July 23, 2014 ? Day 64
Not a lot of sleep last night. The bunks were narrow and not very comfortable but I won?t complain too much, I wasn?t on deck in a tent or in those slightly reclining chairs. Or with kids crying because they are in a strange, noisy environment. Cafeteria wasn?t open when we docked about 8 AM so waited until were on Kodiak Island. It is very pretty coming into port. Broken clouds and breezy, it must have rained overnight. I only felt the ship sway a couple of times, so a smooth sailing. Off the ship we grabbed a taxi to get out to the airport where Avis was. Tammy was our driver and she pointed out a few things on our way. Picked up our Toyota Matrix and headed for the Comfort Inn to check in. Dropped off gear and went in search of breakfast. I needed something fast so the local Micky D?s did the trick. Stopped off at the Visitor Center, gathered a little info there. Then over to the Kodiak Wildlife Center with some nice exhibits of life size Kodiak brown bear and a fully articulated gray whale skeleton. Next to the life size bear was there version of the ?bear supermarket? with different berries, grasses and fish a bear might eat. It was a cute idea. Next was a stop across the street at the Baranov Museum also known as the Erskine House. Originally the house was a fur warehouse built by Alexander Baranov in 1806. It is the oldest Russian built structure in Alaska. In 1867 W.J. Erskine bought and turned it into a residence. In 1962 it was declared a National Historic Site. There were 3 exhibit rooms with Russian, American and Alutiiq items on display. Not big but interesting. By this time Jim and I are fading fast, I needed more than a power nap, so back to the hotel we went, closed the curtains and snoozed for a while. Got up and showered trying to feel human. Grabbed camera?s and took a drive up the Chiniak Road as far as we could then turning and went up Pasagshak Bay Road till its end. All the while looking for bears, none. We did find the Kodiak Launch Center. Didn?t even know they had one.
Passed the largest Coast Guard base in the US. I think they can only claim this because of the amount of land it claims as part of the base. Made our way back into town for some dinner at Henry?s. It is a local bar that serves a variety of foods. Okay, nothing to write home about. Made another drive out to Woman?s Bay where the Coast Guard base is to snap a few pictures for Vic who was stationed there years ago. We did stop at the gate and asked if there were any tours of the base or anything we might photo. The security guard was very nice but said ?no? and encouraged up to move on. He did say the Navy Seals had been training lately and they didn?t want anyone near the base or snapping pictures. We thank him and went our merry way, I for one don?t want to mess with the military.
Decided to drive a little further to the flats part of the island where bears have been seen. Plus it gave Jim another chance to check out the creek for fishing. He found fish and we found 2 pairs of bald eagles. One flew right over my head. One pair perched at the top of 2 light poles before moving down to the water?s edge. Still no bears, I am beginning to think these Kodiak bears are made up. Ended back at the hotel and I think we are both exhausted and it is time for bed.
TTFN
Not a lot of sleep last night. The bunks were narrow and not very comfortable but I won?t complain too much, I wasn?t on deck in a tent or in those slightly reclining chairs. Or with kids crying because they are in a strange, noisy environment. Cafeteria wasn?t open when we docked about 8 AM so waited until were on Kodiak Island. It is very pretty coming into port. Broken clouds and breezy, it must have rained overnight. I only felt the ship sway a couple of times, so a smooth sailing. Off the ship we grabbed a taxi to get out to the airport where Avis was. Tammy was our driver and she pointed out a few things on our way. Picked up our Toyota Matrix and headed for the Comfort Inn to check in. Dropped off gear and went in search of breakfast. I needed something fast so the local Micky D?s did the trick. Stopped off at the Visitor Center, gathered a little info there. Then over to the Kodiak Wildlife Center with some nice exhibits of life size Kodiak brown bear and a fully articulated gray whale skeleton. Next to the life size bear was there version of the ?bear supermarket? with different berries, grasses and fish a bear might eat. It was a cute idea. Next was a stop across the street at the Baranov Museum also known as the Erskine House. Originally the house was a fur warehouse built by Alexander Baranov in 1806. It is the oldest Russian built structure in Alaska. In 1867 W.J. Erskine bought and turned it into a residence. In 1962 it was declared a National Historic Site. There were 3 exhibit rooms with Russian, American and Alutiiq items on display. Not big but interesting. By this time Jim and I are fading fast, I needed more than a power nap, so back to the hotel we went, closed the curtains and snoozed for a while. Got up and showered trying to feel human. Grabbed camera?s and took a drive up the Chiniak Road as far as we could then turning and went up Pasagshak Bay Road till its end. All the while looking for bears, none. We did find the Kodiak Launch Center. Didn?t even know they had one.
Passed the largest Coast Guard base in the US. I think they can only claim this because of the amount of land it claims as part of the base. Made our way back into town for some dinner at Henry?s. It is a local bar that serves a variety of foods. Okay, nothing to write home about. Made another drive out to Woman?s Bay where the Coast Guard base is to snap a few pictures for Vic who was stationed there years ago. We did stop at the gate and asked if there were any tours of the base or anything we might photo. The security guard was very nice but said ?no? and encouraged up to move on. He did say the Navy Seals had been training lately and they didn?t want anyone near the base or snapping pictures. We thank him and went our merry way, I for one don?t want to mess with the military.
Decided to drive a little further to the flats part of the island where bears have been seen. Plus it gave Jim another chance to check out the creek for fishing. He found fish and we found 2 pairs of bald eagles. One flew right over my head. One pair perched at the top of 2 light poles before moving down to the water?s edge. Still no bears, I am beginning to think these Kodiak bears are made up. Ended back at the hotel and I think we are both exhausted and it is time for bed.
TTFN