Craig, Cullen, and I took a short trip to Seward last weekend that was a lot of fun. I’m glad we had the chance to get away as a family of three before the baby comes. You probably can’t call it a babymoon when your child comes along, but it was exactly what we needed and a trip that was very memorable!
Cullen and I took the train down early Friday morning. For most people who live in Anchorage, it would seem silly to take the train down since Seward is only a 2.5 hour drive versus the train that takes about 4 hours and costs a lot more than it does to drive. However, the reason we did was because Craig won two tickets on the Halloween Train ride him and Cullen did last year with the Alaska Railroad, which is a fun kid’s event they put on each year. We finally got around to using them, and I’m so glad we didn’t give them to someone else. The tickets were for the “Gold Star” class car, which is a much nicer car, has big overhead windows, a complimentary meal, and unlimited (non-alcoholic) drinks.
It was actually really nice not to worry about driving, and we got to enjoy some epic scenery–places that you can’t see from the road when you drive. (Although the drive also has some really pretty views too.) We saw several eagles, a handful of moose, waterfalls, and fall scenes like this that can’t be beat.
Cullen and I got to Seward around 11a.m. We couldn’t check into our hotel until 4p.m., which was 1.5 miles away, so we took our time going into gift shops, going to the visitor’s center, getting lunch, watching the spawned out salmon, stopping at a park to play, and going to the library. I intentionally planned a bunch of things to do, and it worked out perfectly. I was also really glad it wasn’t raining when we were doing all of this!
We then checked into the hotel room and waited for Craig to drive down since he had to work on Friday. He came down that evening, and then we went to dinner at The Cookery. It had really good reviews and was right across the street from our hotel.
I had this really good autumn salad, which had pickled sweet potatoes, grapes, goat cheese, pecans, and cranberries on a bed of kale. We also shared a bread plate and some beef brisket.
After dinner, we walked down to the beach, saw a sea otter, some dead jellyfish, and a rainbow. It was a perfect night of just hanging out and enjoying the nice weather. We then went back to our hotel room to watch a movie on TV, which Cullen was so confused as to why he had to watch commercials and couldn’t skip them. Ha! (Usually he’ll watch a DVD or YouTube on the iPad.)
Saturday morning I went for a 3 mile run/walk along the bay, which was very pretty. We then had breakfast at the hotel that was actually pretty good for it being free, got ready, packed up, and then headed to the SeaLife Center, which is a must go-to attraction if you ever go to Seward.
I’ve heard people talk about the Alaska Sea Life Center, but it was bigger, more expansive, and a really cool place that I could have easily spent more time at. In addition to having a lot of local marine animals to look at, the facility also rehabilitates animals and does research on them. There were activities for kids and adults, so something great for people of all ages.
After the SeaLife Center, we drove to Exit Glacier and did a little hike back to the glacier. It was a picture-perfect fall day: warm and sunny with the leaves at the height of their color. It was a little bit of a trek back to the glacier but nothing difficult. Once you got back to the glacier, you could see just how much the glacier recedes over time and even in just the “short” 12 years since I last saw it.
Next it was time for food, so we decided to go to the Seward Brewing Company for a late lunch. We shared one of the homemade pretzels, and I had the salted watermelon salad. We also shared some fish and chips, which were really good–and I’m not a huge fan of them since they are so heavy.
We then headed over to the Visitor’s Center so Cullen could become a junior ranger. It’s a cute little program that they have where he fills out some pages of an activity book and then has to saw a pledge with one of the rangers before he can earn his badge.
We had a little time to kill before catching the train back to Anchorage, so we went to the Resurrect Art Coffee House, which is an old church converted into a coffee shop. It was a really cute space and there were a lot of people inside. Another place I would highly recommend going to if you are in Seward.
Then it was off to catch the train. Craig and Cullen rode the train back to Anchorage, and I drove back. This way Craig got to experience the train too since he’s never taken it. I drove the 2.5 hours back listening to podcasts, which was a treat. I listen to podcasts here and there, but I never feel like I have a long chunk of uninterrupted time to do so. I listened to a Lindsey Hein podcast with Jenny Simpson, which was really good; a Jenna Kutcher podcast, and then an Ali on the Run podcast where she interviews a sports psychologist.
Writing this post, I’m sad this trip was over so quickly because we had such a fun time together. It was the perfect balance of each of us having one-on-one time with Cullen, enjoying the beautiful fall weather outside, a little bit of relaxing, good food, and fun activities. It’s crazy to think that this was only my third trip to Seward in the 12 years I have lived in Alaska since it isn’t that far away. The “problem” has been that I have worked nearly every weekend for the past five years, and if I took time off from work, it was to travel out of state. Then the seven years prior to that, we usually went to Kenai fishing instead of the Seward-side of the Kenai Peninsula, or we would go to my in-law’s cabin by Talkeetna. I guess we just never had a reason to go to Seward.
Anyway, like I said, I’m glad we were able to get away for a bit, and I’m looking forward to more family adventures when we become a family of 4 soon!
That sounds like the perfect trip! Soon your family will be changed forever so it’s nice that you’re enjoying the last days of being a family of three. Thanks for posting.