Seward, Alaska

 This past week Brad and I took a trip down to Seward. It was a much needed vacation and also a great opportunity for Brad and I to spend some time together. We left the lodge around 3pm headed south towards Anchorage. On the way down we encountered a pile up (northbound around the turnigan arm). As we approached the Kenai peninsula I mentioned to Brad that I was freezing, the said - "now that you mention it, I'm kind of warm?" I was so cold so I reached back and grabbed his and my coat and bundled up since I was so cold. I was surprised he didn't turn on the heat for me, in fact I took that as a sign that he didn't care too much about my welfare, but I learned later he really didn't mean anything by it. Granted he started work real early and had drove all the way to Denali and back before embarking on our 5 1/2 hour trip to Seward from the Lodge. Being that I was cold, turning on the heat meant he would get too warm and possibly get too sleepy. It was for our own good, I'm just glad we had some jackets in the back so I could bundle up.

We stayed at Northern Lights Bed and Breakfast. We checked in just before 9 O'clock and unloaded the car. Following our check-in we decided to go for a short walk. The location of the bed bed and breakfast couldn't be more perfect, it was right downtown, and overlooked resurrection bay. Our room was small, and not at all what we expected but it would suffice for our weekend getaway. The owners of the home were also very helpful in planning our afternoons and evenings there in Seward. The gentlemen was a retired volunteer firefighter and the wife was a retired city manager now working for Royal Celebrity on ship days.

Norther Lights Bed and Breakfast

Port of Seward

 We woke up early the first morning and enjoyed a french toast breakfast made by the hosts of the Bed and Breakfast, it was absolutely delicious and well worth every penny we spent to stay there. After breakfast we headed to the Port of Seward to check into our cruise hoping that using space available - we would still be able to get on. We checked in and she mentioned there was more then enough room but she wasn't going to charge us until we board. We asked how much it was (tour value $159) and she said $8. WOW! We were amazed and were anxious to get on the boat, we knew we were in for a great day! I was so excited but we had some time to kill so we walked a bit, took some photos and visited some gift shoppes.

 We started the tour and the gentlemen began the safety speech for the boat, and then we were out on the water in no time! We got nearly a mile outside of Seward out in Resurrection bay and our captain slowed the boat down to point out a humpback whale on the move headed into the bay near the port. We couldn't really get great photos because he was off in the distance, but I was able to grab a couple photos of him coming up to breathe. I was so excited, and it was neat to share my first whale siting with Brad (he mentioned it was his first time too)

 We moved right along after seeing the humpback whale on-the-move. We made our way to different island and spotted some glaciers along the way. This following picture is Bear Glacier coming off the Harding Ice Field.

The weather quickly turned nasty as we got out into open water. The boat really started to rock back and forth. It was rainy and cold out, but as soon as we moved through the storm the seas calmed and we got better views of the beautiful islands and land we were surrounded by.

 Every time the captain of the boat spotted something he would let us know and slow down the speed so we could make our way to decks to get pictures. Featured above is the porpous dolphins .Very social animals who played with the bow of the boat. The would shoot up out of the water, making it hard to get good photos, but they sure were wonderful to watch:)

Brad and I were having such a good time together. I get real excited over the small things and I caught him numerous times staring at me with a huge smile, happy that I was happy. Excited that I was having a good time, enjoying himself because I was having fun. It made my heart melt every time I saw the look in his eyes. Sometimes he would go to the bathroom or run to grab something to drink, and I would look around for him as if he should always be by my side. In fact, it was so bad that I would miss him even if he just left my side for 3 minutes. Call it falling in love, or confusion but this feeling is weird, and not a feeling I have felt. Brad makes me happy, excited, and feel wonderful and beautiful, and that's how I felt all day on this glacier cruise.

 I also found a new appreciation for one of the most wonderful animals I have ever seen. Now i'm not a bird fan, but the minute I saw the puffins, I instantly got real excited and enjoyed the challenge of trying to capture decent photographs of these playful active, yet, beautiful birds.

 It was such a beautiful day. The sun quickly came out and we were well on our way to more exciting adventures to be had:)

 Towards the middle of the cruise we were out in open waters, and the seas were kind of rough, but not so rough we got sea sick - just enough to get a good splash.

 About two hours into the tour we finally arrived to Akliak glacier. One of the more active glaciers (as far as caving goes) around this particular region. Akliak stems off Harding Ice Field

 It was caving, and it was loud and beautiful!

Ice Caving

The chunks of ice that break off the glacier are huge, and so facinating. I felt so fortunate to be able to witness one of these simple wonders of the world.

 We watched the glacier a quarter mile away for nearly 45 minutes, then made our way to see if we couldn't find some wildlife! The captain said he knew right where to take us to find the sea lions, and encouraged us to watch for more humpbacks!

Sea Lions I believe quickly have become my new favorite animal!

 A few minutes later the captain got on the intercom and mentioned we were siting a few humpbacks but he wasn't going to approach them too close because we had already seen the humpbacks. A few moments later he got back on and said we were going to approach them closer cause he was seeing more then a couple blows he was counting up to nearly six, and he thought they might be doing some bubble-net feeding and he couldn't go on by without checking it out for us. We made our way over near this island and sure enough the humpbacks were bubble-net feeding. What that is is the whales will dive under a school of fish and blow bubbles pushing the ball of fish close together and near the surface, following this they all then dive deep and shoot up out of the water all together like synchronize swimmers. It was the most beautiful thing. We sat there watching them come up every 5 minutes or so for about 45 minutes, extending our tour and making it late back to the docks anyways. The following pictures are from the bubble-net feeding and the 8 humpbacks we spotted (or counted) playing and feeding.

Humpback Whales bubble-net feeding!

 The tour was a little behind schedule arriving back to the docks, so we went ahead and had dinner there on the Pier at Rays. It was delicious, although Brad and I got some type of Thai dish as well (we each got a dish and we were going to share them) but it was not very good. They had re-dehydrated mushrooms, they were chewy and pretty nasty. We then headed to get some Gilato and then on to the car. We parked the Tahoe on Phoenix street, which was all too perfect. We had to get a picture with the sign before leaving!

After the Glacier cruise we headed back to our room so I could get some more comfortable shoes fora little hike up to Exit glacier. We headed up the road to the hiking trail, only to find out the road was flooding with the river nearby. It had washed out the sides of the road, and we agreed we needed a picture of that on the way back. We parked to car and began our hike up the trail to get as close as we could to the glacier.

We ended up hiking behind this group from Texas that were very friendly. They noticed my sweatshirt from Mahays (in Talkeetna) and asked me if I worked there. We got to conversing only to find out that they had recently stayed in Talkeetna and did the Mahays Jet Boat Adventure tour so they knew all about Talkeetna. They insisted on taking some pictures of Brad and I, and we were appreciative.

Following our hike, I had to pee so bad. Brad said if I peed my pants he would feel bad, probably laugh but he would not judge me. I love how easy going he is about everything, makes me feel more comfortable and right at home with him. Although, being a guy and a pest, he loved the fact that we had passed by rushing rivers, dripping glacier water, and continued to make water noises all the way down the trail. Following using the bathroom at the trail-head, I saw a rock with smooth edges and told Brad we had to climb it. With some help I got up and he was up there as well, and our Texan friends came off the trail at the same time and took our photo. It was such a fun afternoon! 

On the way back out, I hung out the window to take the picture of the road flooded over. Thank goodness we had the Tahoe:)

The sun goes down over Seward, Alaska after a beautiful eventful day.

 Being that we planned a full day the next morning prior to our departure of Seward, we decided to stop and get a couple touristy photos while we had the opportunity. This is a car in the top of a tree, pretty unique. Only in Alaska!

\We stopped into the Benny Benson memorial (Benny designed the Alaska state flag and was from Seward.)

What a fun day! We got in right around ten, and quickly fell into bed. We were so exhausted from the fun events of the day. We knew we would have a fairly early start to the following day as well. The deal was we were going to visit the SeaLife Center prior to leaving town. We stopped in there and began walking through. I tried to get as many pictures as I could, here are they photos from the SeaLife center! 

It's like Kissing A Fish:)

They even had an interactive tank area where you could touch the sea anemones and star fish!

I got to hold a starfish!

 I even got to hold a star fish! That is something I have always wanted to do, the smile on my face was so large! I enjoyed every minute of it, and was so happy!

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 While I was watching the seal play, I noticed over in the corner Brad had the biggest smile I have seen yet. As I was watching and smiling and enjoying the view of the seal, Brad had his eyes fixed on me, and I caught him staring happily. I could see it in his eyes, he was happy to see me happy, and he was falling for me. I got butterflies quickly but I couldn't be happier. I was spending the day doing something I love, watching animals and also enjoying time with someone I am starting to care about deeply. The feeling actually becomes scary at one point, because I have become so vulnerable, and could potentially be hurt. But part of life is letting down your guard and attempting to trust new individuals. It was at this moment, I knew I was falling in deeper then I had realized previously.

 Following the Jellyfish we went to the restroom and went to explore the giftshop. As we both exited the bathrooms an announcement came on the loud speaker saying in five minutes they were going to be doing a feeding demonstration with Wally the Sea Lion. I couldn't resist myself. I wanted to go back in so bad, so I grabbed Brad's hand and stood for a moment. He took one look at me and suggested maybe we go watch, I couldn't argue with that, it's actually what I wanted! So we made our way through the crowds to the Sea Lion area. I was so excited that Brad made the suggestion cause he knew exactly that I was torn between going back in, and just going through the gift shop so we could leave town. I am so appreciative that he is so aware of my wants, needs and desires.

 Wally the Sea Lion made me forever love and appreciate the beautiful (sometimes ugly) sea creatures.

It was a gorgeous weekend getaway, and I am so happy that Brad too me along to enjoy the beautiful scenery and wonderful views. I am starting to fall in love.