Whittier to Anchorage and kayaking in between
April 27, 2008The Island Princess backed into Whittier last night after a gorgeous trip through the College Fjord. Some of the glaciers in the fjord are named for the Seven Sisters, which we hope is not a comment on women of intellect and frigidity. It rained a bit as it has throughout the trip, but it was fine. I did most of my packing between cups of tea and a lime ginger salt glow exfoliation with upper body massage. I spent my last meal in the Bayou Cafe which received two major thumbs up for the crawfish bisque, and a neutral for a grass-fed Porterhouse that was a bit chewy. Right now I’m in the Anchorage airport and am still drying out from a morning of kayaking in Prince William Sound. The aftermath of the Valdez spill is barely visible. We saw one playful seal, one marmot (a sort of rodenty thing) and thousands of birds nesting on the rock around the Sound. I loved kayaking and hope to do it more. There’s a one way tunnel out of Whittier to the highway to Anchorage where you wait until it’s your turn to go in your direction. I was able to get out of my wet stuff at the convention center, which is sort of a holding pen for pre- and post-cruise passengers. I came to the airport for Internet access and something else to do besides watch people stare forlornly at their hand luggage.
Even with rain most of the time, Alaska’s beauty cannot be denied and I will miss these low 60s in August in Jersey City. However, being away from the Tour de France and the day to day downs and downs of the Astros has been a bit of a challenge.
Alcohol observations: For those of you adept at the 12 steps, skip over this. One aspect of life in the Upper One (as opposed to the lower 48) I became fond of was the Juneau-brewed Alaskan beers. I am drinking the last Summer Ale available in the airport boite, and also enjoyed the Amber and Pale Ales. Alaska makes wine, but I was not feeling that spiritually wed to my travel globally, drink locally beliefs.
Anyway, the ale is gone and I will move on to other things. it’s been a great trip and many thanks to Cheryl, Stephanie, Debbie, Ken, Rachel and my fellow SABr members for adding some unalloyed delight to the trip.
