Kenai Peninsula

We start today with a goodbye to our Airbnb at 1251 Surrey Circle.  The unit worked out great for us and made a good base for this portion of the trip.

Today we headed out to Seward to catch a Fjord Cruise at 11:30 a.m.  We saw an Eagle coming out of Port, Puffins, Cormorant, Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Orcas (aka Killer Whales) and Humpback Whales.  The day started with sun showing through, but slowly slipped away to rain.


Tour we took was mostly on the white dotted lines to the Holgate Glacier, but we went off the map on the way back to see the whale, which was not part of the tour by plan.

First Bald Eagle we've seen.  They get their white head after turning 4 years old.  Learning something new all the time on this trip.

Chicken Wraps as we depart the Port of Seward.


Aialik Glacier from a distance.

The rain started, but didn't hurt the views!!

We are still a 1/4 mile away but felt like up closer which shows the sheer size.  Water flowed out of the tunnel on the right and we did have two calving sessions that could be heard.  Jeff actually saw the second one.
This area was to the left of the Glacier and used to be down on the water 25 years ago.  This arm is fed from the same Kenai area above that feed all the glaciers in the area.  We did learn that glacier has actually grown that past 5 years almost a half mile.  The beach area at the bottom of the prior picture has been totally covered by the growth.


Sea Lions

Harbor Seals

WWII Gun Bunkers on top of rocks with lots of sea birds nesting.

Humpback whales feeding.  We saw them breach 7-8 times.  The birds fly over until they breach and then feed on the fish that comes up.  The whales feed on the plankton and small fish they herd from below with their air bubbles.

Lots of whale tails with a pod of about 12

Seward Port

The ship we took for the cruise

Chicken wraps for lunch and fresh baked cookies.  Jeff enjoyed a few Bloody Marys and the rest hot chocolate. 

After the cruise, we grabbed dinner in Seward at Ray's Seafood.  Long wait including a drive and quick walk around downtown Seward, but worth it for the meals we're all excellent.





From Seward, we headed to Sterling to find our next Airbnb unit for the next couple of days.  For a large section, they were widening the roadside with blasting.  We had to wait about 10 mins before getting through the area.

Along the way, we had a need for an emergency bathroom stop.  Found a little shop that sold fudge.  Yum!!


Around 10 pm we landed at our new Airbnb.  Cabin in the woods with a small view of the Kenai River.  Very quiet!!




The first day in the Kenai Peninsula comes to a close







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