A Grand Day

This morning we had an action packed day planned. Today was the first of many of Russ' scheduled trips that he had planned for us all over Alaska and so far each day has been better than the next. Today would be the Grand Day Tour, ocean kayaking in front of a glacier, as well as wild life viewing along the way. We woke up early, packed, and walked to the Seward docks in search of our outfitter. We were told to pack for all types of weather and bring an extra pair of cloths in case you got wet at all during the kayak trip meaning we had 3 big bags packed to the brim to carry along the way. We found our outfitter and found out that we would be the only ones on the boat today! This was an unexpected treat seeing as how our guide told us that they had packed up to 18 people on the boat the previous week. One of the advantages of touring Alaska at the end of the season is that there is no one else around doing the things you are doing. On top of the spacious room that we would be having on the boat, we also learned that the weather

was going to be perfect and indeed it was. According to our guide, they had not had a sunny day in over a month but there wasn't a cloud in the sky by the time we got out on the water. Before we even made it out of the harbor we spotted a sea otter resting on his back. At first I thought that he was a log because he was stretched out stiff as a board, just bobbing with the water. But then, every once in a while he decided to move his head or spin around and I was convinced that he was indeed an otter. We were already pretty excited about the day since we hadn't even gone a mile and had already seen some wildlife. This was just the first in a number of sea life that we were to see that day. During the 3 hour boat ride to our drop off

point, we saw a bald eagle, sea lions, jellyfish, harbor seals, starfish, and hundreds of puffins not to mention all of the beautiful mountains, islands, and glaciers. When we made it to our kayaking destination, we all piled into a Zodiac and dragged our kayaks to shore while our guide paddled us in. We got some quick instructions then got into our tandem kayaks. At first I was

skeptical about the tandems, but almost immediately I was converted into a fan. They are quite stable and I love the foot peddle controlled rudder! It is easy to control and very responsive to even the slightest adjustments, ideal for our purposes that day. We set off kayaking toward the Holgate glacier which is part of Kenai Fjords NP. Our guides strategically launched our kayaks from a point in the bay that you could not see the glacier from, making the view about 10 times more impressive as it slowly unfolded before our eyes as we rounded the corner. We kayaked about 3 miles from the drop off point until we were right in front of the Holgate

Glacier, and let me tell you, it was HUGE! We could hear and see ice breaking away and falling into the ocean. When the chunks hit the water the sound resounded like thunder clapping through the valley and made you jump the first couple times you heard it and left you wondering why you didn't see any lightening. We could

not get super close because of the ice falling from the glacier, but we still had about as close of a view as you could ask for. Starting about a mile back from the glacier the water was filled with huge chunks of glacial ice, some the size of a small car and others small enough to put in your glass to cool down a soda. There were 2 harbor seals that were very curious about us and kept popping up around us as we paddled around the glacier. Aside from the main attraction, the Holgate Glacier, there were 2 others that graced the scene, one you could see right next to Holgate, and the other wasn't noticeable until you turned around; the aptly named Surprise Glacier. As I said before it was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. Me being the warm blooded, well insulated person that I am, I was pretty hot in all my kayaking gear. Hot enough to wear just a tee shirt and rain pants out on the water. Now this was perfectly fine before we got up to the glacier and indeed I was quite grateful of my decision as the others complained about overdressing, our guide included. But when we got up to the glacier it was a different story. The glacial winds coming in at about 20 knots, topped off by the fact that my

hands dipped many times into the icy water as I paddled, got me a little on the chilly side. My hands bore the worst of it and actually underneath my sea skirt I was still quite toasty, but it just felt like I was asking for pneumonia. Luckily I escaped with just a couple cold, red, hands. Anyway, after sitting in front of the glacier for about a half hour and thoroughly enjoying all of the scenery I just described, we paddled back to the boat and made our way back to the harbor. Our captain, who had been waiting on the boat for us the whole time had heard rumors of a humpback whale that was on our way in, so he made the route home coincide with its path. With the help of a few other boats we got into the range of the whale just after he took a big dive. We waited about 5 minutes when we saw a porpoise surface in front of us, after another 5 we spotted the whale. He was about 3 hundred yards away and as we headed for him he started to put on a show. He dove almost immediately after we saw him and I thought he was gone for good when all of a sudden he jumped up into the air and came down with a huge splash, just like a Pacific Life commercial. After about 3 more smaller jumps he stuck his tail up in the air and started splashing it around madly stirring up the water pretty good. After his little show, he took a dive and we didn't see him anymore. I have never seen a whale do anything like that outside of Sea World and it was really great to have experienced it in the wild. We got back to shore and

parted ways with our guides, and decided it was time for a meal. This time we chose Thorn's Showcase Lounge for the best Halibut in Alaska! Another shout out to our pseudo trip advisor Meg Steele for recommending this fine establishment! Thanks Meg! After dinner we headed back to Bear Creek and the dumpster to look for bears. Bear Creek was empty again, aside from thousands of salmon, but Oscar was home again and we got to see him one last time before we left Seward in the morning.