Sit back and relax as I tell the story of my exciting vacation to Fairbanks, Alaska to see my uncle’s family and have an experience that I will never forget.

On Thursday November 6th, after I got home from school, my mom and I left the house to meet up with my Grandpa and then also my aunt to fly to Alaska. After a little while, we all ate at a restaurant at the airport and I had some delicious chicken nuggets and french fries. Next we went on our five hour plane ride where  I sat next to my pap and mom while my aunt sat across from us. Eventually we arrived in Seattle for our layover where we stayed a night at a hotel.

On Friday, we woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel. Shortly after we left for the airport to get on our flight to go to Fairbanks, Alaska. The reason we went on this trip was to see my uncle and his family. After a three-hour flight, we finally landed in the beautiful state of Alaska. It was super foggy outside all over the airport. Waiting for us at the baggage claim were my uncle and his wife and their three young children. After we met up at the airport, my uncle Pat took us to the hotel where we were staying.  We put all our stuff in the room and he drove us to his house outside the city. When we got to my uncle’s house, his wife made us a charcuterie board with all kinds of snacks on it and he showed us the family pet, named Ron, a lizard who is just as spiky as friendly.

After putting the pet back, my young cousin Patrick wanted me to play Sonic with him. Later that evening my uncle showed me his rock collection. Some of them had gold and shiny minerals in them.  I played outside with my 6-year old and 2-year old cousins, Patrick and Callum, pushing both of them on their sled.  Patrick and I took a shovel and a hammer and started to hit the ice that froze the small lake next to my uncle’s house and after a little while we broke the ice seeing water under it. As soon as we got inside, my uncle and his wife made us Halibut and potatoes with a side of shrimp, which was one of the best meals I had in a long time. After dinner my uncle showed me this video game that was on my cousin Patrick’s iPad. It was a motion sensor. You put it in front of a skateboard with a bottle under it and you have to balance on it to play the game.

On Saturday, we woke up and waited for my uncle and his family to take us to the town called North Pole, Alaska. We went to Santa Claus’ House, which is a famous Christmas-themed store, and due to its location, it is a popular place for travelers. When we got inside the store, we saw all kinds of Christmas-themed items and decorations. They also have a dessert section of the store where I got some ice cream. I picked out a small item to bring home. My uncle and his family took a picture with Santa Claus. The store also owns a reindeer barn called “Antler Academy” where they keep reindeer. We saw several reindeer in this area.

After leaving, we went back to my uncle‘s house. My uncle showed me his snowmobile and he even let me get on it, but said that I couldn’t ride it right now. My uncle made us one of the most delicious meats known to man, caribou. It was the best thing I have ever eaten. My uncle also had friends over to eat dinner with us.

On Sunday, my uncle picked us up to show us some Alaskan wilderness.  I saw some truly beautiful views on our drive. For lunch, we went to the Chatanika Lodge where they had one-dollar bills all over the walls. I actually put my own dollar bill up and got my picture with a stuffed bear.

After leaving the restaurant, we went to see the Alaska pipeline. They had a display about it with a map. Next my uncle showed me his bear that he got hunting. It felt so soft on my head. We returned to town to visit some gift shops.  I bought my uncle, aunt, and their three kids each a gift. After shopping we all went to the swimming pool at the hotel. Later that evening I made a humongous mistake of sleeping over at my uncle‘s house. When I went to stay the night his youngest boy ( 6 months old) started crying because he was teething and I couldn’t get much sleep. I had to sleep in my two-year old cousin’s bed which was way too small for me so I tried to sneak back on the couch but my uncle was snoring so loud that I had to go back to my cousin’s bed.

On Monday, I woke up, ate breakfast, and went to Walmart, and another store with my mom and aunts. After that, we went to see the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. While there we stopped to look at the sunset at the top of the campus. We went back to my uncle’s house and I played with my little cousin until they had to go to bed. That evening my uncle told me to go outside to see something. When I went outside I didn’t see anything, but when I took a picture on my phone, I saw the Northern Lights in the picture. A few hours later it was time to end the trip and head back to the airport to start the long trip home. It was a great trip I will never forget.