Seward

Nothing like waking up at 5 Am to the rumble of the crane and the beep-beep-beep of vehicles backing up as workers on the busy pier off loaded luggage and on loaded supplies. A beautiful sunrise over the mountains greeted us on our balcony. We had hoped to linger on the ship since our check in at the Seward Military Resort wasn’t until 3 pm, but the ship was preparing to embark the passengers for the cruise back south to Vancouver and we were rushed off by 730 am.

As we walked off the ship, we started the second half of our adventure—Alaska on our own. We hoped the next part would be good, but I was a bit apprehensive, not knowing what to expect. Because we had the Kenai Fjords excursion planned for the next day, we would stay in Seward for three days, leaving on the last train of the season to Anchorage Sunday evening.

Since the Seward Military Resort was about a mile and a half from the cruise ship terminal and two miles from the downtown area, we would rely on the Seward City Tours shuttle, a free shuttle running through town. Thankfully, a couple were running for the cruise ship that morning and we were able to load our luggage on the second one to leave. I had called the military resort before we left for the cruise to see if there was a chance to check in early. Bobby, the extremely helpful desk clerk told me if the rooms were ready, we could. They were and she had us quickly checked in. The resort had laundry facilities for us to use, much like the military campgrounds we frequent. We spent the morning doing our laundry so we would have clean clothes for the next week.

The military resort rooms were furnished with microwaves, small coffee pots, and refrigerators. Around lunch time we walked the half mile to Safeway to pick up something for lunch and breakfast for the next two mornings. Lunch at Safeway had a wonderful secret to know. In the back, the store had a lunch counter with an amazing deal of chicken (tenders, bbq, sweet and sour, or sesame) and fries, along with a choice of different slaws. The gal behind the counter loaded a to go container our choice of each. At the time we were there, it was only $8! The cheapest we’d eat our entire time in Alaska.

After the laundry was folded and put away and lunches eaten, we took the 2 pm shuttle downtown. Seward lies on Resurrection Bay with 5000 ft mountains surrounding it.

We walked down to the water front, past the Alaskan SeaLife Center and along the start of the Iditarod Historic Trail.

As we walked harbor seals occasionally treated us by poking their little heads up out of the water. One even came up with a fish. But they were shy and made it hard to get a picture.  

For dinner we stopped at the Alaska Seafood Grill near the small boat harbor and had their rockfish basket and seafood chowder. I was discovering that the hierarchy of fish (by price) is rockfish, cod, salmon, halibut.

I wanted to get a picture with the polar bear in the visitor center but Jon wasn’t with me when I found it. We still had two more days to do so. But I did get a picture of this little guy.