Have you ever been to a place where everyone treats you like one of the family, like Mayberry in the Andy Griffith Show? Well Seward is a place just like that. It is a very small town nestled on the shores of an inlet between lots of mountains. People here ask you about your day and actually wait for your reply. Our whole family is enjoying Alaska and it’s people so much we could see coming back to stay during a summer (maybe on one of the many islands).
Crabby
Our original plan for Seward was to do a marine life boat tour. This time of year the Orcas come in to eat all the salmon in the bay and we thought it would be great to go play out there with them. It turns out that Seward has been getting pounded with storms and flooding has been an issue for weeks. We drove into town on a new road as the old one had washed away in the last couple weeks. All of the weather woes directed much of the sea life to a different location, outside of the range of the tours. The tours are still going on but they told us that we would only see eagles and otters, as everything else decided to leave town. With this new information, as well as the rain coming down all morning, we choose to alter our plans and go to the Alaska SeaLife Center. On our way there we saw a Bald Eagle perched in a tree – stunning bird. We were reminded of Benjamin Franklin’s thoughts on our National Symbol: “he is a bird of bad moral character, he does not get his living honestly… Besides he is a rank coward; the little kingbird, not bigger than a sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district.” Franklin actually wanted the turkey instead. He states, “the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America . . . a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards, who should presume to invade his farmyard with a red coat on.” The way he put it makes me think perhaps he was right, but he’s still a stunning site to see!
Touchy - Feely
The SeaLife Center’s display with all of the urchins, starfish, sea anemones, and crabs was an easy favorite, as we were encouraged to touch and feel everything. The urchins even gave the kids little urchin hugs which they got a big kick out of. After our tour it was time to find food, which is rather a challenge if you are trying to stay in a budget. Food in Alaska in general is pretty pricey and a sandwich can run in the $10 range. So, we went to the Safeway grocery store and I was able to walk around until I had enough food to feed a family of eight for $17 with almost everything being organic.
Swim Time
With full bellies it was time for naps, which can be a luxury on a trip like this. To cap the day we went to the hotel pool for a swim. The kids made a new friend (Hi Antoinette), and I got to be a real life super hero. Tirzah decided to go for a swim off the pool steps while I was maybe three feet from her. I looked down and Tirzah was under water looking up at me with one of those “What do I do now?” expressions on her face. I reached down and fished her out of the water, much to her relief and mine! It took her a while before she was back in the water having a great time.
Tomorrow we are headed back north toward Anchorage.
Big Baldy
Ay! Ay! Cap
