alaska Archives - Travel Blue Book

Burger Queen: Best Burgers in Alaska

September 17, 2014 By Mel Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: By budandjackie via Flickr and Creative Commons

The next stop on our Alaskan culinary delights trail is a small house (a step up size wise from Tracy’s King Crab Shack) that is a treasure among the locals in Ketchikan, Alaska – Burger Queen.

Despite the very unassuming façade and being slightly off the beaten path, Burger Queen has the best cheeseburgers I’ve ever eaten. I’m not even a big fan of cheeseburgers as a whole, yet Burger Queen always cooks them to such perfection and offers such a wide array of burgers that I looked forward to visiting Ketchikan just to pick one up. [Read more…]

Sipping on Spruce Tip Ale at Skagway Brewing Company

September 10, 2014 By Lauren May 4 Comments

The small Alaskan town of Skagway is home to one of the best brewpubs that you’ll find in the Last Frontier. The Skagway Brewing Company, known simply as Brew Co to the locals, is arguably the best watering hole in town. Open year round, this pub does major business during the summer cruise ship tourist season, as Skagway is one of the ports of call on the popular Inside Passage cruise route. [Read more…]

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

August 12, 2014 By Mel Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: By Sewtex (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

With National Park Service’s birthday coming up on August 25^th(one of the days the National Park Service waives it’s entrance fees), this is a great time of year to plan a visit to any of our national parks! Summer also makes it a great time to check out Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, America’s largest national park and a United Nations World Heritage site, in the gorgeous state of Alaska. Larger than Switzerland and just slightly smaller than West Virginia, Wrangell-St Elias comes in at an impressive 13.2 million acres, boasting 9 of the 16 highest mountain peaks in the United States. One of the parks glaciers alone, Malaspina, is larger than Rhode Island. [Read more…]

Tracy’s King Crab Shack: Best Legs in Town

July 30, 2014 By Mel 5 Comments

I spent five summers working on a cruise ship in Alaska. There are lots of things I think back on nostalgically now, but nothing makes me miss Alaska more than seeing pictures on Facebook of my friends eating at Tracy’s King Crab Shack.

My love for Tracy’s runs deep!

A co-worker of mine literally made up a song about how Thursdays are crab day at Tracy’s (Thursdays were when we would port in Juneau).
There were times when my mood the entire week was set by whether or not I was able to get off the ship and get crab at Tracy’s.
Honest to goodness, I am currently writing this article while wearing a Tracy’s Crab Shack shirt.

Seriously people. It is that darn good. [Read more…]

Spending the Perfect Day in Sitka, Alaska

July 14, 2014 By Mel 5 Comments

Fortress of the Bear (Photo Credit: By Mel)

Located on Baranof Island about 90 miles southeast of Juneau, Sitka is seriously one of the stranger parts of Alaska. Originally a Russian town, their influence still permeates the little downtown area – from the old Orthodox Church to the tons of Russian tchotchkes you can pick up in the numerous souvenir shops.

When I used to work on cruise ships, this was never my favorite stop. That was until a friend came onboard to cruise with me for a week and I realized Sitka was actually the easiest stop to decide what we were going to do for the day!

So, if you’re headed to Sitka for the day, here’s the perfect itinerary for your time there: [Read more…]

Top 5 Things to Do in Juneau, Alaska

June 9, 2014 By Mel 7 Comments

Mendenhall Glacier (Photo by Mel)

Juneau, the capital of Alaska and brief home of Sarah Palin, is a must see stop on any Alaskan adventure. As part of the inside passage into Alaska, it has slightly better temperatures than lots of other cities in America’s biggest state, making summer a great time to check it out.

Here are the top 5 things to do in Juneau: [Read more…]

5 Amazing Bucket List Vacations

March 31, 2014 By Lauren May 1 Comment

Photo Credit: By Pedro Szekely at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrosz/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrosz/2115782565/) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Tired of weekend getaways to the ski lodge and the annual family trip to the beach? If so, maybe it’s time to stop dreaming about amazing destinations, and start making real plans. Whether you’re seeking to experience the ultimate outdoor adventure, or want to walk in the footsteps of ancient civilizations, there is no shortage of incredible places across the globe to consider. For your next trip, plan to visit somewhere exciting and unexpected from the best bucket list vacations that the world has to offer. [Read more…]