Anniversary in Fairbanks

For our anniversary this year, we took a trip to Fairbanks to visit some friends who opened up their home to us and to see a new place in Alaska.  It's always good to take some time off, be in a new place, and come home refreshed.  On our anniversary, we spent the day exploring Fairbanks, shopping, eating some good Thai food, and enjoying a night at a hotel while watching the USA Women's Beach Volleyball final on the Olympics.

The following day we headed down to Denali National Park and Preserve with Mary and her parents.  

You can see it way off in the distance, the white peak.  Denali is the tallest mountain in North America, and it did look pretty grand upon first glance.  Sadly, this was about the only glance we got.  We found out that in order to actually see the whole mountain up close, you have to ride on a park bus with lots of other people for at least 7 hours.  We opted to pass on that.  We enjoyed the beautiful surroundings nonetheless.

 Friends

 Another good view.  So tall that it's still snow-capped in August.

  We really enjoyed the trip, knowing we won't be able to spontaneously get up and go in the future like we do now, remembering we will never celebrate a kid-free anniversary again, and realizing it's probably our last big trip in general before the baby comes in January.  It was a great babymoon and anniversary trip all wrapped into one!  And thank you to the Swansons for hosting us and letting us crash at your new house.  I'm glad we could finally meet up here in Alaska!