Seward is on the eastern shore of the Kenai Peninsula, so the first half our drive was retracing last weekend's drive down Turnagain Arm and through the Kenai Mountains on the Kenai Peninsula. This time, we took the road to Seward instead of Homer.
I really don't think that the drive down to Seward is that spectacular, but it is one of those "Alaska Scenic Byways," so I suppose it must be something scenic? You stay in the mountains and drive through a lot of trees, but I don't think that these mountains are as scenic as most of the other mountains in Alaska. But that's just me. One of the guys who was on this trip with me thought that the drive was spectacularly scenic. I suppose it all depends on the perspective. Since I was driving, I didn't take any pictures.We got into Seward around 11 AM. It's only 130 miles from Anchorage to Seward and the speed limit is 55 or 65 for most of the way. Because of this, I don't understand why all of the guidebooks say that the drive is estimated to be around 3 hours. It took us 2 hours and 15 minutes. Seward has about 3700 people and sits at the end of Resurrection Bay, which is more off the Gulf of Alaska than off of Prince William Sound, but it's pretty darn close to Prince William Sound. The city is divided into two sections--the harbour tourist area and the downtown tourist area. We parked in the harbour tourist area, since that was where the cruise would depart, at a public use parking lot that charged $5 per day. The harbour area reminded me a lot of Homer, though without the quaintness of being out on a sand spit.
As you can see, the marine layer was in and the skies were all cloudy, but it was still rather warm with temperatures in the upper 60s. I will say that I did like Seward's Tsunami Evacuation Signs more than Homer's. Seward's signs include a stylized stick-figure man charging up a hillside ahead of the angry monster wave.
We ate lunch at a local restaurant, where for the first time I saw cod being served as a main fish dish in addition to halibut. Seward is still known as a major halibut fishing area, but apparently there are some kinds of Pacific cod in the nearby waters and I was able to enjoy a fish and chips lunch. We then walked the mile down the road to the downtown tourist area.
Downtown Seward is like that typical-looking "historic" downtown, with the quaint storefronts, advertising local products and souvenirs. I bought a shirt that says "Seward, Alaska" on it a one store. I am continually surprised at, with all of the local pride, how difficult it is at many of these gift shops to find shirts that have the name of the city on them. I can understand that it's probably more cost-effective for some huge screen printing shirt company in Anchorage to make a bunch of "Alaska" shirts and distribute them everywhere, but I want to wear a shirt that reflects the locality, the city I visited, as opposed to just the state. Anyhow, we also stopped at a local museum and spent about an hour looking at relics and photos describing the history of Seward. I should point out that, had I not visited the (in my mind) somewhat similar tourist/fishing city of Homer the weekend before, I would have been a lot more excited about Seward--it's a very charming town with a rich history. Take, for example, this mountain right behind downtown.
This photo was taken earlier in the day when the clouds were still around. The mountain is called Mount Marathon, and every 4th of July they host a footrace up and down the mountain. This tradition started back in the early 1900s as a bar bet between two guys where one bet the other that he couldn't run to the top of Mount Marathon and back in less than an hour. So the best was taken and it ended up taking 1 hour and 3 minutes that first time for the runner to get to the top of the mountain and back. This race has expanded to include a whole field of competitors, who run, stumble, fall and crash their way up and down the mountain every Fourth of July. The current records are around 40 minutes now for the entire trip. It apparently takes the best runners 30 minutes to get up the mountain, but only 10 to get down--that's how fast they're moving. It's not uncommon for people to be all bruised and bloody at the end because of them falling on the way a few times. This is a major event in Seward every year and their Fourth of July celebrations as a whole draw hundreds of people every year. So, this is a town with a lot of life to it.There are also more things to see in the area, like the Exit Glacier near town. This is a glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park that you can actually walk to the face of on a half-mile path from a parking area. There's also the Alaska Sea Life center, which is a large saltwater aquarium in downtown Seward that houses all the animals (except whales) you could find in the area, for those who don't want to go out on a cruise to spot them there. There are many unique restaurants and bars in the downtown area, and we didn't have a problem deciding on places to eat (for once). Seward is a good place to spend a day.
Anyhow, we had to be back at the docks by 3 PM to get on our cruise.
Our ship was called the "Orca Song," and at maximum it could hold about 75 people. On our cruise, there were maybe 40 some people, and they were a mix of elderly couples, some college students, families with small children...just about anyone. I really, really like being on boats. I know that one day I will own some sort of boat. I've always wanted to go out on a sailboat and learn to sail, but I've never really had the opportunity to do so, nor does anyone I know conveniently have a sailboat and know how to sail. That's something I really want to do, though. There were plenty of sailboats in the harbour, as well as many fishing boats and some yachts. I was delighted to see all these marine radars on the boats being used. But anyhow, the clouds were beginning to break and our cruise headed out on time at 3:30. We were soon literally leaving Seward in our wake and heading out into Resurrection Bay.
Apparently the bay is called Resurrection Bay because the Russians who first entered it did so on the Russian Orthodox Easter. We headed down the bay toward the open ocean rather quickly and soon saw our first wildlife--a pair of sea otters playing in the bay. Since I was on the top deck of the boat, and the otters were so small, it's difficult to make them out in the photo. But, they're there...
The otters were fun to watch for a few minutes, but then the boat continued on down the coast. Next we saw two bald eagles in the trees on the shore. You can see their white heads against the dark trees in this photo.
The boat then entered a small cove and we drove right up to the cliff face. The area was a major rookery for puffins and cormorants. I'm not sure which of those birds are in this photo, but you can see how many of them there are in the cracks in the rock. Though they look kind of like little penguins, they definitely are not. By this point, I was really wishing my camera had a better zoom ability.
We then headed out to the mouth of the bay where it meets the open Pacific Ocean. There was one small island left. At the top of this island is a small station that used to be a watch post during World War II when the military watched for any boats or submarines trying to enter Resurrection Bay.
At the base of this island was a large colony of Steller's Sea Lions. Steller's Sea Lions are an endangered species, so this was apparently a rare and treasurable photo opportunity. Our boat waited and watched off the shore of the island for a while, and you could hear the sea lions grunting and barking at one another. Very fun.
As you might be able to tell from the photos (aside from the fact that my camera cannot zoom at all), as we headed down the bay and out to the open ocean, we entered the marine layer again and the weather had turned cool and cloudy. We crossed the mouth of the bay and I was able to look out at the open Pacific Ocean. This is the first time I had ever been on a boat on the ocean, so it was an experience. Somewhere out there, 2500 miles away, is Hawaii...
At this point, our captain said that they had spotted two humpback whales up ahead, and the boat plowed in that direction. Everyone gathered at the bow of the boat to see what they could see. I went down to the lower deck to get a better view. We waited for several minutes, hoping the whales would come up again. And they did. First we could see the spray from their breathing...
We soon learned (from our captain) that it looked like we had found a mother humpback whale and her calf. We next saw the characteristic humped back of one of the whales.
Then the two whales resurfaced very near to the boat. The younger whale decided to roll on its back. You can see its white fin in this photo. The mother whale's back is also there.
Then the younger whale lifted its tail out of the water in a classic shot. This photo was a chance happening, but I'm glad I was able to get it.
After this dive, the whales disappeared for several minutes. We thought they had gone and the boat turned to head back into the bay. I happened to be on the ocean side of the boat for this, and everyone was congratulating everyone else on seeing the whales. Then, there was a huge explosion a little distance away...and the mother whale leaped completely out of the water...
Which was followed by a huge splash...
Just spectacular. There were cheers on board the boat. I'm so glad I was able to see that, and that the point of us going on this cruise was fulfilled. Having seen what we all came to see, the boat turned back to Seward, this time following the western shore of the bay. We passed near the Bear Glacier which "empties" into the bay.
As we approached Seward, it was nearly 6:00. Apparently that's the time when a lot of the fishing charters come in. I felt like we were leading a full fleet back into the harbour...
Seward harbour is very scenic. We followed a sailboat through the breakwater. Once again, the maze and tangle of masts and ropes on all the ships reminded me of those puzzles I used to put together. It also reminded me of a poem we had once read in English class in high school--the Idea of Order at Key West by Wallace Stevens. It includes a stanza that goes,"...tell me, if you know,
Why, when the singing ended and we turned
Toward the town, tell why the glassy lights,
The lights in the fishing boats at anchor there,
As the night descended, tilting in the air,
Mastered the night and portioned out the sea,
Fixing emblazoned zones and fiery poles,
Arranging, deepening, enchanting night... "
This scene just reminded me of all that as we returned in the evening. It wasn't quite "night", but still...
Those few clouds were all that remained of the cloudiness that had been around all day. The sunshine was welcome after all those hours out on the ocean. We got back in at 6:30 and found an Italian restaurant for dinner. After that, I mailed another round of postcards and we drove back into Anchorage. The drive back was rather uneventful, as most of the other people slept on the way. 
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