Whittier // Alaska

Happy Monday friends! I hope that y'all had a lovely weekend! Today I am excited to continue recap my Alaskan Road Trip Adventures from 2019. As I have shared, I wanted to do this because I hope that it encourages you to consider taking a road trip of your own this summer to this beautiful part of the world!

Today I am excited to share more with y'all more about our recent trip to Alaska, specifically talking about the adorable town of Whittier, Alaska! 

As I shared before, our trip started early Saturday morning and after a yummy breakfast at Snow City Cafe (a favorite restaurant I discovered last year!), we headed south to the Kenai Peninsula to spend time at several different locations, including Beluga Point (which I shared about HERE if you missed it!) on the beautiful and scenic Seward Highway. If you read about the Alaskan road trip that I did last year than you may have read about the beautiful Seward Highway, but if you missed the post you can find and read it HERE! From Anchorage, Whittier is only 60 miles away and it will take approximately and hour and a 1/2 to get to, which includes a drive through the Whittier (Anton Anderson Memorial) Tunnel. I shared about the tunnel and all the information you need to know if you are driving to Whittier HERE so be sure to check that post out!

We arrived in Whittier in time for lunch and ate at the Inn at Whittier (where we had made reservations). It was such a yummy and delicious lunch and honestly one of my favorite meals of the entire trip! Both Sue and I picked the Salmon Burger which was a Salmon Fillet that was so incredibly fresh -it just melted in your mouth! Emily chose a pasta and said it was equally as yummy. For those who are gluten free like myself, they didn't have a gluten free menu but were very gluten free friendly and it made it easy and safe to eat there so I definitely recommend it!

While we were waiting for our food to come out Sue and I wandered out to the viewing deck at the restaurant. The views were stunning and I was immediately charmed by the town of Whittier.

It was so beautiful and the fishing boats were so fascinating to watch!

Whittier was truly a beautiful place to start our trip. It is a port stop on a lot of Alaskan cruises but I wouldn't classify it as necessarily a "touristy" place that you might think of with port stops. To me this hit me as a quaint area of Alaska that was unique and beautiful to see and I was glad that I had included it in the itinerary for this year. It is definitely worth a visit!

We stayed outside until Emily motioned us in that our meals were ready and we had the most delightful lunch before heading out to explore Whittier!

After lunch we walked from the Inn at Whittier down to the docks and to visit the first section of the town. 

The sun came out as we started walking around and the colors of the water against the mountains and the sky were absolutely beautiful! The boats seemed to have even more vibrant colors against those blue-green waters of Whittier!

As we were walking around we saw this memorial to the earthquake that happened in Whittier in 1964. Also known as the "Good Friday Earthquake", Whittier suffered more than $10 million dollars in damages and sadly lost 13 people when a tsunami wave (43 feet high) hit Whittier.  

At this point in 2019, this earthquake still remains the largest earthquake in the United States and even caused tsunamis along the Western Coast of the United States. 

I feel that I should insert this in the middle of this post as a fair warning that I think I have a little crush on Otters after this trip. *smiles* They seriously are so cute!

Isn't that clock so adorable?

After we walked around the first part of Whittier by the Inn, we drove and parked down at the second area that had a few shops and food places. You could easily walk to this area too if you wanted to, but due to time constraints with catching the tunnel time to return (and let's be honest- jet lag!) we drove over. *smiles*

We enjoyed walking around the shops, purchasing a few souvenirs and seeing the absolute beauty of this area of Alaska. We spent approximately 4 hours in Whittier and I would say that this was a good amount of time to spend if you are planning a similar road trip. I thought it was a great "first day" place to visit also as we were all tired from the long trip from the east coast and Whittier was very relaxed and chill. The people were really friendly and welcoming and really were so interesting to talk to in the different shops and places we visited. It is definitely worth the trip over and if you are going to have it as a stop on your cruise you will definitely enjoy it! 

Thank you for stopping by and reading about our time in Whittier today! I am so excited to share more with y'all as it was truly an incredible trip with amazing and wonderful people! Let me know if y'all have any questions about Whittier! I hope y'all have a great start to the week friends!

Want to step forward and plan your trip but not sure how? Check out all of the Alaska Road Trip posts from our trips in 2018 and 2019 which you can find them in the Alaska travel section on my blog by clicking HERE or you can click on the specific links below:

 // Alaska 4x4 Rentals Review// 
// A Trip To Remember: Our 9 Day Alaskan Road Trip Itinerary -2018//

//  Best Alaskan Books to Purchase for Your Road Trip //

// What to Pack for an Alaskan Summer Road Trip //
// Why You Should Dream About Visiting Alaska //

// 5 Reasons You Need to Take an Alaskan Road Trip//

Anchorage: // Hyatt Place Anchorage-Midtown Video // Beluga Point // 
// Hyatt Place Anchorage-Midtown// Room 209 Hyatt Place Anchorage-Midtown //
// Anchorage Travel Guide//

Chugach Mountains (Alaska 1-South Drive): // Seward Highway Drive (Turnagain Arm Drive)//
// Along the Matanuska River on Alaska 1-South// A Beautiful Lake Adventure Near Chickaloon//
// A Cloudy & Beautiful Drive on Alaska 1-South//

Chugach Mountains: // Eklutna Lake//

Cooper Landing (Kenai Peninsula): // Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge Nature Hike// 
// Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge //

Denali State Park Area: //Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge (Pursuit Collection)// Denali Highway Video// 
// One Last Adventure on the Denali Highway// The Denali Highway: Part Two //
// The Denali Highway: Part One// 
//The Drive to Cantwell// Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge //

Girdwood:  // Winner Creek Trail Video// Winner Creek Trail //

Hatcher Pass Area: // Hatcher Pass Video// Hatcher Pass // Little Susitna River //

Homer (Kenai Peninsula) Area: // Homer Video// Homer Spit// Homer Lighthouse// Bishop's Beach//
// A Brief History of Homer //

Kennicott/McCarthy Area: //Root Glacier Hike //Kennicott // Kennicott Glacier // 
// Kennecott vs. Kennicott Spelling // The McCarthy Highway // 
// An Unfortunate Review of the Kennicott Glacier Lodge //

Seward: //Holgate Glacier// Kenai Fjords Whale Watching Tour//
//A Beautiful Morning Walk in Seward// An Evening Walk at Seward Windsong Lodge// 
//Resurrection Roadhouse Restaurant at Seward Windsong Lodge//
//Seward Windsong Lodge// Room 408 at Seward Windsong Lodge//

Seward Highway Area: //Beluga Point// Scenic Seward Highway Drive (Turnagain Arm Drive)//

Talkeetna: //Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge (Pursuit Collection)//

Thompson Pass Area: // Thompson Pass Area Video // Worthington Glacier Hike//
//Worthington Glacier//
// Among the Alaskan Fireweed on A4-S: A Beautiful Symbol of Hope in the Hard Seasons of Life //
// A Brief History of & Drive on Alaska 4-South of the Richardson Highway//Klutina River//
// The Beginning Drive to Thompson Pass// 

Whittier: // Whittier YouTube Video// The Town of Whittier // 
//Whittier Tunnel (Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel) //

Wrangell-St. Elias Park Area: //The McCarthy Highway // Copper River Princess Lodge //