Alaska August 12, 2011

Another beautiful sunny day in Seward, Alaska and we begin by exploring the Seward Sea Life Center, Alaska’s only public aquarium. It’s a fascinating place with great live exhibits and an amazing group of puffins, including a few “educational puffins”. These puffins are not afraid of visitors and allow the handlers to hold them while educating visitors about their habitats, breeding, food supply, and predators. After a little walk around the piers in Seward we were off to our inside passage cruise with Silverseas on the all-inclusive “Silver Shadow”. We were delighted with our spacious stateroom, plush robes and a “pillow menu” from which we could choose from nine different types of pillows: goose down, feather, memory foam, buckwheat… whatever kind of pillows you want, you got ‘em! Our butler, Gideon, asked what he could stock the bar with, and that evening we had large bottles of Amaretto and Bailey’s magically appear! Following a wonderful dinner we spent the next 8 or 9 hours testing our pillow choices. Blissful!

Alaska 8/10/11

It’s summer in Alaska and tourists are hoping for sunny skies and the opportunity to view the wildlife and amazing scenery.

We had a wonderful journey on the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward in the Goldstar Dome Car, a very comfortable way to spend 4.5 hours viewing some wonderful scenery. We checked into the Hotel Seward, a lovely little hotel in Seward owned by Mark & Mary Kulstad and their mascot dog, Cody. Very comfortable rooms, some with outstanding ocean views. Hungry? Stop by the Ranting Raven for fresh baked goods & coffee. Gift shopping for family? Find The Alaska Shop for one-of-a-kind items or the usual souvenirs. Want to try salmon fishing? Contact Wes Oetinger at Hotel Seward for expert guidance. For the less adventurous, Major Marine Tours offers a 4-hour harbor cruise that was exceptional. We saw eagles, puffins, porpoises, mountain goats and one humpback whale. A U.S. Park Ranger onboard offered detailed information about the area, wildlife and history of the area. Captain Terry provided up close opportunities to see the wildlife. A small, but delicious, buffet dinner on board included prime rib and grilled salmon. When we got back to the dock at 10:30 PM, the sun was just setting