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Mark and Lisa Travel to Alaska - Day 5 Day 5
What a beautiful morning. The sun is out and no one is up yet. Lisa and I walked into town to find an ATM. It wasn't far away, and the view is incredible. We needed some smaller bills. Lisa pulled out $100, but it was 2 fifties. Not much help. We walked around some more and spotted a bald eagle on top of a power pole. Very exciting. It only stayed a couple of seconds, then flew off.
At a local hotel, we thought we would go buy some coffee and get some change. Lisa asked for a coffee and they told us it was free. Too funny. We asked for a large cup so they would charge us, it was only $1, but at least we got some smaller bills. The walk back along Resurrection Bay to our RV was beautiful.
We took our first showers in the RV, which is a challenge, packed our day bags, and walked off to the small boat harbor to take our Renown Kenai Fiords Tour. From our RV site, it was a quick 1/2 mile walk. Once we got our tickets, we walked over to the True Value Hardware store to see if I could get a DC cigarette lighter adapter. The one I had burned up the first time I stuck it into the cigarette light. But, no luck. We'll have to keep looking.
We were the first ones to the boat, and we marked our places in line. We were the first ones on the boat. After waiting 30 minutes or so, they let us on the boat. We picked our spot, which was a table for four on the right side of the boat back by the rear door. Perfect spot. I could get up quickly and move outside anytime I need to do so.
We saw lots of sea life, and it was impressive. On our way out of the bay, we looked over and saw our RV. One our pictures is of our RV from the boat. A little further out in the bay, we say Dall porpoises. The captain was really good at catching up to the wild life, keeping a respectful distance, and maneuvering the boat so just about everyone could see the wild life. Next up were the sea lions. Surreal is the word that comes to mind. These beautiful animals were up on some rocks, sunning themselves, with no care in the world.
Next up was the Aialik glacier. The captain pulled us within a safe distance and killed the engines. Of course, every one ran to the back of the boat, just waiting for the perfect shot. We heard a lot of moaning and groaning coming from the glacier. The sounds of the ice breaking reminded me of gun shots. Lisa and I saw the glacier calving. That's glacier speak for the ice breaking off of the glacier. Our ranger guide for the day said the small ice pieces were in fact about the size of a Mini Cooper. Not too shabby.
On our way back, we saw a hump back whale. The hump back whale breached the water. That's whale jargon, meaning he jumped up out of the water. Suzie, our ranger guide, said that witnessing such an event was rare. She said she gives tours 5 - 6 days a week and has only seen a whale breach the water 4 or 5 times. We also saw several Orcas. The Orcas travel in pods. One of the Orcas had a baby that was probably about a month old. Suzie said that the baby will swim by its mom to stay warm. We also saw some frisky Orcas. Suzie said that we might see some adult activity. Well, we didn't. If it occurred, we certainly didn't know what we were seeing, which is probably a good thing.
Along the way we saw some tufted puffins. Supposedly this too is a rare sight. We spotted several bald eagles along the way as well. A couple of the crew members own an island that is about an acre in size. On the island are about three cabins. The captain let the crew members tell us about the cabins. Of course, the cabins are for rent.
As the tour was for six hours, lunch was served. It consisted of a cookie (Lisa's was oatmeal, and mine was chocolate chip.) We had salmon, some cheese, and a bagel with cream cheese. The salmon was too salty, so we passed on it. After the tour, we walked back to our RV. The walk was nice. Seward is such a quaint, perfect place. After resting a bit, we took off in search of a laundromat. We had asked a couple of the crew members where one was located, but when we got there, it was closed. On to the coffee house. Well we took a few hours and uploaded our pictures. Lisa asked the guy where another laundromat was. He said about three blocks down the street. He was wrong, it was more like two or three miles down the street, but we eventually found it. To wash a load of clothes, it costs $4. Lisa and I decided we could stink up the RV for another day or two. So, we head back to the RV, determined to find a cheaper laundromat. Lisa makes a pretty mean salami and cheese sandwich. Today was great. Tomorrow we have a pretty easy day. |
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