I have never been to Fairbanks...nor has Amelia (obviously). So, when Rob asked if we wanted to tag along...HELLO...of course!!!! geesh.
We stayed in the Pikes waterfront lodge. Nice place right on the Chena River. Amelia and I took the river walk stroll, played on the deck of the restaurant and everyday, after saying hi to the staff, ventured out to the main lobby and said Good Morning Mr. Snow Bear to the stuffed polar bear that perched up in the rafters. She was kinda obsessed with it really, always looking for it when we came in and out.
While Dad worked...the girls played. We went to the Museum of the North at University of Fairbanks, went to see the Caribou and Musk Ox at the Large Animal Research Center at UAF, headed to Pioneer Park.....AND....most importantly...went to North Pole, AK to visit SANTA!!! Dad joined us on this trip. Last year’s saying “I love Santa...from a distance” still applies. Santa was very kind and understanding too. Maybe next year she’ll warm up. We did meet Prancer, Dancer and Blitzen...Rudolph always seems to have a cold when we think we are going to meet him. Oh well.
The Museum was fantastic, however, no children’s section. Amelia found her own section when she found a couple computer exhibits. The caribou and musk ox trip was great too. When it says research, it’s not research like they do on monkeys in a lab, it’s like which foods do musk ox like best, what environmental impacts change caribou poop, and my favorite, why can’t musk ox males and females just get along. You know, important stuff like that. They do give the wool to Alaska Native villages so that we can buy $300 scarves of Musk Ox fur. Thank goodness for that. hahahhahaa I am sure Rob is chuckling at about this point reading this. Anywho...both places were fantastic and we supported both by buying books, gifts and a musk ox toy too!
The Pioneer Park...was....well...depressing. They built or expanded I should say to the beat of “Princess will come”. That is Princess Cruises. Well they didn’t or pulled out not too long ago I should say. Sad, as the park is meant for tons of people. Very interesting too...pioneer homes moved to this location for shops to operate out of. The problem...not many shops. Most of the houses are vacant. The big draw is the huge playground that Amelia was eyeing since we got there. Mothers and their kids basically. A few straggling tourists like ourselves ventured around and took the train around the park (to view the empty buildings). We had a great time though and had hot dogs and Ice cream. Amelia loved the train which was only $2 to ride (admission was free to the park so very cheap day). When she got to the playground she was complete! Swinging and playing in a toy train made her day.
Lots more to see there too, so we will venture 6 hours North with dad each summer for our annual Fairbanks trip. Will cross our fingers for the weather we had on this trip...75 and sunny! Will hope the wild fires that Fairbanks is known for stay away too. No winters there for us. It gets to 50 degrees below zero. No thank you.
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