Now that we’ve shared some pre-wedding details, here’s a look at our ten-day honeymoon in Alaska. Our aim was to offer a glimpse of America’s largest state through our eyes — and perhaps also to showcase the quirky ways we Petersiks like to entertain ourselves while traveling (case in point: this ring photo we snapped on an Alaskan hike during our one-week-of-married anniversary).
So why Alaska? It might not be everyone’s first thought for a honeymoon, but we had two simple reasons. First, we wanted to bring Burger along — domestic travel was easier with our chihuahua in tow, and he’s definitely part of our family. Second, we wanted to go somewhere new for both of us — I had recently been to Hawaii with friends, so that was out. With one non-contiguous state checked off the list, Alaska became our next adventure. The long summer daylight hours meant comfortable July temperatures in the 60–70°F range, and with glaciers not far away it felt like several climates in one place. We even posed in front of an outdoor clock at 11 p.m. to prove how light it still was (yes, we’re yawning to show it was late).
We’re low-key, plan-as-you-go travelers, so we arrived in Anchorage with a hotel booked, a rental car reserved, a chihuahua in a bag, and a wide-open schedule. We spent the first day exploring downtown to get a feel for the city, then quickly moved on to Alaska’s true draw: the wilderness. Still, we couldn’t resist some lighthearted souvenir shopping — I modeled a moose, and Sherry tried on a polar bear persona. Moments like these captured our newlywed joy.
The next few days took us along the stunning Highway 1. We love road trips, and seeing Alaska by car rather than by cruise ship let us stop at will — which we did frequently to take photos of glacial waterfalls, snow-covered peaks, and wildlife. We watched dall sheep precariously perched on cliffs and even dipped our toes into melting glacier water (yes, it was cold).
Our first major stop was Alyeska Resort, where we splurged on a couples hot stone massage — a wedding gift treat. Although it’s a ski resort by definition, Alyeska was gorgeous in July. The resort sits in a rainforest, so one moment we were hiking through lush, damp greenery…
…and the next we were riding a tram through clouds to the top of a mountain, dining with views of snow-capped peaks below.
After a night in one of the nicest hotels we’ve stayed in, we continued our drive toward Seward, stopping frequently to admire glaciers up close and to hike (one hike was cut short by a recent bear sighting — yes, on our wedding day). Back in Anchorage we still made the most of the outdoors. One day we rented bikes for a 14-mile ride on a coastal paved trail and even rented a “kid caboose” so Burger could join us. We got some amused looks from passersby, but Burger loved the ride and was ready to go whenever we were.
To finish our trip with a flourish, we took a private seaplane tour. Our hotel was next to Lake Hood, the world’s busiest seaplane base, so flying from the lake felt natural. Burger stayed at the hotel while we took off across vast stretches of wilderness and flew toward an active volcano. The flight let us don big headphones, snap hundreds of photos (one even got framed at home), and spot wildlife from above — moose, seals, and even a mama bear with cubs. As we climbed, the green landscape shifted into frozen glaciers and an arctic backdrop.
We even landed on a secluded lake, explored a tiny island covered in wildflowers, and soaked up the remote beauty before returning to Anchorage. It was the perfect rugged-yet-refined finale to our honeymoon.
That’s our recap of our first official vacation as a married couple. We’d love to hear where you honeymooned or where you dream of going someday. And if you have Alaska stories of your own, please share — we’re always happy to swap travel tales.
Check out more photos from our Alaskan honeymoon in our Flickr album — view the captions for context and a few behind-the-scenes notes.