20230924 AAAA Trip - Seward, Alaska - The start of Alaska

2023 Alaska, Asia, Australia, Arabian Peninsula Trip 
Day 9/105 - Seward, Alaska (and yesterday's sunset)

This morning, we docked in Seward, Alaska.  Seward is named for William Henry Seward, the Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln.  He was responsible for negotiating the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867.

Before I get into today, I'll throw in some photos of last night's sunset that I forgot to post yesterday.  Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most...

Back to our regularly scheduled blog...

Seward is a working port but that doesn't diminish the beauty of the area.

We were blessed with another beautiful, sunny day and mild temperatures.  As we waited for our bus to depart, an eagle landed on a light pole next to the bus. It was too quick for a photo but a very Alaska kind of thing.  

Our excursion today took us to Seward's SeaLife Center.  It is Alaska's only aquarium and marine mammal rehabilitation center.  All the animals at the center are native to Alaska, making it unusual for this type of facility.

We watched as they fed seals.

They have a small aviary with a ton of cool birds.  The nice part is that you could go in and see them without any barriers. I didn't get the names of all the birds.

Guillemot (I think)

A type of sea duck

Tufted puffin

Horned puffin

Oystercatcher

Guillemot (I think)

They had a pair of sea lions that were fun to watch.  One of them was huge!

We both enjoyed the large hands-on tank where you could touch (or be touched by) a large variety of soft, rough, sticky, or spiny things.  The water was very cold! 

Next, we went downstairs where you could view several of the tanks from below the water.  We started with the sea lions. We estimate that the big one was approaching 12 feet in length.

Does anyone have any butter?

A face only a mother could love

The seals from under the waterline.

One of the last displays was of Alaska jellies.  SeaLife had modified the display, removing the jellies and replacing them with plastic trash to make a point that the trash resembles jellies so sea life that eats jellies is not eating plastic.  Plastic is now in the food supply.  We were disappointed to not see jellies.

We wandered up from SeaLife into the town area.  Many places were already closed for the season.  It is still a charming and beautiful place.

We made our way back toward SeaLife to pick up our shuttle.  We took a peak at the Trail Blazers statue commemorating 100 years of the Iditarod sled dog race and mile 0.

We caught our shuttle and headed back to the Orion.  Since we were back early, and many passengers were off the ship, we took advantage of that and Arlona put a load of laundry in.  She checked in with her dad back in Michigan and then decided to stop out on the balcony for a look around. 

With the sun shining, you really get an appreciation for the beauty here.

I heard Arlona holler, “Jellies!”, excitedly.  I joined her on the balcony and sure enough, there were tons of jellies next to the ship.  

We both like all the different types and colors of jellies - as long as we're viewing them from a distance.

There were schools of other small fish as well.

As Arlona looked around with her binoculars, she spotted this.

I don’t know if there is a parking space issue or if this is some kind of practical joke, but I’m guessing this took some skill, or possibly alcohol to get this car up there.

We grabbed a couple of slices of pizza in the World Café for lunch.  Arlona went outside for another look around and spotted this guy on a light pole just off the ship.  Unfortunately, my camera was in the room, so cellphone shots will have to suffice.

This has been a very Alaskan day.

We strolled around the sun deck (deck 8), taking in the sights.  When we got forward, we went up to deck 9 where glass panels were sheltering us from the wind.  The 53-degree air, brilliant sunshine, and outstanding scenery demanded a stop.  We plopped down on a couch and just took it all in.  We spotted this huge fly, hanging out on another couch, taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather.

It was two or three times the size of a normal housefly. A smaller fly kept buzzing around us, landing, flying around, landing, and so on.  So far, those have been the only two insects we’ve spotted here.

After meeting friends in the Explorers' Bar, Arlona and I went to Chef’s Table for dinner.  Chef’s table usually isn’t our first choice.  It isn’t that it is bad – quite the contrary.  We know people who rave about it. But with a fixed menu and specific wine pairings, it is lost on us.  Noel, the person responsible for setting up reservations stopped us at breakfast and said that there was room tonight and the fixed menu tonight is the best they offer – Asian.  He said we really needed to come tonight as this menu would go away for a while as they cycle through their six fixed menus.  We relented and set up a 6:30 p.m. reservation.

We were greeted by Morisz and Monalisa – two terrific crew members from our world cruise.  Here is the menu for tonight.

We passed on the paired wines and enjoyed Moscato with every course.

Amuse Bouche: Hot and sour soup, Cantonese style

First Course: Fried prawns, crispy garlic & chili

Granita: Coconut – lemongrass and ginger infused

Main Course: Wok fried beef, black pepper sauce, rice in lotus leaf

Dessert: Chilled mango cream, pomelo and sago

It was a very nice dinner with terrific service.  After dinner, we went to the Star Theater for tonight’s showing of Tom Gun: Maverick.  We enjoyed popcorn and the movie.

There have been rumors of potential northern lights activity tonight.  We stopped by the Explorers’ Desk and got put on a call list.  If the bridge spots the aurora, they will call rooms on the list.  That way, we don’t have to stay up all night for a “maybe”.

Before signing off for the night, let me share some of the many trolls that inhabit this ship.  

If you want to know where to look for them, just ask.

Tomorrow: Kodiak, Alaska