Dean & Linda Stock
Well-known member
June 26, 2009 Day 35 Seward, AK
Wow! Today good news and fun! Dean got to talk to the inverter people first thing this morning, and apparently we need a new AC board. It is being shipped by FedEx and should arrive on Monday. Until then, we barbecue, eat cold food, or eat out. No hairdryer, vacuum, hot cider, etc. How easy it is to get used to these luxuries like hot food and drinks.
We went to The Bakery for a $9 breakfast omelet (no coupon), and then went next door to embark on our Renown wildlife cruise, which departed from the Seward harbor dock. The Glacier Express is a 3-deck catamaran, and the cruise is 6 hours long. I believe this is the best Seward tour of the Kenai Fjords NP because the catamaran is the speediest and smoothest, so there is less chance of seasickness. It cost $129, but I got to go for free (Toursaver coupon).
We were greeted by National Park ranger Tom who was a former high-school teacher for 34 years, and he acted as our guide. As we pulled from the dock at 11:40, the clouds were thick and covered the sky; rain was predicted, and it was cold.
We came upon several otters, floating on their backs with pups on their tummies. They were pretty close to the shore, so you needed magnification to see them. Everyone rushed out on the front of the boat, and being short and slow, I was not able to see because of the tall people in front of me. There were "only" 80 people on this ship, which can accommodate 250 passengers. I can't help but compare this with Stan Stephens' Valdez cruise where there was no crowding because they had railing and deck all around the outside, so there was plenty of room for everyone to have a front-row seat.
We were served lunch at 12:15. It was a plastic basket with a bagel, smoked salmon or turkey, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, an oatmeal raisin cookie, and a sweet, juicy apple. We were given our choice of a free can of soda. Subsequent sodas were $1, and coffee, tea, and water were available for free all day. The bagel and the cookie came from The Bakery, same place we had breakfast, and they were the best soft bagel and most delicious oatmeal cookie I've ever had. We stopped and bought some more cookies because I wanted to try to figure out what the mystery ingredient was in the cookies that added a subtle caramel(?)flavor and a tiny bit of crunch. Unfortunately, we ordered oatmeal cookies and she said oatmeal cookies, but when we got them home, they were chocolate chip-but still very tasty.
After a 3-hour cruise, we proceeded slowly into an ice field generated by the Aialik Glacier. Because the sky was so overcast, the glacier blue was really vivid, especially at the base. We got closer and closer, until we were within a quarter-mile of the glacier and heard what sounded like the hull running aground. We stayed there about 30 minutes listening to the groaning, booming explosions, shotgun-type bangs. These big sounds were followed by tiny showers of ice falling into the water. The Mears Glacier on the Valdez cruise was just as noisy and gave off very large chunks. The captain had what I thought was a good idea; he asked for 20 minutes of silent time to allow everyone to hear all the sounds, but people just talked a little more quietly.
We had bypassed 2 orcas on our way into the Aialik Glacier because there were two boats observing them, and that's the legal maximum. There was a queue forming with one boat in line, and the captain told us we'd be the second. Well, when we came back, the orcas were gone! I was SO disappointed!
We cruised and cruised and cruised when the captain finally said he had found orcas. And did he! Too many to count! Two were on my side of the boat, then ducked under the boat, and came up on the other side. There were many more on my side to watch, too, as well as on the other side where the two orcas had gone. We went a little further and found more orcas, and there were Dall's porpoises playing ring-around-the-orca, zipping through the water in circles, almost looking like they were playing tag. What a thrill! Dll's porpoises' shapes and coloring are just like orcas, but they're about 1/5 the size and so energetic. We'd seen them from afar several times earlier, and the captain had failed to go over to them, saying that they were feeding and wouldn't be interesting. I had mentally named him the "Manana Captain" because he kept saying, "We'll see better later." Well, he knew his business, and I guess that's why he's the captain and I am the passenger. I'm glad I didn't verbalize my thought.
The captain then took us to see the marine birds' nesting grounds. There were thousands of kittiwakes (real name is true gull). They look like miniature seagulls with black wing tips. We were told there were cormorant nests, but I only saw one cormorant there, and he went behind the rock, so I couldn't see his nest. We were also told there were murres. I am familiar with them, but I didn't see any. We have seen born horned and tufted puffins throughout the trip, just swimming alongside the boat. It's hard to get a picture because they appear and disappear so quickly.
We went a short way to the Stellar sea lion "haulout" where the bachelor sea lions and juveniles were basking in the newly-emerged sunlight. There were more than 100 either on the rocks or in the water. We were told their numbers have mysteriously declined by 90% (I'd previously heard 80%), and no one knows why-predators, changing temperatures due to global warming, disease.
The cruise was wonderful, and I'm so glad we went. I put my emphasis on seeing wildlife when thinking about where we'd be spending our money, so we will be doing several cruises. The Stan Stephens Valdez Cruise still has its first-place ranking.
Weather: Thick overcast which progressively thinned and became blue sky with some clouds and SUN. High temp was 60?F.
Wow! Today good news and fun! Dean got to talk to the inverter people first thing this morning, and apparently we need a new AC board. It is being shipped by FedEx and should arrive on Monday. Until then, we barbecue, eat cold food, or eat out. No hairdryer, vacuum, hot cider, etc. How easy it is to get used to these luxuries like hot food and drinks.
We went to The Bakery for a $9 breakfast omelet (no coupon), and then went next door to embark on our Renown wildlife cruise, which departed from the Seward harbor dock. The Glacier Express is a 3-deck catamaran, and the cruise is 6 hours long. I believe this is the best Seward tour of the Kenai Fjords NP because the catamaran is the speediest and smoothest, so there is less chance of seasickness. It cost $129, but I got to go for free (Toursaver coupon).
We were greeted by National Park ranger Tom who was a former high-school teacher for 34 years, and he acted as our guide. As we pulled from the dock at 11:40, the clouds were thick and covered the sky; rain was predicted, and it was cold.
We came upon several otters, floating on their backs with pups on their tummies. They were pretty close to the shore, so you needed magnification to see them. Everyone rushed out on the front of the boat, and being short and slow, I was not able to see because of the tall people in front of me. There were "only" 80 people on this ship, which can accommodate 250 passengers. I can't help but compare this with Stan Stephens' Valdez cruise where there was no crowding because they had railing and deck all around the outside, so there was plenty of room for everyone to have a front-row seat.
We were served lunch at 12:15. It was a plastic basket with a bagel, smoked salmon or turkey, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, an oatmeal raisin cookie, and a sweet, juicy apple. We were given our choice of a free can of soda. Subsequent sodas were $1, and coffee, tea, and water were available for free all day. The bagel and the cookie came from The Bakery, same place we had breakfast, and they were the best soft bagel and most delicious oatmeal cookie I've ever had. We stopped and bought some more cookies because I wanted to try to figure out what the mystery ingredient was in the cookies that added a subtle caramel(?)flavor and a tiny bit of crunch. Unfortunately, we ordered oatmeal cookies and she said oatmeal cookies, but when we got them home, they were chocolate chip-but still very tasty.
After a 3-hour cruise, we proceeded slowly into an ice field generated by the Aialik Glacier. Because the sky was so overcast, the glacier blue was really vivid, especially at the base. We got closer and closer, until we were within a quarter-mile of the glacier and heard what sounded like the hull running aground. We stayed there about 30 minutes listening to the groaning, booming explosions, shotgun-type bangs. These big sounds were followed by tiny showers of ice falling into the water. The Mears Glacier on the Valdez cruise was just as noisy and gave off very large chunks. The captain had what I thought was a good idea; he asked for 20 minutes of silent time to allow everyone to hear all the sounds, but people just talked a little more quietly.
We had bypassed 2 orcas on our way into the Aialik Glacier because there were two boats observing them, and that's the legal maximum. There was a queue forming with one boat in line, and the captain told us we'd be the second. Well, when we came back, the orcas were gone! I was SO disappointed!
We cruised and cruised and cruised when the captain finally said he had found orcas. And did he! Too many to count! Two were on my side of the boat, then ducked under the boat, and came up on the other side. There were many more on my side to watch, too, as well as on the other side where the two orcas had gone. We went a little further and found more orcas, and there were Dall's porpoises playing ring-around-the-orca, zipping through the water in circles, almost looking like they were playing tag. What a thrill! Dll's porpoises' shapes and coloring are just like orcas, but they're about 1/5 the size and so energetic. We'd seen them from afar several times earlier, and the captain had failed to go over to them, saying that they were feeding and wouldn't be interesting. I had mentally named him the "Manana Captain" because he kept saying, "We'll see better later." Well, he knew his business, and I guess that's why he's the captain and I am the passenger. I'm glad I didn't verbalize my thought.
The captain then took us to see the marine birds' nesting grounds. There were thousands of kittiwakes (real name is true gull). They look like miniature seagulls with black wing tips. We were told there were cormorant nests, but I only saw one cormorant there, and he went behind the rock, so I couldn't see his nest. We were also told there were murres. I am familiar with them, but I didn't see any. We have seen born horned and tufted puffins throughout the trip, just swimming alongside the boat. It's hard to get a picture because they appear and disappear so quickly.
We went a short way to the Stellar sea lion "haulout" where the bachelor sea lions and juveniles were basking in the newly-emerged sunlight. There were more than 100 either on the rocks or in the water. We were told their numbers have mysteriously declined by 90% (I'd previously heard 80%), and no one knows why-predators, changing temperatures due to global warming, disease.
The cruise was wonderful, and I'm so glad we went. I put my emphasis on seeing wildlife when thinking about where we'd be spending our money, so we will be doing several cruises. The Stan Stephens Valdez Cruise still has its first-place ranking.
Weather: Thick overcast which progressively thinned and became blue sky with some clouds and SUN. High temp was 60?F.