I’m already in New York but I feel like this needs some sort of conclusion. My trip ended on Anchorage, a city that didn’t really impress me much.
But in its defense, I live in one of the most vibrant cities in the world, so I’m kind of hard to impress. Unlike NYC, Anchorage is hard to get lost in. Street A is followed by B, First Ave is followed by Second Ave and well, you get the idea.
There’s just a lack of character there. Oh, wait, Guggenheim?
Oh no, just a parking lot for JC Penney.
Aside from easy access to plentiful hiking, biking and other outdoor adventures, the city does have its own cultural jewel:
I spent most of my time looking at the Sydney Laurence collection. He’s an Alaskan-landscape legend.
Guess where Laurence was born? Brooklyn!
The museum has a fun interactive science exhibit, as well as plenty of Native American art and history. I really enjoyed it.
Like many places in Alaska, the museum also offers a student discount. Thanks UMass, for not putting an expiration date on our college IDs. I’m going to be a college student forever.
For my last meal on Alaskan soil, it’s only appropriate that I got fish. Blackened halibut, to be exact.
On one of my flights back to NYC, I sat next to an elderly couple from Texas. The wife told me all about their adventures in Alaska and then asked me where my traveling partner was. I told her I was traveling alone at which she raised her eyebrows and said “Well, you’re a wild creature, aren’t you?”
I think I did pretty well for a wild creature 
I did have one spectacular meal in Anchorage but it was so good, it deserves to be featured on zzeee food blog, which you can find here.
Thank you for reading about my trip! Russia & Ukraine, summer 2012.
