Kenai Fjords and Alaska SeaLife Center

Our first full day in Alaska. We woke up pretty early since we are still on Seattle time and it gets bright here so early. We got ready, then headed to the harbor for our Kenai Fjords cruise. The boat left at 8AM for a 6 hour cruise. Penelope did pretty well on the cruise, and was very excited to be on a boat, but she got a little restless at times being in a confined (and not toddler safe) space.

On the cruise, we saw mountain goats, fin whales, sea lions, puffins, humpback whales, harbor seals (in the distance) and a few other birds including a very far away eagle. We also got up close to Aialik Glacier ans saw lots of beautiful mountain scenery. The highlight of the trip was probably the glacier. We got about a 1/4 mile away from it, but it seemed like you could touch it. The close second highlight was the swhales. We saw four fin whales and two pairs of humpbacks, but only one pair of humpbacks was active (the others were resting). The active humpbacks went on a dive and showed us their tails, which was awesome. Although we saw relatively little of the whales, they were amazing to see and to get so close to. And the water was very calm, which made the trip much more enjoyable.

After seeing all the sights on the boat, we had a 2 hour cruise back to Seward, during which all three of us fell asleep and took naps. Back in Seward, we bought some fresh fish for two nights of dinner, then went back to our RV. We moved from a "dry" site to one with water and power hookups for a little extra comfort. Then we walked to old historic downtown Seward and visited the Alaska SeaLife Center. We saw more sea lions, seals, and sea birds as well as many fish, star fish, and an octopus. It was also a great chance for Penelope to run around and get some energy out. She enjoyed being a bit closer to the animals and made sure to say "Bye" before leaving any of them.

For dinner we ate in old downtown Seward, probably our only non-RV meal while we are in Alaska. The food was great, but the service was slow, and we were all very tired. After dinner, we headed back tot he RV. We stopped at a playground in the campground for Penelope to play a little more. It is a really nice playground, with a big area specially designed for 2-5 year olds. We will probably go back tomorrow before we hit the road.

After putting Penelope to bed, Katie and I watched a cruise ship leave Seward harbor. It was cool to watch a giant ship turn around. Now it is time for bed. Tomorrow we hit the road (and ferry) to Valdez.