Alaska - Part 5 - Hubbard Glacier to Seward

Here we are on June 30. This image is of the TV in our rooms. At any given time you can turn on the channel and see what the captain sees from the bridge. A map would also appear with where we were and the time/temperature. Unfortunately that part died after a couple days.
This would be 7 am local time and we're headed into the bay to view Hubbard Glacier. Notice how many people are on the bow for this hour of the day. It was chilly and sprinkled from time to time. This is Hubbard Glacier - mountain tops a bit cloudy but spectacular just the same. Captain said it normally takes him about 1 1/2 hours to maneuver in but this morning the current had moved all the icebergs out of the way and we were able to get in to less than a 1/4 mile from the face. We were also able to hang around for a couple of hours.

Keep in mind the face of the glacier is 400 feet tall - above the water. We were lucky to see it "calve" quite a bit. Alaska has a great many glaciers but few reach the water as this one does.

This is another glacier coming in from the side. As you can see this is where all the floating debris, large and small, had moved to. Occasionally seals could be seen on the larger chunks. Glaciers aren't floating so their mass under water isn't the same as icebergs. I looked down at the floating ice at one point and thought it looked like a tile floor!

On board they have master carvers in the kitchen. There would be ice and melon sculptures in the dining areas. The head carver came up to the Centrum and gave a carving demonstration. His tools looked like bigger versions of wood carving tools only made of steel. He had this Eagle done in less than 15 minutes. Ice was flying all over the place.

The housekeeping staff gave a demonstration of some of the towel animals they might leave on your bed. Earlier in the day Nancy and I learned to fold napkins like the the kitchen staff do as well.

Twice during the week the dining staff paraded through the dining room (it's 2-story) and then lined up on the grand staircase to sing for us. There is over 62 nationalities represented on board.

This is Friday, July 1. Our disembarking day. This little sign appears in the floors of the elevators. They are changed every day (at midnight) - believe me by this time the days were beginning to run together and the sign was helpful!

This is Seward, Alaska. By far the most picturesque port we saw. We had a later disembarking time so we got to enjoy the scenery for a bit.

So now it was goodbye to our ship and onto a deluxe motorcoach for the next several days. There were many different tours leaving at this point. We would run into people from the ship from time to time as our paths crossed. The tour companies are very organized in the arrivals and departures of buses from various locations - doesn't overwhelm the locals too badly, I guess.

This is the town of Seward. Our first stop was the Alaska Sealife Center. It also rehabilitates sick/injured animals.

Remember the "hand"y lesson on Salmon? Start with your thumb: Chum, Sockeye, King (Chinook), Silver (Coho), Pink (Humpy)

I couldn't resist this chess set made with Puffins and other sea birds. Puffins are soooo cute.

So we downsized our boat a little. We had a tour of Resurrection Bay (discovered on Easter in case you were wondering).

This little guy saw us through the harbor.

Then we saw whales....

...Dall's porpoises, which like to "lead" the boat...

...cute Puffins - this one was on a cliff...

...and of course, sea lions. There were plenty of seabirds as well.

After our boat tour we boarded a deluxe, domed railcar for a dinner ride to our next destination.

This is the way to travel for sight-seeing! Unfortunately it was raining a bit.

This was yet another glacier in the distance. Cloudy a bit.

And there were raindrops on the windows but we enjoyed our ride immensely and the meal was fabulous. It would also be a couple days before we all felt like we weren't rocking back and forth from the ship!