Our Prince William Sound trip is happening!
I'm jazzed that our summer trip to Alaska is this week, and it's going to be a beautiful time on Prince William Sound and in Wrangell-St Elias NP. Also, I got to speak on neurodivergence this week...
It’s been a busy week. I just got home from doing the rafting trip in Utah with our youngest and almost immediately turned around to head to Virginia. I’ve been in Richmond, Virginia, for a couple of days, and it has been really beautiful. It’s actually a really fun city that I’d completely forgotten about (been years since I visited).
This week I wanted to share two different things with you. One of them is our itinerary for our trip to Alaska that we leave for in a couple days (below) and then the other is kind of some interesting insight into what my job actually is, as I spoke at a conference on Friday and it was really good to present to people like me. Thank you for reading along and following along on social media and such because if there weren’t people tuning in to hear our stories and tips I wouldn’t have anybody to write for. I appreciate it.
Speaking on Neurodivergence in Content Creation
So, here’s the scoop of what’s new and what’s going on in this weird world that I work in. I’ve been in Richmond, Virginia at a conference called TBEX. It is one that I’ve been to many times and I always enjoy it. It’s for people who run travel blogs, and we do all kinds of different sessions from writing technique to technical web stuff, to how to work with tourism boards and get support writing the stories that we think are helpful for our blogs. I love it, and I’ve learned a lot over the years. This week I got to talk about my own process for writing because it’s a little different than how most people work.
I have ADHD and some OCD tendencies with something else called RSD, which is rejection. sensitivity disorder. What all that means is that my brain is always bouncing around everywhere and then it puts a whole lot of weight on how things need to be very specifically done… And then, at the end of the day I also struggle to complete work because my anxiety makes me think it’s going to be rejected or fail from the get-go. All this together is a lot to manage, but I’ve figured out how to do it over the years, and so I got to speak at this conference and share some of the tools and my methodology for being able to write and photograph and make videos around all of the fun stuff that we get to do. I think it was helpful for some people. And I think some people think that I’m even more crazy than they thought of me before.
If you’re anything like me it can be really difficult to accomplish big creative projects or nearly anything that has a deadline imposed by somebody else. There’s nothing wrong with that, and that’s just how some people’s brains work. One of the things that I really liked about getting to share at my conference was just seeing people’s faces react and respond to the information I was sharing. A lot of people have diagnosed and undiagnosed neurodivergent aspects to their lives, and I think whenever somebody can feel seen or included, even if they don’t officially know anything about the neurological nuances of how their minds work, I think it can really make a difference in how they see themselves or how they process their thoughts. And that applies to both productivity and self-acceptance. Anyways, it was great to share and connect with people like me.
Prince William Sound AK Itinerary
It’s finally time for our epic trip to Alaska! Even though we get to visit often, each trip is so different. This trip is going to be really fun with visits to Whittier, Valdez, McCarthy, Copper Center and Anchorage. Most of the questions I get about travel to Alaska are around whether or not people should do a cruise or explore on land, and I always lean towards being on land because you get to see so much more and interact with people in a different way. This trip is all land based, except for our day on the Alaska Marine Highway System between Whittier and Valdez.
If what I’m sharing is interesting to you and you want to do a similar trip, be sure to check out our Alaska website, myalaskatrip.com and then always send me your questions about planning a trip to Alaska because I enjoy helping others. Also, if you’re heading to Alaska yourself, check out our TRAVEL DISCOUNTS page.
So, here is our itinerary for the next few weeks:
We will be flying into Anchorage and arriving late, so we are going to spend the night in Anchorage where we will also be picking up our car from Go North. Alaska Rentals. We’re getting a special car, or at least a special rental, through Go North for this trip because a portion of our itinerary takes us onto some very long gravel roads. When you pick up a rental car in Alaska, you’ll actually notice that there is a list of highways at any rental counter that tells you where you cannot drive their cars. And that’s why we are partnered up with Go North Alaska to have a four-wheel drive vehicle that is approved for the really long dirt road to McCarthy, Alaska. Other reasons you might want a vehicle like this is if you plan on exploring the eastern interior or driving up to Prudhoe Bay into the Arctic Circle. There’s actually quite a few roads that aren’t great for regular rental cars. If you’re planning a trip to Alaska and need a car that can do gravel roads be sure to check out Go North, and you can even use our discount code, GON2TD to get a free mileage package. **Go North is one of our affiliate partners and they’re pretty cool people.
Moving on from Anchorage, we are going to head down to Girdwood. To visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center as well as check out the Portage Glacier Lake. We will be doing the boat tour right near the Chugach National Forest visitor center. It’s pretty cool and I haven’t got to do it in 20 plus years, so this is going to be fun.
After that we will drive through the Whittier tunnel and spend the night in one of the wettest towns in Alaska. When I worked up here, we would always say in regards to weather that it’s “shittier in Whittier” and it’s held true with my last couple visits. We’re hoping for some nice weather though because when the blue sky does come out, the setting of this little town is absolutely perfect and very Alaska… and then it’s “Prettier in Whittier.”
After enjoying some time in Whittier and spending the night, we will be heading out on the Alaska Marine Highway to Valdez. I’m pretty excited because Valdez has lots of beautiful things to see and some really cool tidewater glaciers but probably the most exciting thing is going to be visiting the fish hatchery. I know, that might sound kind of weird, but it’s actually one of the best places in Alaska to be able to watch bears do their thing. It’s gonna be really fun, and I think the kids are gonna love it. We’ve also got a beautiful day out on the water from Valdez with Stan Stevens cruises, where we are going to check out the Meares Glacier and look for whales and puffins. I have high hopes for some awesome Orca activity.
We’ve got more fun things to do in Valdez, especially since we are there for the Fourth of July but when we are done, we will be doing the big drive up to McCarthy, where we will be at the McCarthy Lodge Resort for several days. We’re actually going to be staying in two different hotels while we’re there because it’s this wonderful compound of old buildings and different accommodations. While we’re here, we get to visit Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park, which is the largest national park in the United States. This is where we will visit the Kennecott Mine, check out the old town and hopefully do some really wonderful hikes within the park period. I’m still finishing this part of the itinerary but by the time we get there, I know it’s going to be awesome.
When we are all done in McCarthy we will head up to Copper Center to enjoy some time on the Copper River. And yes, we will be going out with Copper River Guides to do some salmon fishing. Wish us luck.
I know there’s a whole bunch more to our trip, but for now that is the basic itinerary. This will be our third trip to Alaska this year and each one has been so very different. If you’re interested in seeing the variety of adventures that are possible in AK, definitely read about our winter trip to Anchorage and our spring Inside Passage expedition with the Boat Company. In September, I will be going back without everybody to do Glacier Bay National Park, Kodiak, and Katmai National Park, which is going to be absolutely phenomenal, and I can’t wait.
New on the Blogs this Week
I’ve been trying to get things published about our rafting trip in Utah and exploring Dinosaur National Monument, but speaking at a conference and doing other in-person work things is slowing me down. Here’s what is new and fun:
TheKeysExplored.com - We’ve got two new articles up about where we stayed during our trip through the Keys a few weeks ago, both hotels were great to work with and were ideal for staying with older kids, the Hyatt Centric Key West and the Courtyard Faro Blanco Resort on Marathon. Also, I put together a great list of where to stay on Key Largo for a whole range of budgets (including my favorite cheapo-but-awesome spot). One more feature I got done is the Key West Double Dip Snorkel Trip. This is one of my favorite snorkeling tours because you get to visit two different reef sites, so you get very different structures to explore.
MyAlaskaTrip.com - This week was all about Sitka. This is such a cool town and it’s really easy to enjoy without a car. If you have it on your cruise itinerary, you have some great activity choices. Live on the website we’ve got new features all about the Alaska Raptor Center, Fortress of the Bear (sanctuary), Sheldon Jackson Museum, and the Sitka Sound Science Center. I should have an easy Sitka itinerary published in the next few days.
Our other sites are just chillin’ for the moment because we’ve got so much still to share from the last two months of travel. My goal is to get itineraries for different sorts of Maine trips up soon, as well as Hawaii island by island itineraries. Those are always the most helpful things I write, but they take the longest, so stay tuned!
I hope you’re having an awesome summer and that you and yours are safe and healthy over the 4th of July holiday. If you’re in St Augustine on the 4th (we won’t be this year), the fireworks start at 9:00 pm over the bay. Have fun and remember that democracy is special and must be protected. :)