Mini--trip Report - Seward, AK
 

Greetings from Seward!

It is wonderful here. Alaska is having a heat wave and they have shirt-sleeve weather today and yesterday. We had a bit of low fog this morning but it's sunny now (1:25 PM, Alaska time). The scenery, as always, is spectacular!

The Kenai Fjord's tour yesterday was great. Resurrection Bay and the Gulf of Alaska were glass-smooth. On the way to the glaciers, a pod of Killer whales swam alongside and around our boat. We made it out to Aialik Glacier and spent about thirty minutes there. There was a little ice-calfing but not as much as in my previous trips. I also did not see a single seal hauled out on the ice around the glacier which was quite unusual. We did see many seals and sea lions basking on the rocks as well as a small black bear foraging on the beach.

I ate at Ray's last night and was a bit disappointed based on the raves I have read on this forum. The food (halibut) was good but not special and the service was, at best, only average.

All-in-all, a good couple of days even if I did arrive at the airport after midnight and had to be up at 4:45 to catch the train to Seward.

More later as my trip progresses and I am able to find a computer for internet access.

It sounds great. have a wonderful time and let us know again.

I had a very similar experience at Ray's and my halibut was dry.

Oh what memories you are bringing back.

Glad you too had smooth sailing on your Kenai Fjords Tour.

Hope the rest of your trip is as smooth!

Part 2: It was a wonderful day in Seward. I spent the morning at the Sea Life Center and it is much improved and more extensive than on my last visit 5-6 years ago. Although I have no children with me, I noticed a new (to me) children's section with a number of exhibits and displays aimed at the little Fodorites. They also have a touching area for inter-tidal critters that I don't remember from my previous trip.

After brousing some of the downtown shops, I walked out to the Marina and watched the various fishing boats come in. Everyone was having a good day, catching their limits of silver salamon in the 4-9 pound range. Several boats also had catches of small halibut and some fairly large ling cod.

Animal sightings today were bald eagles and sea otters in Seward and a couple of moose and a black bear from the train.

Before catching the train back to Anchorage, I had dinner at Chinook's Brewhouse, also at the Seward smallboat marina, just a few doors north of Ray's. This was a much, much better experience. The service was friendly and efficient and the meal (grilled salmon, seasoned rice, vegie) was excellent at about the same price as Ray's. If you have room, by all means, try their blackberry cobbler with a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream. If it were any better, the Feds would outlaw it.

Sunset today was about 10:00 pm and twilight lasted for another 45 minutes or so. It was light when I left the hotel yesterday at about 5:15 am so the days are still long here in the far north.

Tomorrow, I'm off for another train trip, this time to Talkeetna and back. More on that later.

I'm looking forward to your continued trip report. We were lucky too last year the ocean was smooth as glass for us when we went.

Part 3: I was so impressed with the luck people had salmon fishing that, after I picked up my camper, I drove back to Seward. I went out on a charter with four other fishermen yesterday and we all limited silver salmon. We also caught and released a variety of other fish including pink salmon, sea bass, dog sharks, and a variety of pink fish looking similar to cod whose name I disremember now.

These were very expensive fish. By the time I paid the charter, bought the license, tipped the captain, and shipped the fish home, they came to about $90 apiece but I had a great time so it was worth it.

Thank you for posting your journal. Waiting for more

TTT for Deborah. I learned from this set of posts. Now, my trip reports are on the same thread.