50 YEARS, 50 STATES — Sharon Mark Cohen

Sharon and Arnee at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska June 2025

We always taught our children to follow through on the things they started. We tried to lead by example.

For my 70th birthday, our children put together a monumental memory book for me (See The Things That Stick in People’s Minds, dated February 6, 2024, at sharonmarkcohen.com). In it, our son Judd and family wrote, “We wish you many more happy and healthy years side-by-side with Zaidy (Grandpa), hopefully shortly checking off those last few states to travel to all 50 together.”

Those luscious sentiments incentivized me, and we did just as they hoped! In a two-week extravaganza last September, we took the bull by the horns and traveled around four “missing” states from our list. We visited Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The trip was magnificent. Then, to complete our desire to travel to all 50 states, we began planning our visit to Alaska, the 49th state of the United States.

I fondly recall studying about the Eskimos, whale blubber, and totem poles when I was in grammar school, and I always dreamed about visiting Alaska. Many years ago, my cousin Fannie whet my appetite even more when she visited her niece, Sherrie, who lived in Juneau, Alaska, at that time, with another home in Haines. Sherrie, now living in Washington State, while maintaining a home in Haines, is also my cousin, and her aunt told us about watching from the huge glass window in Sherrie’s house as Bald Eagles freely spread their gigantic wings and soared.*

We invited our children and grandchildren to join us in celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary on June 15, 2025, in Denali. After much discussion, they reluctantly decided they couldn’t be there in person with us, but we went ahead with our plans, and they joined in virtually on our special day. We plan to do an anniversary trip with the whole crew soon.

As I approach my 72nd birthday in a few short weeks, I feel a sense of accomplishment for completing what we started and reaching our goal of traveling to all 50 states. While our children need not do what we do, we think they, too, will enjoy seeing all 50 states.

Our country has so much to offer. We hope that what our children take from this is that you can make dreams come true. Upon landing back in New Jersey, we sent a WhatsApp message to our children, informing them that our vacation was stupendous.

A prophetic meme popped up, which joked, “I was just minding my own business, then all of a sudden 1975 was 50 years ago.” No truer words were ever spoken.

Our June 2025 Alaska Itinerary

Our 7 1/2 hour direct, non-stop flight to Anchorage landed 20 minutes early. As we walked off the airplane, the pilot was behind us. I asked if he was the one who flew us to Alaska. He answered affirmatively. We told him our story of our 50th anniversary, and visiting our 50th state. He stood and spoke with us for ten minutes, asking which state most impressed us before experiencing Alaska. When we said South Dakota, he remarked, “Wait until you see Alaska.” He added that he’s been all over the world, and there is no place like Alaska, where he lived for 25 years.

We walked off to baggage claim with broad smiles and a desire to enjoy the Alaska air, daylight practically around the clock, and friendly people. We met all our goals and more. The hotel van took us to the midtown Anchorage hotel, a ten-minute drive from the airport, to start our excursion. With no room darkeners, I was glad I brought a mask to cover my eyes so I could sleep!

We started our ten full days of exploration by hopping in an Uber to downtown Anchorage on a rainy day—the only rainy day of our vacation. At the welcome center, we boarded a van for the terrific Alaska Native Heritage Center. There, we watched Alaskan games/sports demonstrations, and were entertained by a native song and dance show, before touring the museum’s tasteful art exhibits.

The native heritage items exhibited at the Old Federal Building, across the street from the welcome center, were impressive. From there, we made our way to the well-curated Alaska Jewish Museum, which opens its doors at 1 pm. While there, we visited the Chabad center next door and met the rabbis. Arnee donned tefillin in Alaska! Was our donation to the Chabad Center what made the trip stupendous? Could be.

Time schedules were somewhat difficult with public transportation, so we rented a car the next morning for a 45-minute drive to Palmer. The welcome center in that quaint town housed a neat gift shop and museum. The young man at the desk suggested we visit the Musk Ox Farm, where we took a guided tour and were introduced to Trebeck, the musk ox named for the beloved television host of Jeopardy, who donated to the farm he so enjoyed visiting. We were also prompted to visit the nearby Reindeer Farm for a self-guided tour and see other picturesque sights before heading to Wasilla for dinner.

From Wasilla, we drove back to Anchorage and checked out of our hotel the next morning to head to Homer, known as “The Halibut Capital of the World,” for an overnight stay. They allowed us to leave our baggage in the hotel storage room in Anchorage whenever we checked out to head to another stop.

A four-hour drive wound up taking us six and a half hours as we stopped frequently to take in the grandeur of the majestic scenery and snap pictures. The Homer Spit, a small stretch of land bordered by waterways, is lined with funky shops and restaurants.

Interestingly, small private airplanes were parked in the water near their owners’ homes, just as we were told they were grandfathered in to be parked in homeowners’ lots along the roadways in some areas before the laws changed, no longer allowing private aircraft to be parked so close to homes. We drove the entire 4.5-mile strip of the Homer Spit in a few minutes, enjoyed a quick visit at the Farmer’s Market, and looked around at the local hangouts before heading to our hotel up the street.

The next day, we visited the Alaska Islands & Ocean Visitor Center, which also houses the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, and the Pratt Museum of Natural History, before doing some shopping and returning the rental at Anchorage Airport. From there, the van from our Anchorage Hotel picked us up for the ten-minute drive back, and we had dinner and did laundry before getting four hours of sleep.

We were up bright and early to check out again and leave our extra bag while we took an Uber to the train depot to catch the train to Seward for another overnight. The sightseeing train traveled at 30 miles per hour. In Seward, we stayed at the Windsong Lodge, which was fabulous!

A great lunch in downtown Seward was recommended at Sudy’s Cafe in the Old Train Depot. The Alaska SeaLife Center, located across the street, was a great place to see the sea animals up close and visit the shops. A van from the hotel came on the half hour to pick up guests and bring them downtown or to the ferry terminal.

Our six-hour planned boat tour of the Kenai Fjords National Park was a highlight of the trip. Seeing ice break off the colorful glaciers and watching as the workers scooped up the freshly broken-off chunks of glistening ice for us to hold for pictures was so exciting.

The sea animals and birds were quick to dart back underwater, making it tricky to capture photos of the humpback whales, orcas, otters, puffins, and other birds. The sea lions were out in droves, however, and we were more successful taking pictures of them splayed out on the rocks.

When we disembarked the boat, we quickly made our way to the train for our prepaid ride back to Anchorage, but somehow we were not listed as passengers. It all worked out after we told them our 50 for 50 story and showed them the paperwork from the Alaska Railbookers tour company. When we boarded the train with our handwritten tickets, people were sitting in our assigned seats. Oddly, they had printed tickets with those same seat numbers.

The conductor heard the 50 for 50 story and quietly showed us to two available seats with extra legroom. As if that weren’t enough, we told the waitress on the train our 50 for 50 story, the fact that GoldStar seats with full window views were sold out for the ride to Denali, but that we had pre-purchased them for the ride back from Denali to Anchorage. With her nudge, they surprised us the following morning, on our anniversary, and upgraded us to GoldStar seats for our 7 1/2-hour train ride to Denali.

Our 50th wedding anniversary was on a beautiful day in Denali, mimicking the weather on our wedding day in 1975. It also fell on Father’s Day again. We were informed by the woman at the hotel desk that the sun is brightest between 10 and 11 pm and that there is no real sunset or sunrise in the mountains at this time of year. At my girlfriend’s suggestion, as the sun was about to go down behind the mountain at 10 pm, we took a selfie kissing.

Our pre-planned five-hour bus tour in Denali National Park for the Denali Natural History Tour was highlighted not only by seeing a moose and her calf, and the willow ptarmigan state bird of Alaska, but by hearing a young native Alaskan woman guide speak to us from a mountain top, introducing herself in her native tongue, and explaining life for Native Alaskans. We ended with a program at the welcome center, followed by a free tour bus ride to the nearby dog sledding exhibition.

On our final morning in Denali, we had until 11:00 am to board the van to the train, so after breakfast, we took a suggested 20-minute hike in the woods across from the Denali Cabins where we were staying. We carefully traversed tree roots to “turn at the Birch Trees” for a grand view of the lake. I took pictures and videos there and throughout the trip, to share with our family and friends on WhatsApp and to review from home to help us recall the grandeur of our Golden Anniversary vacation.

On the GoldStar train back to Anchorage, there was limited seating in the dining cars, and they asked to put two other passengers at our table for lunch. As it turned out, we had lovely conversations, and the women asked to sit with us at dinner. We had the same thought and readily agreed. They wisely switched spots so we could each take turns having discussions with the others.

The women were friends for 40 years and were about our age. One of the women, a retired tax attorney, lost her husband a couple of years ago, and the other woman, an accountant, said her husband stayed home with their three dogs and his 94-year-old father. She told me all about her life in detail and said, I can tell you all this because I’ll never see you again. The two women from California were great company, and the conversations were a great way to pass the time.

We saved our last day in Anchorage before heading to the airport for the red eye (the only option for a direct flight home) to explore more of Anchorage, starting with the Anchorage Museum, “dedicated to studying and exploring the land, peoples, art and history of Alaska.” That museum is one of the top museums we’ve explored anywhere. We took a quick Uber ride to the Botanical Gardens, where plantings surround a 1/2 hour round-trip walking path and a small souvenir shop.

Seasonal temperatures ranged from the mid-60s to the low 80s during the day and the high 40s to low 50s at night. Peak season is just about to start, and lots of workers are only there for the summer. Whenever we told our story of “50 for 50,” we received the sweetest comments and three free desserts along the way…One waitress said she was holding back tears.

I’ve been told that I should write a travel guide. Stay tuned. In the meantime, if seeking suggestions on places of interest, give us a buzz. I have over 1,000 undoctored photos I took with my iPhone.

*On average, Bald Eagles’ wingspan ranges from six to seven and a half feet. Females tend to have a slightly larger wingspan than males, with some reaching up to 8 feet. Identifying a Bald Eagle shows that it has a heavy body, a large head, and a long, hooked bill. While in flight, a Bald Eagle holds its broad wings flat like a board.

Now, enjoy a few pretty pictures from our trip, in no particular order. While I stayed up all night getting this post together for Tuesday, I must say it was a joy reliving our Alaska adventure.