traveling to state #50: alaska

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]So, I heard that apparently, if you get on the next flight to Alaska, one of the most expensive states in the US, you then rent a U-Haul for $20, sleep in a church parking lot, and wake up thinking, "What the [ __ ] am I doing here?" But, it gets worse. You find a handwritten note on your window. The church is threatening to tow away your new whip. But, before you freak out, you introduce yourself to some locals around your age who go to that church.

[00:00:19]And once you gain their trust, one of them invites you to an Alaskan FIFA tournament. And against all odds, you [music] win the first-place prize of $200. So, you decide to spend all of it on a trip through this endless tunnel, past the grizzly bear, past the snake pool, but the actual water to a town called Whittier, where every local lives together in this building. And while your new friends throw off [music] their muscle up at a nearby dock, you can't help but smile. These people who were once strangers are now your friends, and it feels like you've known them forever.

[00:00:42]So, when it's finally time to leave, you prepare a little gift for each of them, a photo that you've kept on your shelf for 5 years now to remind yourself that sometimes the biggest joys are on the other side of discomfort.