As the title of this blog indicates, Anchorage was not our final destination on this vacation. So we were eager to travel to the less-populated areas and begin our adventures. However, Anchorage certainly has its place in any Alaska vacation.
Shopping Opportunities
If you're heading south into the Kenai Peninsula region, Anchorage represents you last best opportunity to shop for about 150 miles. So - if you want to buy some snacks, fresh fruit, forgot your cell phone charger, or just want to pick-up a new paperback book for the trip, Anchorage is the place to do it. Anchorage is a pretty big city - about 300,00 people (40% of the Alaska population.) They have most of the major chain stores: Wal-mart, Target, Sam's Club, Best Buy. You won't find many of these shopping opportunities in the Kenai Peninsula.
If you have a car on your trip, it's also a good idea to put together a "possibles" box of non-refrigerated food items. "Possibles" include: peanut butter, crackers, a loaf of bread, nuts, raisins, granola bars, apples, bagels, chips, juice boxes, etc. You may also want a few cans of soup or chili and some microwave popcorn for the hotel room. These "possibles" can go a long way in maximizing your fun, and minimizing a time-consuming search for food. In Alaska, the nearest convenience store could be 30 or 40 miles away. Let's say it's 11 AM, and you just got finished with your first hike or activity of the day. Your second activity is about 5 miles down the road, but you need a little nutrition. With no restaurants in a half-hour drive, you can simply fix a bagel with peanut butter and raisins, and follow it with a granola bar and some apple juice. That should hold you over until later in the afternoon.
You also want to fill-up your vehicle's gas tank before you leave Anchorage. My recommendation: you never want to let your gas tank get below half-full in Alaska. (Yes, it's true - one day we all begin to sound like our parents!)
So - if you need some extra socks, or a scarf, or you want some grapes, bananas, and peanut butter on-hand, take care of that in Anchorage.
Using Gift Cards Instead of Cash
An additional item - a bit too small for a post of its own, but worth mentioning - so, I'll include it in a section that features shopping. For this trip, I carried enough cash to take care of small purchases, and most of our spending money in gift cards. I got two separate VISA gift cards, and one American Express gift card. I bought these gift cards at my local Walgreens (the cashier was thrilled because she met her sales quota in one transaction!)
I did this in case my wallet was lost or stolen during the trip. If phoned-in immediately, the gift cards can be replaced with no fee or penalty. I photocopied the front and back of each gift card, and kept those copies in a different location. You can also check your gift card balances online or via their 800 phone number. Almost every location takes VISA and/or American Express these days. The cards were never turned-down during our trip. The only downside to this was that I had to pay a $5 fee for each of the two gift cards when I bought them (not when I used them.) I considered this a form of "travel insurance" and I would certainly do that again. Even if you have a balance left on your gift cards at the end of your vacation, you can spend them when you get home.
Time for us to top-off the tank, and head south.
Shopping Opportunities
If you're heading south into the Kenai Peninsula region, Anchorage represents you last best opportunity to shop for about 150 miles. So - if you want to buy some snacks, fresh fruit, forgot your cell phone charger, or just want to pick-up a new paperback book for the trip, Anchorage is the place to do it. Anchorage is a pretty big city - about 300,00 people (40% of the Alaska population.) They have most of the major chain stores: Wal-mart, Target, Sam's Club, Best Buy. You won't find many of these shopping opportunities in the Kenai Peninsula.
If you have a car on your trip, it's also a good idea to put together a "possibles" box of non-refrigerated food items. "Possibles" include: peanut butter, crackers, a loaf of bread, nuts, raisins, granola bars, apples, bagels, chips, juice boxes, etc. You may also want a few cans of soup or chili and some microwave popcorn for the hotel room. These "possibles" can go a long way in maximizing your fun, and minimizing a time-consuming search for food. In Alaska, the nearest convenience store could be 30 or 40 miles away. Let's say it's 11 AM, and you just got finished with your first hike or activity of the day. Your second activity is about 5 miles down the road, but you need a little nutrition. With no restaurants in a half-hour drive, you can simply fix a bagel with peanut butter and raisins, and follow it with a granola bar and some apple juice. That should hold you over until later in the afternoon.
You also want to fill-up your vehicle's gas tank before you leave Anchorage. My recommendation: you never want to let your gas tank get below half-full in Alaska. (Yes, it's true - one day we all begin to sound like our parents!)
So - if you need some extra socks, or a scarf, or you want some grapes, bananas, and peanut butter on-hand, take care of that in Anchorage.
Using Gift Cards Instead of Cash
An additional item - a bit too small for a post of its own, but worth mentioning - so, I'll include it in a section that features shopping. For this trip, I carried enough cash to take care of small purchases, and most of our spending money in gift cards. I got two separate VISA gift cards, and one American Express gift card. I bought these gift cards at my local Walgreens (the cashier was thrilled because she met her sales quota in one transaction!)
I did this in case my wallet was lost or stolen during the trip. If phoned-in immediately, the gift cards can be replaced with no fee or penalty. I photocopied the front and back of each gift card, and kept those copies in a different location. You can also check your gift card balances online or via their 800 phone number. Almost every location takes VISA and/or American Express these days. The cards were never turned-down during our trip. The only downside to this was that I had to pay a $5 fee for each of the two gift cards when I bought them (not when I used them.) I considered this a form of "travel insurance" and I would certainly do that again. Even if you have a balance left on your gift cards at the end of your vacation, you can spend them when you get home.
Time for us to top-off the tank, and head south.
