Seward and the coast

Trip Start Sep 05, 2008
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Trip End Sep 16, 2008


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Flag of United States  , Alaska,
Friday, September 12, 2008

In the morning we enjoyed watching three loons leisurely swim along the lakeshore past the cabin.  I had always wanted to see a loon, so I was very excited.  We had a lovely breakfast in the main house with ? and then we were off to Seward, on the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage.  We were worried about the hurricane, but there was not much we could no about it, so we tried to not think about things and do the best we could to enjoy the rest of our trip.  The drive, as always, was beautiful as we drove next to bay.  We still couldn't get a break from the weather; the rain kept following us. 
 
As we drove down the highway, we saw a sign that said Portage Glacier, so on a whim we decided to check it out.  I'm so glad we did!  As you drove on the road to Portage Glacier there were many other glaciers hanging down from the mountains above.  They were peeking out of the mist, and were that brilliant bright blue color of glacier ice.  Portage glacier was located on the other side of the aptly named Portage Lake, and you can take a boat ride up to the glacier.  It was so cold and rainy so we passed on the boat ride and enjoyed the glacier from afar. 
 
Right next to the Portage Glacier area is the road to go to the town of Whittier.  The cool thing about the road is that it is a tunnel that goes straight through the mountains to the bay on the other side.  The tunnel is only one lane wide, so traffic has to alternate coming and going.  A train uses the tunnel too, and everyone yields to him.  So we decided to go to Whittier on a whim and check it out. 
 
The trip through the tunnel was cool, and we arrived in a rainy, cold ghost town.  I guess it was the last day of the season, and everyone was closing up shop.  Fisherman were pulling there boats out of the water, almost all of the stores were closed, and we appeared to be the only tourists in town.  It was kind of depressing.  Now under different meteorological conditions, I'm sure Whittier is a beautiful place- with the glaciers capping the green mountains behind town, and the sun shining off the light blue water of the bay.  But today, gray mist pressed down and obscured the mountains, and sheets of cold rain pelted the little town that seemed to be sighing its last breath before sleeping for the winter. 
 
We found a little café that was still open so we stopped in for lunch.  They had CNN tuned on their TV, and we saw the first pictures of the hurricane barreling towards home. It was huge, and as we ate salmon burgers we watched Ike come ashore and CNN talk about the impending destruction of the Texas Gulf Coast.  At least the burger was good.   Since we came all the way there, we felt we need to at least walk around and explore a little, but   we were only met by closed stores, more rain, and a big wooden halibut.  It wasn't long before we were on our way, leaving the town to settle into winter hibernation.
 
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