Exit Glacier and Seward

The Saturday that my parents visited we drove South on the Kenai Peninsula to Exit Glacier and Seward. The drive south was rainy but beautiful. Turnagain pass had a fine layer of snow on the ground. The clouds around the mountains were quite dramatic. Our weather luck held, and it began to clear just as we got to Exit Glacier.

We made the hike out to the foot of the glacier. The NPS has done a nice job of setting up the path with markers showing how far out the glacier came in years past. Its really striking how far it has retreated in the last century. (As I write this, three moose just walked by out on the street in front of our house.) The glacier itself is now a short walk across the flood plain with braided streams coming out from the ice.

The surrounding hills were covered in yellow birch and alder with the evergreens standing out starkly dark green.

Seward itself is a small town on Resurrection Bay. The bay itself is ringed with snow-capped peaks. We ate at a Greek restaurant and then braved the wind to wander the cute downtown. We escaped indoors at the Sea Life Center. The Center was paid for with money from the Exxon Valdez settlement. It's really quite nice, not as large as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but still very well done. They had a baby walrus that was new, a nice display on spawning salmon, sea lions, and a nice aviary.

We then made the drive back to Anchorage and had dinner at the Moose's Tooth. My dad and I continued our scholarly survey of local brews (his term) and we all shared a pizza. My parents turned in after that.

That night I met up with Lila and Monica at Blues Central to hear the Whipsaws play. They started off with a set of pretty standard rock. Their second set was their best, a collection of alt-country tunes with a guest fiddle player. Lea showed up at that point and we sat through another set of americana rock before dancing to their last set.

Sunday morning my parents and I had breakfast downtown (unfortunately Snow City was too busy, so we had to eat elsewhere). Then we went to Costco and bought a tv for our house here. Thanks parents!!!

The sun came out again, so we went for a walk around Westchester Lagoon. Once again we ran into two other clerks (Lara and Kate) while out and around. It was nice to be able to show my parents just how small Anchorage already feels.

After that I took my parents to New Sagaya to score some sandwiches for their flight. It was sad to see them leave. Having parents visit when you move to a new town is a wonderful feeling. They really made me feel more at home here. I'm glad they had such a fun time and can't wait to have them back again.

PICTURES: http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/ExitGlacierAndSeward