, fridge, fruit syrups, etc.

The cash register & wrapping muffins.