Going to Alaska was a last minute idea … more like a 1am purchase over Facetime with a glass of wine 😉 I am one of those people who subscribes to travel deal emails, which means that I get the wanderlust daily when I see those low prices hit my inbox. I don’t usually purchase any cheap airfare because it doesn’t line up with my schedule, but this time …
this time was different.

“Alaska, $189 roundtrip.”

I took one glance and thought “WOW, but I bet it’s not out of any cities near me.” Out of more curiosity then anything, I scrolled down to check the airports. Nope, nothing flying out of south Georgia. I mean, I’m not surprised; nothing much happens down here anyways, except for a ridiculous consumption of sweet tea and periodically changing from red back to blue to show everyone we are still alive. I kid, I kid … though there’s a grain of truth there, I digress.

It just so happened that the $189 roundtrip airfare was in and out of Los Angeles, and the dates included in the deal just so happened to be within 3 days of my departure from Los Angeles after a work trip out there. So I did what any logical person does – I called my bestie, and asked her if she would be willing to go to Alaska with me. It took a few hours for us to work on an itinerary and transfer funds, but by midnight we were sipping a glass of wine and clicking “purchase” over Facetime. Definitely a new high 😉

I put out a model call on Instagram, and advertised for one session opening while I was in Anchorage. Out of the many responses, Sean + Annie just stuck out to me because they seemed so down to earth and genuine. They are local to the Anchorage area, and even drove us out of town and up into some mountains for this session. We were blown away by their Alaskan hospitality and how much fun they had during their session, even though the wind and air were nippy.

Annie and I had several phone calls before their session to brainstorm and bring our vision for the shoot to life. I wanted to make a stop somewhere and grab coffee before heading out into nature, but due to timing, all the cute, local coffeeshops were closed. So instead, Annie made coffee and brought it along and it was a perfect little treat to stop, enjoy some hot joe and warm up halfway through the session.

Ahhhhhh I seriously am obsessed with you two. You made trekking through Alaskan underbrush, searching the hillsides for moose, and dancing to “September” while the other hikers watched so much fun. We left our session with new friends, and a new reason to visit Alaska again!

And while I am here, Christy, thanks for being the best pal and spontaneously jetsetting over to Alaska with me. So many new memories, laughs and adventures (and blisters, but we won’t show those).
Where should we go next?!