Life With The Luikens: Spring Break 2016

This Spring Break, we had lots of visitors and we LOVED it!! I decided to do a staycation for spring break and it was the BEST decision. I love living in Alaska and you learn to appreciate your state so much when you are showing visitors around. You see its beauty in a new light.

Here are some little snapshots of our time. It was SO restful and fun. I already miss the snow a tiny bit but I am also ready, ready, ready for summer!

Cross country skiing with my Sage girl

Skiing at Alyeska Ski Resort- It was incredibly beautiful the day we went.

Me and my Hillary who came from Dallas to visit me!

Alyeska Resort- Girdwood, Alaska

Hill and I took a trip down to Seward so she could see a little more of Alaska. It happened to be on a weekend that we got the MOST snow we have had ALL winter. Alaska- you never fail to surprise us. But, Hillary and I loved it and enjoyed exploring the little town. We went to the Resurrect Art Coffee House- 320 3rd Ave, Seward, AK 99664. An old church building that was turned into a coffee house and art gallery- my kind of place! SO relaxing and peaceful.

Also, tip for all visitors: if you are visiting Alaska, some awesome winter activities include snowshoeing, skiing, cross country skiing, sledding, snow machining, ice fishing, watching the Iditarod. But the summer is where it's at: camping, hiking, wildlife and glacier cruises. It is warmer and greener and bright and more is open. But we had a blast exploring what we could do in the winter! One note is that the Exit Glacier is an awesome one for visitors in Seward, Alaska but it is closed in the winter and doesn't open until May. The road is not maintained to the glacier in the winter but we were told you could hike there but it would take a good while.

Resurrect Art- Seward, Alaska

I loved this: "Coffee is best sweetened by good company" - a little note found at the Resurrect Art Coffee Shop! :)

We took a snow machine tour with Glacier City Snowmobile Tours- I HIGHLY recommend them if you are interested. It was a decent price and our guides were amazing! The website is snowtours.net.

Hillary and I on our awesome snow machine tour!!

We took a stop at an Iditarod Musher's dog sled training cabin right out of Girdwood- so cool!

Sage and I before our cross country ski. We were LOVING the inches upon inches we got right at the end of March :)

One perk of the snow machine tour was a stop for reindeer dogs for lunch and warming up by the fire! :)

Sagey girl, my best hiking girl.

This hike is AMAZING. Go to Whittier, Alaska. Take the first right out of the tunnel. Look for the Portage Pass Trail. Short one mile ish hike leads to an breathtaking view. Great for beginners or just a fun hike. You can see Portage Glacier from the view and the Prince William Sound when it is clear. Stunning.

Always a great stop: Beluga Point

One of the really cool things for this spring break for me was seeing the NORTHERN LIGHTS! I have seen them before but they were in full swing and so bright and beautiful. I love this crazy state of mine. Alaska- you are full of adventure!

Jenny, Melanie, and Brittany also came to visit!! This is Portage Pass as well with a little more sun!

This is Eklutna Lake. We thought about biking but the snow was still melting- would've been cool to try out some snow bikes in this area- definitely want to try this another time.