It took us about four hours to drive from Wasilla to Seward on a beautiful spring day, and what a day it was. Not a hint of cloud anywhere, deep blue sky silhouetted the south eastern horizon across the Palmer Hay flats as we drove south that morning. The jagged Pioneer Peak with its upper still white with last week’s snow. It casted a beautiful shadow across the flat, with rays of morning sun shimmering down and a thin sheet of mist cresting its peaks. The mountian was a sight to behold, and a good omen for things yet to come.
There are many ways to get to Seward once in Anchorage. One can travel by Alaska Railroad or motor coach. However, this early in the spring Alaska Railroad does not operate. We continued driving South from Anchorage along the Seward Highway. The Seward Highway is one of the many scenic highways in state and, in some quarters, regarded as one of the most beautiful highway in the entire nation. There are many stops along the highway that are built specially for the motorist to stop by and take in the scenery. One of the notable turn-off is Beluga Point where during high tides you can witness Beluga whales.
We reached Seward at 10:45 AM. Our whale watching day cruise, by Major Marine, check in time was still 15 minutes away. We were feeling little hungry, so we went to a local restaurant right across the small boat harbor. Eggs Benedict with hash brown potatoes at this American style restaurant, which is part of the Breeze Inn Seward Alaska Hotel, is my favorite every time I visit Seward.
So far, this South-Eastern Alaska weather has been an unlikely ally of ours. The day was beautiful, lukewarm weather with a cool breeze that wafted smell of the sea. That was refreshing. We were greeted by a friendly captain of the Major Marine and her crew. The boat, rightly named Orca Song, left the harbor right on time at noon. As Resurrection Bay tends to be a little rough this time of year, we were cautioned accordingly.
As the Orca Song stirred out of the harbor, it cruised along the coast line out to Cape Resurrection. In one of the enclaves of the calm water of Resurrection Peninsula,
we saw a lone Sea Otter just floating in the water. It seemed as of the creature posed for our photographs, waving its flippers at the boat. At the tip of Resurrection Peninsula, we saw thousands of nesting sea birds and Stellar Sea Lions. We still saw no sign of any whales though. As our captain stirred the Orca Song further South towards the tip of Rugged Island across the Harding Gateway, we heard the first sound of air gusting out of the sea. As the big gray whale came up the sea surface to exhale, the mist lingering in the air, drifting with the sea wind was just a marvelous sight. These gentle giants are on their annual migration North from Baja, California to their summer feeding waters in the Bering Sea.
Turning the boat at Harding Gateway, witnessing two different pods of gray whales, we listened in glee at the Captain’s narration and learned about the wildlife and the history and ecology of our surroundings. As we headed back to Seward, we saw the Bear Glacier, the largest Piedmont glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park, its width is more than 2 miles long. On our way back to Seward, we were always in the lookout along the coastline for mountain goats or bears. The four-hour cruise ended with sense of adventure in our heart and mind, and a day to remember. A true Alaskan adventure!