Van Gilder Hotel Seward

... our full fare. I guess I'll just have to return sometime. <br><br>The day finished with a three hour train ride back to Anchorage - I finally saw some moose, but it was not light enough to get pictures.<br><br>Tomorrow I am back on the train for the trip to Denali and then a flight to a glacier...let's hope the weather cooperates better than it did today.<br>

... up, we had a while to mosey around the gift shop and grab coffee but the coffee shop was shut. We did get complimentary tea and coffee on the boat but Adrian and I were after a nice Cappacino and Latte. Doh!<br><br>Heidi surprised us by joining us on the cruise. It was unexpected as she had suffered a bout of sea-sickness the weekend before she picked us up. Go Heidi! :-) We were all really happy to have her along.<br><br>We ...

... cut the line of the person who doen't reel in. It is serious business.<br><br>We turned up at our impressive camp site right on Skilak Lake. We set up camp and spent the rest of the night talking and getting to know each other over a couple of beers around a camp fire, jealous yet? The sunset was brilliant along with the stars. It was such a nice feeling to be in the wilderness. We finally went to bed where Ramon seranaded a few of us with a wee bit of snoring!

... I was the "other captain" on board. He said, "The captain has summoned you to the bridge." Captain Tiffany gave me the helm for a portion of our return trip. What an honor! She made an announcement over the public address system that I was piloting the vessel and we heard screams from our fellow Gulfstreamers from down below!<br><br>Another fabulous day arranged by Les Potteiger, our Wagonmaster. <br>

... hours. But I was so glad we did not have to drive long hours. The B&amp;B was outside the town, an annex of the main house in a quiet neighborhood. Quite expensive, 120 or so, but really spacious. The hostess was an accountant, worked at home, home schooled her children, the son's going to U. of Fairbanks. She kept talking about ...

... book, again. While cruising, we had the chance to see some more seals, humpback whales, numerous sea birds and the wonderful views of the fjords and of the icebergs falling from the glaciers into the water. When we were facing the tide glacier, keeping quite, we could actually hear the ice cracking, and a few seconds later we saw the huge pieces of ice falling down. When we returned back from the cruise it was already 9pm, so we drove back to where we stayed.

... that surround the city lies the huge Harding Ice Field of which Exit Glacier spills out of. As with most glaciers in the world, this one is retreating, and has been since the last mini-ice age of the early 1800's. Also like most glaciers, this retreating has accelerated over the past few decades. Unlike the glacier we saw outside Valdez where we could walk up to the lip, they had this place roped off. We took a nice little 2 miles trail to get to as close as we ...

... I hadn't expected this limitation, but I have some powerbars and some peanut butter along with my meat and cheese, so I'll get by. Not eating like a king, but I won't starve (not that it would do me any harm for a day or two.) So, no *real* running water means this. The water that comes from the tap is basically directed stream water. He has a filter system (not through the tap), so there is drinking water on a shelf nearby. And, there's an outhouse. I'd rather just hide ...

... and it is soooo cold out, after living in<br>Florida for so many years I can't help but shake from the chilly breeze<br>and 55 F weather. We spend the night at Seward Windsong Lodge, which is<br>a beautiful and cozy rustic lodge overlooking the Alaskan mountain<br>range. <br><br>Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward<br>The<br>next day we set out on a boat ride to Kenai Fjords National Park.<br>Although it's very cold and it's drizzling, we brave ...

... Moby Dick hostel is lady from Ilkley who has moved to Canada and drinks tea by the gallon! Nicer than the last place, a bit quiter than the last place and more relaxed. Walked a million miles with backpacks to get to it as we went out to the visitors centre out on the far edge of town (only designed to be accessible via car or RV) and then doubled back on ourselves to the other ...