Rain, Rain, and More Rain in Seward

Monday, June 22, 2009 – As forecasted, it rained all the way down the Seward Highway and continued for several hours after we arrived in Seward. We are camped in a city campground right on the beach facing the water at Resurrection Bay. It took three attempts to get set up – the first space was too sloped and we could not get level so we backed into the space across the driveway, after we were all set up the camp host camp by and told us we were hooked up to the wrong utilities, so we pulled out and then repositioned the coach head in facing the water. Finally on the third try we got level, hooked up to the right utility pole, and had a great view of the bay out our front window. We have had problems with our steps off and on for about a year now and Bill has worked on them several times. Every time he fixes them it lasts a short time and then the problems return. Today the problems returned again so we found a hardware store and bought some new connections and he replaced them so hopefully that will take care of the problem once and for all. Since it was already mid-afternoon and raining we stayed home where it was warm and dry. Bill and Pam came over and we played Mexican Train for most of the afternoon. Hopefully tomorrow will be clear but even if it’s not we’ll go explore Seward.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 – We left camp and drove the short distance to the end of town to the Alaska Sea Life Center. This marine aquarium is highly recommended by all of the guide books as well as other travelers and it did not disappoint. The center was built using funds from the Exxon Valdez court settlement and is a rescue and research facility for sea life. Like most aquariums there were tanks of fish and sea life, seals, otter, and sea birds. There were also films and ranger talks on the Exxon Valdez oil spill and archeological finds in the Kenai Peninsula area. We spent several hours there and by the time we left it was raining again. We drove down to the small boat harbor and had clam chowder at Chinooks Restaurant. It was served in a bread bowl with a salad and was very good but a little pricey. We went back home for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 - We finally had clear enough weather that we could walk around Seward and visit some of the shops in the downtown area. Bill and I walked a couple of blocks over to the Alaska Shellfish Hatchery. They don’t really give public tours but we went in and asked and the manager showed us around. It was very interesting to see how they grow the algae first in beakers and then in larger and larger batches until it fills huge vats about 6’ across and 5’ high. The algae is then pumped into tanks holding various types of shell fish including scallops, oyster, clams, and sea cucumbers. The shellfish are allowed to grow until they can either be released back into the oceans or sent to farms to be grown and sold commercially. We took a few pictures around the small boat harbor and then packed up and headed toward Homer. We arrived in Ninilchik, AK around 4:30 and after we set up we went to the office and made arrangements to go fishing for halibut in the morning. I made a roast and vegetables in the crock pot while we were driving today so Bill and Pam came over for dinner and we played a few games of Rummikub. After they left we cleaned up the dishes and just relaxed for the rest of the evening.