Sunday 22nd June Denali National Park to Seward

Up at 5.30am bags out at 6pm. We have a long drive ahead of us. First stop was the Alaska War Memorial then we continued to the Iditarod Trail Headquarters which is just outside Wasilla. There was a log cabin museum featuring historical displays, video exhibits, photos of past champions and race paraphernalia. Some of our tour group went mushing but Pete and I visited the kennels and the dogs. There were puppies which we could hold and cuddle. We continued on the Seward Highway passing Turnagain Arm. The Seward highway is 127 miles long stretching from Seward to Anchorage and offers a wide variety of landscapes including glaciers, waterfalls and beautiful mountains. It was raining heavily when we arrived at Anchorage and we said our farewells to more than half our group.

I caught a taxi to the Ulu Factory and purchased a few Ulu Knives for souvenirs whilst Les was unpacking the bus. Back on the road again 22 passengers heading for Seward and the next stage of our tour - Cruising the Gulf of Alaska and the Inside Passage. Les took us around Seward for a quick tour and then we had to board our boat. We went through customs and I had my Ulu knives taken from me and told that I could have them back at the end of the cruise. Not happy!! Then we boarded the MS Statendam at 5.15pm. Our room is great but the toilet was not working.

We had an emergency evacuation drill that seemed to take hours for everyone to get organised and our life raft was quite a distance away from our room and up a few levels. After the drill Pete and I walked around the boat find out where all the bars, casino, entertainment areas and restaurants were.

We had dinner in the dining room on the 7th Floor which was a lovely Formal Restaurant, waiter service and all. The menus were divine. Then after dinner went to the casino to play the slots.