A Trip to Seward

I got back this evening from spending the night in Seward with my boss, Kelly, and her family. It was a blast!

Yesterday I got a behind the scenes tour of the Sea Life Center and volunteered for a few hours in the rehabilitation department. They had four baby Harbor Seals and a new member arrived just before I had to leave.

 I was given the pleasure of getting to restrain one of the seals so that it could be fed. They are fed with a tube that goes straight into their stomachs and this is done four times a day. They are very vocal while all of this is going on and sound like toddlers throwing a fit.

 The Center also had an orphaned merganser duckling that I got to see get fed and weighed as well. It was a great experience that I consider myself fortunate to have been able to do.

We all went to the only movie theater in Seward last night and saw a film on wild cats. They only play one main movie a night since they only have one room with a screen. It was very old school, with a curtain that covered the screen until the movie was ready to play and old rickety chairs. I loved it! If you have ever seen the series "Northern Exposure" it reminded me of something that would be on one of their sets.

We spent the night in the camper right by the coast and watched the sea lions play in the bay as it drizzled rain. Mike shared some of his stories with us on how he started the Wildlife Center and some other cool things until laet into the night.

We rose early, stopped by a bakery and headed to Millers Landing to go sea kayaking. I had never been kayaking on the ocean before so it was kind of a new experience for me. We suited up in our spray skirts and rain gear, got a quick lesson in how to use the kayaks and we were off. We had tandems, which means they have two cockpits and I wanted to be in the back so that I could learn how to use the rudder. The rudder is controlled by the foot pedals inside of the kayak. It took a while to get used to but I got used to it after a while. We saw Sea Otters, Sea Lions, Harlequin Ducks, a Harbor Seal, and a few Dall Porpoises. The ocean   was very calm and the low lying clouds and light mist made for a relaxing morning.

After a long morning of kayaking we grabbed some Subway and hiked to the Exit Glacier.

 It was gorgeous! As I stood st the glacier and looked at the mountains surrounding me I thought about how bored I was going to be once I do get back home in Ohio. Every place has it's pretty spots but, in Alaska there are too many to distinguish which was better than the last. I also wished that my dad could have been there with me today. He would have loved to have seen the glacier and the wilderness that surrounded it. It is because of my dad and him sharing his love of the outdoors with me at a young age that I am where I am at today. I cannot wait to share my adventures with him and the rest of my family when I get home.

Me and Dad