It is our last day! We rose early to drive south to Seward, which is on the Kenai peninsula-about 130 miles from Anchorage. Due to construction, we are allowing 3 hours. We drive scenic route 1, one of the most scenic drives in North America. The coastline, surrounded by tall snowcapped mountains is beautiful. There are several pull overs including a stop to watch beluga whales, one to watch Dahl sheep on the rocky cliffs and panoramic scenery. Once we are on the Kenai peninsula we lose the coastline and have rivers, streams and waterfalls from the mountains above. The only drawback is the weather. Our luck with perfect sightseeing conditions has run out. It is a very overcast day with light, continuous rain in the forecast. We arrive in Seward and quickly located our tour-Major Marine Tours- at the harbor. We brought our packed lunch from the B&B. Another option would be to eat a salmon buffet on the tour boat for an extra 20.00 each. The boat, named Spirit of Adventure, was large with an inside area surrounded by glass windows. Passengers could go outside on the bow or stern for unobstructed views and pictures, at will. Our guide was a retired Kenai Fjords park ranger who was filled with interesting information and who had explored the glaciers for years. Our trip was 7 hours and we saw 3 different glaciers. The boat would get very close and we witnessed one glacier calving-this is when large chunks of ice break off into the sea. We would hear the cracking of ice and then see the ice falling. A lot of seals floated on the large chunks of ice, sunbathing. We also saw bald eagles and nests, as we made our way to and from the glaciers. The temperature turned very cold and the rain came and went, so we were thankful for the warm inside viewing area. The glaciers were magnificent-a true blue color that was spectacular!

When we got back to Seward we explored the harbor shops. We will be going directly to the airport for a 1 am departure, so we are trying to time our trip to eat a late dinner in Anchorage, to avoid a long wait in the airport. We also wanted to enjoy the drive back on scenic route 1. We were so glad we decided to take this trip. It was a very long day, but well worth it! If we had to do again, I think we would drive to Seward the day before to avoid the early departure from Anchorage.

After eating dinner in Anchorage at Kinleys restaurant, we arrived at the airport, returned our rental car, went through security and waited for our departure with heavy eyes. It has been a magnificent adventure to Alaska, the Canadian Yukon territory, Victoria and Vancouver!