Last July, my Opa and my Uncle Steve took me to the great state of Alaska for a week long fishing trip as a graduation gift. I have been wanting to write this story down somewhere for quite sometime now because I'm afraid I'm going to forget it.

So if you're into tales of adventure and mishap, then read on. If you're not, then heck why would you click on a post called "Alaskan Adventure"? smh.

(Also all of these little sections of pictures are like a carousel so there are more if you click through them)

DAY 1: The morning we left I was hyped. I had spent months looking at pictures of Alaska online, spending way too much money on fishing gear, and watching Brother Bear on Netflix in preparation. Getting through the airport and onto the plane ran smoothly for once and soon enough we were in the clouds and on our way. (Also, I don't get why John Green wrote an entire book on looking for this place because it's relatively easy to find if you just look at a basic map) The flight from Houston to Anchorage is about nine hours. That was enough time to watch Deadpool, somehow take a nap, and fill up the last seven or so pages in my journal. I should also mention that I hate flying. I get really nervous about every part of it (one time a flight attendant thought it would be funny to make a joke and say "oh that's not supposed to happen" as we were landing and needless to say the only people who were laughing were my friends because I was having an anxiety attack in my seat) and on that note, I am paitently waiting for teleportation to be a thing so I can skip all of this unnecessary stress.

We landed, adjusted to the three hour time difference, and got our rental car. The drive from Anchorage to Soldotna was breathtaking to say the least. I was once again reminded of how infatuated I am with mountains. I spent the 45 minute drive in the backseat with the windows rolled down; head hanging out, hair blowing in the wind, smiling like an absolute idiot (or dog). I wanted to climb every mountain I saw and I have already made a promise to myself that if (*when) I go back, I'm going to make it a hiking intensive trip rather than a fishing intensive one so that I can get to the top of one of those beauties.

We dragged our luggage into our so-obviously-made-for-hunters-and-fisherman-lodge (complete with animal heads mounted to the wall and green carpet) that evening and were forced to get our excitement under control so we could actually get some sleep.

DAY 2: An alarm clock going off at 3:30 AM is one of the worst sounds I have ever heard, but having it go off at 3:30 AM and slowly realizing you're in bed in Alaska and not Cypress made it somehow manageable. We grabbed coffee at this gas station that morning and maybe it was because I was in Alaska or because it was 4 in the morning but that was the best cup of coffee I have ever had in my entire life. That day we had an 8 hour King Salmon fishing trip on the Kenai River (and if you were wondering why I was watching Brother Bear so much, it's because the main character in that movie is named Kenai and I just think that's cute as heck) that started at 4:30 AM. Our fishing guide was this very rugged man named Monty. I don't know what there is to say about Monty other than that if there is ever a zombie apocalypse-he is the first guy I am going to call because I want him on my side. Have you ever met someone so immensely intimidating and terrifying yet you have nothing but complete and utter respect for them? That is Monty. (he is in one of the pictures in the next section)

So we had been sitting in the boat for about three hours, trying different spots on the river and having no luck just as pretty much every other boat on the river. We were all starting to lose hope. Then, around 8:30 AM, the tip of my pole shot straight down into the water. Before I go on with this story you need to understand something- I like to fish. I grew up fishing; it is peaceful and relaxing, but in my life I have only gone perch and bass fishing (these are pretty small fish), so I was in no way prepared for the power struggle I was about to have with the 30+ pound King Salmon on the end of my fishing line. Me and this sucker had it out while several boats of people around us stopped to watch me try and reel this bastard in. Monty was next to me giving me advice (this is my polite way of saying he was yelling commands in my ear and scaring me half to death like bro it's just a fish ima need you to calm down)((I would however never dare tell Monty this was "just a fish")) and to be completely honest at this point I was catching this fish because I was terrified of what Monty would do if I lost it. It took me a little over ten minutes to get this thing into the boat where Monty instantly clubbed it to death (I saw him grab that club and my first thought was whoa dude hey I caught the fish there is no need for violence don't hurt me please). I was shaking. 2/3 part because I was still trying to recover from my immense fear of Monty and 1/3 because of the adrenaline. It was exhilarating. I wanted to fist pump into the air. (I would have if my arm hadn't hurt so much) I was sitting in my seat on the boat trying to pull myself together when Monty came over and did something I will never forget. He smiled at me. He congratulated me. He shook my hand like I had just earned my man card. I like to think that Monty and I are now bros because I caught this fish. He actually gave me a hug at the end of our fishing trip and I think I shed a tear. What a man. Our fishing trip ended up lasting well over 8 hours because Monty wanted to ensure that my Opa and uncle got to reel in a fish as well, but I did not mind because I ended up somehow falling asleep in my tiny leather boat seat. Oh, also it was during this part of the trip that I discovered Alaska has seals. Those little (big) guys are so cute-I loved watching their lil heads bob in and out of the water :,) .

That afternoon I set up my ENO on the top of this hill behind our lodge that overlooked Longmere Lake. I spent a lot of time here throughout the week just writing and reading and taking in the simple beauty of nature. That night we went to a restaurant that served shrimp the size of my hand and then went to this place called Ford Meyer which is ultimately a Walmart on steroids. I never thought I would ever describe a grocery store as "magnificent" until I walked into Ford Meyer.

DAY 3: This was our first "off day" of the week. We didn't have any fishing trips scheduled with guides so we went down to the river and fished on our own. I ended up going off on a hike by myself in the woods (which probably wasn't the best idea because Alaska may not have snakes or alligators or anything, but they do have bears and those guys aren't too friendly). Being alone in nature is one of the most therapeutic things ever. There is nothing quite like standing in the middle of the woods and closing your eyes and hearing nothing but the wind, birds, the sound of you breathing, and water rushing in the river on the edge of the tree line. It really gave me time to reflect on life and think. I wrote some of my favorite things while I was in Alaska. My mind felt free. If this trip left me with anything it was the craving to feel that freedom constantly.

That night, life played a sick joke on me. The man who owns the lodge we were staying at had invited all of his guests to a dinner that he was providing. Sitting in my chair, taking a bite out of my moose burger (which was surprisingly really good), I looked out among the hiking boots, beards, and flannel jackets when the man who owns the lodge emerged from the crowd who, I kid you not, was a spitting image of my band director. I choked on my burger. I was immediately triggered. If you know me then you know exactly how I felt about this occurrence.

Featured above: Veenstra- buff, Alaskan edition.

After dinner, I dragged a canoe into the lake behind our lodge and paddled around to stalk the lodges around us. I haven't mentioned this yet, but one of the coolest things ever about Alaska is that it goes through periods of time when it's always dark outside and then times when it's always light outside. Since we were there in July, I got to experience what it's like to live a week of my life in a place where the sun never sets. It does this nifty thing where it basically sits on the horizon all night and then rises again. There is nothing quite like canoeing on a lake at midnight and having the sun shine down on you.

DAY 4: Our Halibut fishing trip got cancelled on this day, but we made the most of it (and by the most, I mean we had one of the best days up there) Me, my uncle, and my Opa piled into our rental car after a morning of fishing and hammocking and drove to the coast of the Pacific Ocean. On the way there we stopped for lunch near a cliff that overlooked the Pacific Ocean and a mountain range that featured two volcanos. Eating a sandwich is good. Eating a sandwich while standing on a cliff looking at volcanos-even better. This was a fun day of exploring new places that none of us had been to-we also saw a Caribou in the wild which was wild ha ha.

I remember this was the day that I saw a lot of anti-Texas bumper stickers and t-shirts. Apparently they aren't too fond of us up there. They have a relatively big ego about how they're a bigger state than we are, but I couldn't hear their judgement over the George Strait I was playing at max volume on the aux.

I also distinctly remember listening to the song I Got A Name by Jim Croce a lot on this day.

DAY 5: Oh boy, Day 5. Day 5 was my favorite day. I'm already smiling while writing this. That was the day that we took one of those boat planes to a secluded fishing spot in the middle of the Kenai Mountains. The views on the plane ride there were enough to make me melt already. I was once again reminded for about the hundredth time that trip of how absolutely lovely mountains are. (it was also during this time that I convinced myself I needed to get a mountain range tattooed on my body-sorry mom and dad) I also saw a black bear in a river and some mountain goats which was pretty awesome (they do indeed crave that mineral).

I know that no picture could ever do this place justice, but if I could have spent the remainder of the week at our fishing spot then I would have. You're just going to have to take my word for it that this place was breathtaking. It was a little river area that entered into the Pacific that was completely surrounded by mountains and lodge pines. There were no humans even remotely close other than me, my uncle, my opa, our two fishing guides (one of which was my old pal who looks like my band director), and an older man that came on the excursion as well. We "flossed" for fish that day which basically involves you wading in waist high water while throwing your line out and slowly reeling it in, occasionally jerking your pole to the side in hopes that your hook catches a fish's mouth by chance. This method somehow worked because we all almost limited out on Sockeye salmon.

I spent an hour or so sitting on the rocks talking with my opa and the older gentleman that came with us. One of my favorite parts about this trip was getting to know our fishing guides and anyone else we met along the way because they were always nifty people with interesting backstories. The man we met on this trip was no different although I am sadly blanking on his name. He was a recently retired man with no family who had one day decided that he was going to up and move to Alaska for a while to fish and just live "the good life" while earning his keep by working at a hotel in town. Truly an inspiration.

DAY 6: This was another day that started with another legendary 3:30 AM alarm followed by an 8 hour King Salmon fishing trip. No one caught anything on this trip so we ended it early and decided to go wading in the river for a few hours and floss (that fishing technique I described earlier) for Sockeye salmon again which we were all lucky enough to catch. Now would be a good time to tell you how much I struggled with this certain fishing technique. For starters, I swear I have done permanent damage to my shoulder from continuously yanking the pole to the side too hard. I also became notorious for accidentally hooking my hook in the trees hanging over the water every time I swung the line out. The cherry on top to this particular fishing trip was that I was in thigh high waders so I was really pushing my luck for being as deep in the water as I was and this was confirmed when a boat came by and I had the privilege of having ice cold water rush down my legs.

I also saw a bald eagle up close while we were fishing and boy when I say I had a "Ron Swanson" moment, I mean it with every ounce of my being.

DAY 7: A day which will live in infamy. The day I went home. I savored every part of this day. I woke up early to stand on the pier behind our lodge to take in Longmere Lake for the last time. Again, I pressed my face against the window in the backseat of the car on our drive back to anchorage. I took waaaaay too many pictures. We stopped by this exotic zoo place they had in the middle of the mountains on the way back that had Reindeer, Bison, Black Bears, and all sorts of creatures that I would not want to accidentally run into while I was in the wild.

At the airport I realized I forgot to grab cheesy souvenirs for my family, so I went to the gift shop until I came to the terrifying realization that I read my ticket wrong and that my plane was about to takeoff. I got to have that movie worthy moment where I ran through the airport to my terminal where I was greeted by an empty waiting area, an angry Opa, and a flight attendant who looked particularly annoyed. Haa, uh, oops? *smiles uncomfortably* After a whole bunch of apologies, I plopped into my window seat and stared out into the night sky. As the plane ascended into the clouds, I came to two very upsetting realizations:

1. The trip of a lifetime had come to an end

2. I had forgotten my corndog in the airport

This is still one of my favorite trips, if not my favorite, that I've ever been on. It was a week well spent without makeup on and covered in fish guts instead. It gave me time to think and to get away from life and anything I was dealing with back home. I felt free and alive. Also, spending all this time in the most beautiful place I've ever been to with two really amazing people just made the trip that much better. I will never forget our nights spent drinking on the back porch or eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream while watching the sun never set.

Even to this day, every time I put my hiking boots on I think about how they left footprints there and it still makes me smile. What an adventure.

See you soon, Alaska.