Seward, AK

Today started bright and early. . . . .

I may or may not have run 7 miles (60 minutes) before 5 a.m. this morning.

(Don’t worry, Mom, it was brighter out this morning than it is in the winter.)

I normally am not quite that crazy about my running, (Okay, yes I am.) but I wanted to get back to my Monday – Saturday routine of running because these past fews weeks have had me running on a wacky schedule. I can change things up for a while, but I always revert back to my normal schedule. So that meant I had to get up bright and early in order to get a run in this morning.

The reason I had to be up early was because my aunt, Sue, (who is visiting for a couple of weeks) and I had a train to catch to Seward, AK.

I enjoyed my favorite on-the-go breakfast on the train this morning:

– decaf iced coffee prepared last night

– overnight oats prepared last night

We rode the train to Seward (4.5 hours) and saw some beautiful scenery along the way.

Views looking backwards out the very last car.

My aunt, Sue, enjoying the scenery.

A glacier we saw along the way.

When we arrived in Seward, it was time to board our boat we would be riding for a cruise around Resurrection Bay.

We rode the Chugach. (It comes from the name of the mountain range surrounding Anchorage.)

My aunt, Sue and I on the boat.

As we left Seward, I saw the first place I ever camped in Alaska—four years ago over Labor Day weekend.

See where all the RVs are lined up along the water’s edge? That’s where we camped, which definitely had a cool view, but we were camping in a parking lot, and all I could think was, “this is how you Alaskans camp?” (It isn’t—except here.)

We saw a lot of wildlife during our cruise.

I apologize if some of the animals are hard to see. Most of them were still pretty far away, so I did my best to zoom out as much as possible.

Bald eagles.

Sea Otter.

Sea lions laying on the rock. (brown lumps on center rock)

Humpback whales.

We also saw dall sheep and puffins, but they were way too far away to take pictures of.

We stopped for lunch at Fox Island.

We had a buffet-style lunch complete with salmon and prime rib. I am not a big fan of either, so I opted for the vegetarian meal, which was veggie lasagna. (I forgot to take a picture.)

None of the food was outstanding. It was mass-produced food, what can I say?

Me on Fox Island.

Then it was time to board the boat again.

We continued on our way and enjoyed more incredible views along the way.

Another glacier.

After our 4.5 hour boat cruise, it was time to board the train again to head back to Anchorage.

We didn’t get back until 10:30 p.m. tonight, so it was definitely a long day, and I am looking forward to passing out as soon as this is published!

Good night!