Photography Tips and the EPIC Wildlife Adventure we had in Alaska
If I weren't able to write about the places we go and things we do, I'd go crazy. Today I might have gone overboard with the wildlife stuff though...
Happy late July! Summer has been awesome and there’s just a bit of it left for us. I’m always fascinated by how quickly time flies when we’re keeping busy. It’s also bizarre to look at photos of just two months ago when summer break started and then look at the kids today and see how quickly they’re changing. Maybe it’s the summer sun, maybe it’s legit getting older. Either way: mind blown.
This week I’m excited to share all about Alaska. We’ve been home for two weeks and it’s been a lot of work to get though everything. I’ve got some cool travel stories to share, and I know you’re going to want to put one of these National Parks on your bucket list once you see what I’ve got to share. But first, a quick family update!
Fresh travel blog articles this week:
Our UnCruise Wilderness Legacy Trip - talking about our itinerary, the cool Kids in Nature experience, and more
Guide to Kenai Fjords National Park - all about the boat tours and hiking, where to stay and how to plan your visit
Wildlife and Photography in Kenai Fjords NP - highlights of the wildlife in the park, both on land and at sea, how to photograph tidewater glaciers, and tips for getting the best wildlife shots.
Life Update
So this week was fun. Chris got caught up in the big Microsoft world-shut-down issue when he was in San Francisco, but he made it home. We had two AWESOME thunderstorms that really gave the garden a good soak. And the St Augustine Beach renourishment is quickly approaching out beach entrance.
Yeah, so we love going to the beach which is why we live just a block away from it. Well, there’s been an ongoing project to build back up our beach from Anastasia State Park to A Street here in our neighborhood. They’ve been dredging sand from the floor of St Augustine Bay and blasting it onto our beach. They’ve added about 100 yards of sand extending past the pier and this is continuing southward. Our beach entrance will be “renourished” this week. They do this every few years because the storms take the sand away, but it’s annoying, especially for people coming to our neighborhood for vacation.
Anyways, three weeks left of summer vacay before the kids are back in school. I’ll be both sad and excited. I love having them around and enjoying random adventures in the middle of the week, but I’ll miss them when they’re not here. Double edged sword, for sure.
Getting used to a new cat
Last week I shared about Rocky, our new cat that we adopted. Well, he’s very much used to his new home, but he’s a pain. I know that Bengal cats are a lot of work and you need to be patient and available to them, but this guy is something else. He has a wild side that is difficult to read and frankly he makes me nervous a lot. Rocky loves to chase you up the stairs and then full on attack your leg with claws and teeth. Luckily the kids haven’t suffered, but my legs really have.
I know good things take time, but also, I totally understand why we’re his third home. Dude needs to chill out and realize that we are his new family and he can’t treat us like the neighborhood alley cat who’s creepin’ on his turf. Hopefully soon. And this photo really does capture everything to love and NOT about Rocky. Cute and vicious.
Adding an aquarium to our house
That’s right! Why stop at getting a new cat? We’ve now added an aquarium to our world. This is for two reasons: fun pet AND giving Oliver something to specifically be responsible that he is invested deeply in. The setting is the Black Lake where the second challenge from the Goblet of Fire takes place. The players are:
3 albino cory catfish
4 male guppies
2 molly fish
We shall see how this goes. I really hope he enjoys having fish and takes the responsibility seriously. Elliott really wants his own tank now too, so we’ve set some expectations with him regarding what he needs to show us before this privilege/responsibility can be for him too. Wish us luck!
PS: I put this aquarium setup together as an Amazon bundle if you want to do this too!
All About Alaska!!!
And now for the super cool stuff! Our trip to Alaska was amazing, I think I’ve said this many times now. I’ve drafted lots of articles and written four thus far. I would love for you to check out some of the stories and tips from this trip, and please SHARE them with somebody you would like to plan this sort of adventure with.
Our UnCruise Adventure on the Wilderness Legacy
First up: our UnCruise out of Juneau. It was beautiful, fun, interesting and really incredible to experience with the kids. Strangely it was difficult to write about because trying to communicate the feelings and moments of a week of immersive family time in Southeast Alaska… it’s a lot. I think I did it justice and if you' follow us on Instagram then you’ve been seeing the videos from it. I hate making videos but have made tons from this trip because it’s the best way to share how special it was.
Read all about our UnCruise Wilderness Legacy trip here! - UnCruise has been a great partner for the last two years, so getting to sail with them again really sunk it with me that if I ever go back to a structured job, they are who I would want to work for full time (not that that’s the plan, but I’m putting it into the universe).
FOR YOUR BUCKET LIST: Kenai Fjords National Park
After our sailing we headed to mainland Alaska, starting in Anchorage and then headed south to my old stomping grounds: the Kenai Peninsula. I love the Kenai and it was emotional being back, seeing what’s changed and what’s the same. The highlight though was getting to finally do Kenai Fjords National Park with the family. I’ve been to KFNP countless times (probably 32 times I’d guess). It’s incredible, and our visit met all expectations that I remember.
With that, I’ve got two fresh articles up on the blog all about it:
Guide to Kenai Fjords National Park - all about the boat tours and hiking, where to stay and how to plan your visit
Wildlife and Photography in Kenai Fjords NP - highlights of the wildlife in the park, both on land and at sea, how to photograph tidewater glaciers, and tips for getting the best wildlife shots. — and here’s my camera setup shopping list
I love writing about Alaska, and I’m excited to be back in September for another visit. Hopefully this trip won’t see a disaster at Denali National Park like we had this month. The tundra in autumn is beautiful, so fingers crossed that works out!
That’s everything for this week. I really do hope you check out all of our Alaska stuff. Like always, please let us know if there’s anything we can help you with when it comes to travel, and stay safe out there!
what camera do you use?