annegeluna's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alaska I Alaska is truly amazing. We were blown away by the beauty and loved everything about our trip. We are definitely going back because although we hit quiet a few spots, there is so much more to see and experience! We flew into Anchorage and headed south to Seward the next morning after hitting the used cd store to stock up on road trip music. The road to Seward ran right along Resurrection Bay and it was absolutely gorgeous. We stopped at Beluga Point and although we didn't see Belugas or the Boar Tide, we saw some dahl sheep way up in the mountains - our first critters of the trip! We arrived in Seward and visited a few hotels and bed & breakfasts before deciding on a hotel right on the water. We had delicious dinner followed by a visit to the local karaoke bar across the street (the singers were really good) and a packed bar on the next block where Hobo Jim was playing. The next day we went to the Marine Center were we saw Woody and puffins and jellyfish and lots of other critters. We also hiked at Exit Glacier, our first glacier ever - what an amazing experience! Then we headed to the marina to pick up fresh fish before boarding our water taxi to Orca Island. Orca Island is a private one-acre island in Resurrection Bay with yurt accommodations and kayaks and we were very lucky to have found it. We were the only people on the island and it was awesome; peaceful, secluded and picturesque with a beautiful view of the Kenai Fjords, Fox Island and Hat Island. We stayed in a lovely yurt with a compost toilet (our first experience with one) and a deck jutting out over Humpy Cove. Our first night we moved our small table and chairs out on the deck and dined on the freshest, most delicious salmon and halibut ever while watching the sun set (around 9:30 or 10:00) and then stargazed like never before. The next day we took a kayak trip to a stream where the salmon were spawning. Luckily we took a kayaking course a few weeks before and we were able to use the draw stroke to pull the kayak up on the bank so we could wade through the stream up to the waterfall, eating blueberries from the bushes along the way. We then attempted to kayak to Fox Island before a huge bank of fog pushed us back for a naked lunch of leftovers out on our deck. During our time at Orca Island we saw loads of jellyfish, a family of cute river otters who were not very excited to share the dock with us, a harbor seal pup sunning on a nearby rock with mom keeping a watchful eye from the water and lots of harbor porpoises and sea birds. Orca Island is truly paradise and we thank Dennis and Susan for sharing their place! Next, on the road to Talkeetna. 12:48 p.m. - 2006-09-28 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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