Seward . Alaska
After a few days in Talkeetna and Mt McKinley area we drove back through Anchorage and south along the Seward Highway.The drive south of Anchorage was incredible. The Seward Highway hugs the coast of the Turnagain Arm, a large inland body of water.
Being February the town of Seward was fairly quiet, but I’d rather be visiting a place in the off season with a few closed shops than a town teeming with tourists. With the glacier fields south of town Seward is a stopping point for many Alaskan cruise ships as well. Located on the eastern coast of the Kenai Peninsula it was considerably colder, but not by the temperature, instead by the fierce winds which were constant from the ocean.
The desolate drive to Seward from Anchorage took about three and a half hours. The mostly two lane road is dotted with cabins, houses large and small, and small towns with restaurants and convenience stores along the main road.
We didn’t have a place reserved to stay for the night, but the Edgewater Hotel was inexpensive this time of year, and became our home for the next three nights. The girl working the desk that night recommended walking over to the Seward VFW Hall on 5th Avenue for their monthly taco dinner. Advice heeded, we paid $5 at the door, walked up to a large room on the second floor and enjoyed music and an all you can eat taco bar with beer. We received a warm welcome from the people gathered there that night, and they gave us some good ideas of things to do in the small town.
Seward coastline
As you can tell by the picture, the wind was still howling, but we made it to the Alaska Sealife Center, a modern marine biology research center right on the waterfront, devoted to marine science and interactive education. We were also informed the Alaska Sealife Center is home of the Kenai Peninsula’s one and only escalator.
Inside the modern Alaska Sealife Center we found interactive exhibits featuring large and small marine life native to the Alaska regions. While resting my fingers on the little plant creature (on the right picture), the little tenticles slowly latched on to me. Unfortunately I disappointed him, as the little guy, (on the left), looked more appealing.
The most fascinating animal we saw was the “Puffin“, a bird that dive bombs into the ocean for food, and swims around like a little torpedo underwater.
You can adopt and sponsor your very own puffin through the Audubon Society’s Project Puffin!
The most interesting person we met in Seward was the captain of the boat we took for a cruise out to Resurrection Bay. He piloted the boat like any other captain, however he had prosthetic, (hook), arms from the elbows forward. He was very funny and self deprecating, but also told us the story about how he had to fight the state for the right to continue being a boat captain with his disability. Part of his job as well as tour guide is counting the wildlife and charting their location for the state. We saw whales rise and fall on the glassy surface of the bay, and saw hundreds of otters and sea lions lounging about the rocks. In the evening, upon the advice of a local, we walked to the Alaska Vocational Technical Center in Seward, and signed up for the culinary school dinner. Many culinary and hospitality schools offer excellent meals prepared by students for a heavily discounted price. We sat in the cafeteria at a big round table with a gentleman from the area. We enjoyed a perfect meal of freshly cooked salmon, and chatted with the gentleman about life in Seward, and local and state issues.
