May 4, 2001 (Day 58)

May 4, 2001 (Day 58): Regal Princess, departing Seward, Alaska en route to College Fjord – 10pm

Health:  OK

Morale: Good.

Pulled back the curtain to unwrap today’s new present. Low clouds enveloped the Seward harbor. Snow was falling consistently. We were told that there was 2 inches of accumulation on the deck last night – the crew doused the deck with warm water when their shoveling could not keep pace. Amidst the docks, a handful of otters braved the chill and were having breakfast. They provided entertainment as we bundled up to venture out.

The day began cold, very cold. We disembarked and braved the sharp wind waiting for the shuttle into town. Since there was not a shuttle available at that moment, we wandered through the steady snow to nearby pay phones and called my sister and nephew. My sister was reposting emails on our website for friends and family following our journey. She was also tracking our journey on a map for her son and daughter – although she had to move the map out of reach of our nine month-old niece. Her first question was “Are you still married?”

There were a few minutes before Mr. Rogers came on the TV so our three year-old nephew was available to talk. He was having a bit of a problem getting a grasp on our location.

Me: Do you know where we are?
Nephew: Yes
Me: Where are we?
Nephew: (pause) I don’t know.
Me: We are in Alaska.
Nephew (incredulously): How did you get there?

I suspect he thought we had gotten lost. The truth would have been a bit longer of a story to relate so I did what any wise person would have done: given the phone to Anna. When Anna spoke to him, she shared that it was snowing. “That… that is… crazy!” he sputtered, then went on to share the latest nonsense his uncle and aunt are telling him with his mother. I suspect he thinks we are both crazy. May be right.

We took the shuttle to the Alaska Sea Life Center, whose construction was funded with a portion of the Exxon Valdez settlement from the 1989 oil spill. This center focused on the conservation of marine life, appropriate for all ages with an emphasis on education. The initial section was a series of hands-on displays about recovery and rehabilitation. There were x-rays of wounded seals and you could groom an otter with a blow dryer and a brush. I tried my hand at passing a feeding tube down the esophagus of a harbor seal. It was harder than I imagined since you had to be sure that the tube went into the stomach and not the lungs. When you thought you were done, you pushed a button that lit green if you were successful, red if not. The trick was to listen at the tube to see if you could hear breathing.

The Center contained two-story tanks populated with sea lions, harbor seals, and seabirds. I enjoyed the seabird display because there were portions above and below the waterline. It was very cool because you could see the birds diving and swimming for food. But I always find the sea lion and seal tanks captivating. I could watch them for hours. My favorite moment was watching a group of school children watching the sea lions and the sea lions watching them. It was hard to tell who was more fascinated with whom.

Our admission to the Alaska Sea Life Center was good all day so we went back again in the afternoon. They had a deck in the back overlooking Resurrection Bay. We used their binoculars to scour the bay looking for whales but with no luck.

There was also an octopus in a tank guarding the eggs she laid last October. She was more active than one might imagine. Her head was moving, bulging in one area; her eye opening and closing. Her tentacles were in continuous motion keeping a flow of water over the eggs – the nearby sign said this process was called ‘fanning’. According to the sign her life was almost over. She does not eat while guarding this nest and will die soon after the eggs hatch.

Since there were fewer people in the center we had a chance to spend more time watching the seals. One seemed to be napping in the water – just eyes and ears breaking the surface. One was playing with a construction hat. She could spin it around on her nose as she was swimming. The other one executed an intricate dance using a solid foam brick. She would let it go, then turn around and catch it with her nose. Then she would wedge it between the window and her body to keep the block from falling all the way to the bottom, then swing around and catch it in her mouth. It was better than TV.

The snow had stopped and it was rapidly turning into a nice day so we took the opportunity to explore the town. Seward is pressed into the valley carved by the retreating glacier that created Resurrection Bay. It is long and narrow, about six blocks wide at most. The city has a mix of buildings; some weathered single-family dwellings common to any US city, some large and modern ones built on a rise overlooking the city, a strip of buildings empty but for their “For Sale” signs en route to the Sea Life Center. Children were running around without jackets enjoying the sunshine. Some cycled past the strange bundled-up visitors with only their eyeballs visible, visitors who were clearly unaware that spring had arrived.

The library was open so we stopped in to use their Internet access and do a bit of research. I flipped through a book on the War in the Aleutians while waiting our turn. They were kind and offered Internet access for free. We left a donation as a way of saying ‘Thanks’. The docent at the Sea Life Center said ours is the first cruise ship of the season – the first of very many. During the summer and fishing season, the normal population of 4,000 permanent residents swells to over 10,000. They have created a tourist boardwalk near the harbor full of souvenir shops, ice cream sellers, and excursion outfitters – probably very full with visitors when the summer hits. There was a collection of old railway cars turned into a bike rental shop, equipment and tour rentals, and a B&B. At a nearby hardware store we picked up another duffel bag to carry all the extra stuff we have accumulated – most of it swag from trivia victories.

Back aboard the ship, we walked our mile before dinner, watching bald eagles fish in the harbor. At dinner, we watched the sun set behind the wall of mountains rising from the brushed silver sea.

Early day tomorrow: College Fjord.

Excerpts from Anna’s journal included

• Alaska
• ChasingFogg15
• Seward
• Travel