Two Waypointers share family-friendly trips as they help build Military Waypoint, the new online travel community exclusively for service members, veterans and their families.
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TRAVELING THE ALASKA RAILROAD
Fort Wainwright, Alaska
I start to feel relaxed as I sit down in a plush seat and realize they recline. Traveling with a 2-month-old, I'm looking forward to a slow ride from Fairbanks to Anchorage. The train cuts through town as we leave the depot. Traveling with my mother-in-law, we chat away with other families who have brought small children along. In the cars in front of us, several tour groups have also booked travel by train. We are all eager to see the Alaskan country side unseen by any other means of travel.
Mountain ranges reach above the cloud line, always in view as the train travels at the top speed of 30 miles an hour. In the summer, the landscape is covered with lush green trees and wildflowers in bright shades of purple. Small lakes are scattered throughout the area, but as the journey continues further out of town, we are following a river, and then the train is crossing through a gorge along rickety bridges. I dare not look down. My mother-in-law is standing between the cars on a platform, her head out the opening as wind clashes with her hair as she takes pictures of the stunning views.
It takes 12 hours to travel from Fairbanks to Anchorage, but the train stops in several places along the way, including Denali National Park. With a roundtrip ticket, you can get off at each stop and take the train the next day on your way to Anchorage and back. Tour the major attractions of Alaska without having to drive a single mile. There are several seating options from a second level viewing car to more budget friendly seats that are packed together in the middle car.
For our trip, we were recipients of an MWR giveaway for two roundtrip tickets on the adventure car. With comfortable seats and plenty of room for the things we carried onto the train (to include a cooler full of drinks and food), it is the best way to travel Alaska. At any time you can get up and walk between the many cars. There is an observation car with stairs to a second level where the roof forms a see-through dome, perfect for moose watching.
When booking your trip on the Alaska railroad, ask for military rates for a discount on this amazing adventure.
If you go: https://www.alaskarailroad.com
— Erica Garvin, Waypoint member
FAMILY FUN ON THE TROLLEY CIRCUIT
St. Augustine, Florida
The legend of Juan Ponce de Leon's quest for the Fountain of Youth is many people's introduction to St. Augustine. It's often dismissed as folklore, but maybe there's something to it. Our Old Town Trolley Tours driver said he regularly sips from the spring, noting, "I'm almost 400 years old!"
St. Augustine is a destination. Between the gorgeous beaches, St. Augustine's history as the oldest continuous European settlement in the United States and the area's many family-friendly attractions, it's easy to spend several days touring.
Here are some best bets. Many offer military discounts.
Get a Trolley pass (www.trolleytours.com). Drivers narrate the ride. With 23 stops at key locations, riders can hop on and off for 3 consecutive days, visiting attractions such as the Fountain of Youth, the Spanish Military Hospital Museum, Flagler College and the Lightner Museum, the Colonial Quarter and Castillo de San Marcos, a winery, distillery and more. Stroll down St. George Street with its many cool shops and open-air cantinas with live music.
The Fountain of Youth (www.fountainofyouthflorida.com) has a reconstructed 1587 mission church and a 3,000-year-old Timcuan living history village. In close proximity is the Oldest Store Museum and the old County Jail, built in 1891. Costumed "deputies" or "inmates" guide highly-popular tours of the jail and the gallows, which loom just outside the death row cell bars.
Just across the Bridge of Lions connecting St. Augustine to Anastasia Island is the Alligator Farm Zoological Park (www.alligatorfarm.com). The odoriferous reptiles are everywhere, with some pools of giant gators. Feeding time is popular. The park is also said to be the only facility in the world exhibiting living specimens of all 24 species of crocodiles. Over the biggest lagoons is an incredible bird rookery with egrets, roseate spoonbills and herons. Oh yeah, you can zipline over the gators, too — don't know about that one.
Your Trolley pass also gets you a "Beach Bus" connection to the alligator farm, plus the Lighthouse & Museum (www.staugustinelighthouse.com/and beach). The lighthouse, reportedly haunted, has exhibits showcasing the challenges of keeping ships safe in earlier days. The view, after a 219-stair climb, is spectacular. There is also a wooden shipbuilding demonstration and tours of the lightkeeper's house.
If you want a room with a view, the Edgewater Inn, also on Anastasia Island and adjacent to the bridge, overlooks the Matanzas River and Castillo de San Marcos. Accommodations were wonderful. (www.stayatedgewater.com).
— Ken Perrotte, Military Times contributor
