An Alaskan Adventure

My Alaskan laser tag adventure took place a week ago and it was amazing. However, sometimes it takes a week just to process everything from a trip like this, especially as it took me from the farthest American state northwest (Alaska) to the farthest American state southeast (Florida) in the course of essentially a day! Yes, there is a LOT to share from this latest laser tag adventure, so let me give you the overview of the trip as a whole, then I’ll break out the laser tag details separately.

Welcome to Alaska!

It took about 23 hours total for me to get from my home in NY to my hotel room in Eagle Bay, just north of Anchorage. The next day I woke up wanting to make the most of my limited time in Alaska and do more than just play laser tag in this gorgeous state. While my quest to laser tag in all 50 states for a second time was what motivated this trip in the first place, I decided to see more of the sights and take the time to appreciate the beauty of Alaska. So, this story will be about more than just the arenas I played…life is a journey, not a destination.

I started my day bright and early with an early morning trail hike to go see the Chugach Mountains. OMG, I cannot overstate how gorgeous this scenery is!

I explored the trail, which had some beautiful scenic viewing decks. Unbelievable!

From here I visited the aptly named Reflections Lake and walked the wooden boardwalk in perfect serenity.

I ventured further north towards Wasilla.

Here I found an adorable cafe called Crema, which was exceptional!

An outdoor table for breakfast, which included a latte that tasted exactly like Scentsy smells...this is living my best life!

And then, with a bit of time to spare before laser tag opened, I explored the Wasilla Museum…you know, get some culture on the trip too. :)

I made a return trip to Extreme Fun Center, where I played laser tag in Alaska for the first time about five years ago, then explored a new arena at Shockwave Trampoline Park in Anchorage, both of which I will discuss in their own posts. After laser tag was completed I had a full afternoon to explore Anchorage, starting with some souvenir shopping and then continuing on to the Alaska Zoo.

There were some amazing animals living at the zoo, but when in Alaska there are definitely a few that are of particular interest. I loved watching the harbor seals playing in the water.

The musk ox was rather intimidating!

And I was awestruck to get so close to a black bear!

However, the one exhibit that really took my breath away was seeing a polar bear up close.

When this bear came out from hiding it was ready to play!

Wow! By this point I was ready to find some dinner (your eating schedule gets all out of whack when the time zone changes by four hours) so I visited the Bear Paw Bar and Grill. I checked out the adorable menus.

And what else do you order when in Alaska? Alaskan salmon! :)

One final stop over to Alaska Wild Berry Products where things truly were wild!

And I got to see the world’s largest chocolate fall…is Willy Wonka nearby?

So, this is how you make the most of a short trip to Alaska! By the end of the day I was back at the airport, as a bronze statue of US Senator Ted Stevens sent me in my way.

What happened next is where my journey became even more interesting. My original plan was that upon leaving Alaska I would continue on to Hawaii so I could check off the two most challenging states to visit on my laser tag journey. However, this happened to be exactly the same time the terrible wildfires were actively destroying Maui. My thoughts and prayers to everyone in Hawaii. Needless to say, this was not the time to pay a visit for laser tag.

Instead, I looked at re-routing through the northwest, but an unexpected twist of fate landed me on a plane to New Orleans without a moment to spare! I arrived and stopped in to see friends at Game On Social Hub where I heard a surprised Ricky shout out “hey, Tivia’s here!” As I did not even have time to let them know I was coming before boarding the plane. From here I ventured into Mississippi, Alabama and finally ended a very long day with two laser tag arenas in Florida. Yes, you heard me right. I went from Alaska to Florida in the course of essentially one day! Whew!

Want to hear those stories? Read on as I chronicle all the laser tag stops on this trip. But that is an overview of my Alaskan adventure and probably illustrates why it took me a week to even begin to start sharing it all. What an adventure!