Saturday, May 30, 2009 - Anchorage to Seward

We had a busy first day in Alaska!  It's unbelievable how beautiful it is here - I can only imagine what's in store for us the rest of the week.  We were told the mountains received a fresh dusting of snow last night and they were breathtaking.  

After breakfast we headed for the Saturday Market in downtown Anchorage.  The market grounds overlook scenic Ship Creek and Cook Inlet.  We met some interesting and friendly folk there one being a teacher (formerly from Minnesota).  He and mom hit it off and when Rachel and I met up with them he had us in stitches and assured us the plans we've made while we are in Alaska were all worth doing!  

We later called Avis and they had a van for us just a few blocks from where we were in downtown Anchorage.  Yippee!  We are relieved that we now have a much larger vehicle.  There is a 60% chance of rain in Seward tomorrow so we rescheduled our Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise for Monday.

The drive to Seward was spectacular!  We made many stops along the way - the first being Potter's Marsh.  Rachel and I walked out on the boardwalk soaking up the sights and sounds of this peaceful marsh.  We spotted a few bald eagles on our walk back to the car.  The panoramic views we were able to see throughout the day were spectacular! 

There were tons of cars parked along the Seward Highway alongside the Twenty Mile River so I got out of the van to see what everyone was doing - they were in the water netting for smelt.  It was drizzling rain, about 50 degrees and some were having picnic lunches alongside the river.  

By the time we reached Seward we were ready for dinner.  We stopped at a restaurant that overlooked the marina.  As we were eating Rachel spotted a charter boat unloading fish into a cart.  We saw that they were just a short walk from the restaurant so after eating we walked over to see the fish that had been caught.  One of the "big fish" was a 120 pound halibut.  Rachel and I received a lesson on halibut today...Did you know that a halibut is white on one side and dark on the other?  Did you know that the halibut has two eyes on the dark side?  They do look very strange.  

We are staying in Seward for two nights and our hotel overlooks Resurrection Bay.  Tomorrow we plan to visit the the Alaska SeaLife Center (Alaska's only public aquarium) where we will see puffins, octopus, seals, sea lions and more as well as Exit Glacier.

Pics are coming!