Seward

We left Anchorage on May 24, taking the train to Seward. The train station was not far from our hotel, within walking distance – but not if you are dragging suitcases. The train ride to Seward was great. It slowed down or even stopped completely when there was wildlife or glaciers to view http://alaskarailroad.com/

When we got to Seward, we took the free school-bus-type shuttle to our hotel. Seward <http://www.cityofseward.us/>, named for William Seward (Seward’s Folly), is a lovely town of around 3,000 people. It was 50ish and rainy the 3 days we were there. It is on Resurrection Bay, with a city park (with camping) along much of the waterfront. There were at least 20 motor homes from Great Alaskan Holidays in the campground http://www.greatalaskanholidays.com.

One of the things we had planned while in Seward was to go on a boat trip out into Resurrection Bay and Kenai Fjords National Park. We saw seals, sea lions, otters, goats, and a whale spout, but we didn’t see the whale. We enjoyed the all-you-can-eat prime rib and baked salmon buffet http://www.majormarine.com.

The tsunami from the Anchorage earthquake destroyed the Seward harbor, but not the town, which is on higher ground. Major Marine has a web cam of the harbor http://www.majormarine.com/webcam/.

We stayed at a place that had good reviews, but I must admit that it looked iffy when we got there. Once inside, I knew I had made a good decision when I made my reservations at A Swan Nest Inn. http://www.sewardvacationproperties.com/.

One of the gathering rooms.

Our room had an actual skeleton key.

Handmade bed and gorgeous multimedia art work.

Looking down from my loft.

Susan looks up toward the loft.

My spacious loft.

One of the things I wanted to do in Seward was visit Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park http://www.nps.gov/kefj/planyourvisit/exit-glacier.htm, but we didn’t get to do that. Because they had had so much snow during the winter, the path to Exit Glacier was a snow-shoes-only walk.

On May 27, we boarded Holland America’s Statendam for our 7-day cruise to Vancouver, BC http://www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-vacation-onboard/Statendam.

Thanks for reading,

Charlotte