I met up with Terry in Anchorage after flying from San Diego early. I had to wait 40 minutes for the coffee shop to open in the airport. It opens at 5 am...
Other than everyone bringing their dogs on all of the planes, the travel wasn't that bad. I made a mental note to never travel without Benadryl in the future. Being stuck for hours on a plane with recirculating animal fur air was not my idea of a good allergy day. On the second flight we couldn't hear any animals but I was DYING. I asked the flight attendant if there were any pets on board today. She looked at her roster and confirmed that we had a few. The ladies next to me thought I had magical powers until they noticed the sneezing.
I wandered around Anchorage by myself for a few hours before Terry got there. When we walked to dinner I started to take pictures.
I would try everything but the salmon quesadillas. Salmon + cheese = no.
These are everywhere and I was sad they were closed because I wanted to check out the ridiculous outfits. This was taken at 10 pm by the way - 24 hours of sunlight trips. you. out.
After one night in Anchorage we made the trip to Valdez, which is a five and a half hour drive. But seriously, it's the best.
When we were almost to Valdez we stopped and hiked to the Worthington Glacier.
We only spent one day in Valdez before jumping on the ferry that would take us across Prince William Sound from Valdez to Whittier. We had to check in at 5:30 am (ugh!) but it was ok because the sun was telling us it was noon.
The ferry took just over five hours and we saw so much stuff. Icebergs! Islands! Glaciers! Whales! We were talking about whales with the British group sitting near us and recalling how Terry hadn't seen a humpback whale before when the captains spotted two humpbacks near the ferry. I was pointing out the animals to people lined up outside (can't really lose the naturalist in me!) when the baby launched itself out of the water. And then the mom did the same. They did it three times in a row right as we passed by them.
I was doing some research on Whittier as we approached and learned that it is small. Super duper small. Population = 222. The town was pretty damaged in 1964 after the second largest earthquake ever recorded occurred 12 miles north of Prince William Sound and lasted almost five minutes. A 43 foot high tsunami hit the little town.
See the big building? That's Begich Towers. Almost the entire city lives there.
To leave Whittier, there's only one way out and one way in. The Whittier Tunnel. At 13,300 feet long, it's the second longest tunnel in North America. So basically, a creepy long dark tunnel through a mountain that doubles as the railway tunnel. And is one way.
That same day we drove to Kenai and I kept my eye out for moose and bears. No dice. I had to settle for an airport moose.
