We woke up bright and early, because of jet lag. The plan for the day was to walk around Anchorage, and take it slow, before our road trip. After getting Baby V fed and ready to go, we put her into her stroller, and walked to Downtown Anchorage.
One of the first places we saw was a bike rental place, and I had read about the bike-friendly coastal trail. Luckily, the bike rental also had a baby buggy we could rent, so we signed up for 2 bikes and a buggy!
Baby V was more than happy to come along for the ride! The coastal trail was nice and flat. I was expecting more breathtaking scenery, but it was mild.
We passed by some small streams, but mostly backyards of homes for most of the way.
The trail extends for quite a while (some 15-20 miles), so at one point, we decided to turn and head back to Anchorage downtown. On the way back, we spotted some bald eagles!
We also found a local playground, with some interesting games for V to play in. After stopping for her morning snack and play time, we continued towards downtown to return the bikes.
It was afternoon by this time, and we were starting to get hungry. We visited the Snow City Cafe recommended by the trusty Lonely Planet book. The food was amazing! We got the usual brunch options of pancakes and sandwiches, with tons of veggie choices. We were not disappointed! After lunch, we walked around downtown for a bit.
Around 3pm, we went back to our apartment, and took our car to the Native Heritage Center. I was not too impressed by this. We’ve been to better heritage centers that were much more interactive. There were some model homes here that illustrated the way of life of Native American tribes that lived here.
After this, we went to Eagle River Nature Center. This was like a state park, with many trails, all of which had nice views of the surrounding mountains. It was a bit rainy by this time, and that added a fogginess to the trails and mountains. We did a one hour trail, and enjoyed it.
It was around 6pm by this time, and Baby V was starting to get tired, so we headed back. We got takeout from another Indian restaurant this time (Anchorage has at least 3 Indian/Nepalese restaurants, so you don’t have to worry about vegetarian food here).
Tomorrow, we drive to Denali National Park!
