Our last day in Alaska was spent in Whittier, and to say it was a memorable one would be an understatement. I had made a bit of a mistake during the planning process, thinking that it was up to me to figure out how to get from Whittier to Anchorage after the cruise. I didn’t realize that the cruise would arrange post-trip transportation for us. So, the only thing I could find was a train leaving Whittier at 6 PM, and I figured we’d have time to explore the town before catching it. Turns out I was completely wrong.

About midway through the cruise, Greg and I realized that we had a big gap of time with almost nothing to do. After speaking with customer service, we learned that we had to be off the ship by 9 AM, and Whittier, a tiny town with very little to see, was expected to have rainy weather all day. We tried to find a taxi to Anchorage, where we had a hotel reservation for the night, but nothing was available. We even asked if we could leave our luggage on the ship or take an earlier train, but no luck. To make things worse, renting a car wasn’t an option either.

The day before the cruise ended, I finally came up with a plan. I found a hotel in Whittier, and luckily, they had a suite available. We snagged it up, but of course, another roadblock appeared—check-in wasn’t until 4 PM. We crossed our fingers and hoped they’d let us in early.

When we got off the ship, the weather was brutal—rain coming at us sideways. We had all our luggage and had to walk more than a mile to the check-in spot, soaking wet by the time we got there. The check-in was inside a small restaurant, and the lovely ladies there were kind enough to ask the owner if we could check in early since we were drenched. We waited a while and passed the time by grabbing drinks and playing games at a table. Luckily, the owner gave us the green light to check in, and he even drove us to our room!

As we drove through town, he gave us a mini-tour. We learned that 80% of Whittier’s population lives in one building—a large apartment complex, which turned out to be where our suite was located, on the 14th floor. When we arrived at the building, I fell out of the van and completely demolished the driver’s step stool, making me even more soaked! Finally, we got to our room, and I couldn’t have been more grateful to change into dry clothes.

The room was spacious, with two separate rooms, and we spent most of the day relaxing. Greg and LaRee took naps while the rest of us watched a marathon of Will Smith movies on TV. For lunch, we walked to a small market next to the restaurant for snacks and later grabbed another meal at the restaurant. The owner kindly drove us back to our room after lunch.

This is the entire town, you can see our cruise ship up on the of the photo.

This is one of the buildings the owner took us by. It’s an old arm building built after WWII.

They get so much rain, you could see water coming down the mountain all over.

Almost forgot to get a photo of the building we stayed in. Got this right before we got on the train.

When it was time to head to the train station, the owner picked us up again and gave us another brief tour while we waited for the train, which had been delayed. Whittier has only one tunnel, shared by both cars and trains, and something had gone wrong with the schedule. Unfortunately, the delay caused us to lose our Uber reservations in Anchorage, but the train ride itself was peaceful. Greg and I recognized the road we had driven on during a trip to Alaska 10 years earlier, and we even spotted some Dahl Sheep, which made the journey worthwhile.

Once we arrived in Anchorage, it was late. Greg had been excited to try a restaurant that served Yak burgers, but it closed at midnight. So, we split up—Greg took everyone to the hotel to drop off our luggage, while I grabbed an Uber to the restaurant to secure a table. It worked out well, and we all managed to meet up and enjoy Yak burgers together.

Though the day was filled with unexpected twists, it turned out to be a unique and unforgettable experience. From learning about Whittier’s tight-knit community to staying in the one building where most of the town’s residents live, it was a crazy but cool way to end our trip. We flew out the next morning, and while it was bittersweet to leave, I’m so grateful for all the memories we made.

Love Greg’s phone rest for the plane home.