Touring the Fjords for Glaciers and much, much more - August 15, 2013

Hello All,

Leaving Seward Harbor on our beautiful day cruising Alaska

I am finally catching up and finally figured out how small I had to resize the images to get them onto this blog with the slow internet connection.

This entry covers our fun on Thursday, August 15, 2013!  Fun is a weak word to use.  Perhaps inspiring, magical?  Suffice it to say, the day was beyond words and you will read on to find out why.  Oh, and I only took about 400 photos, so it has taken time figuring out which few to post! 

First the day was clear, cool and completely spectacular weather.  From this first photo, pulling out of the harbor at Seward the water was so still it looked like mirrors of life where ever we looked. 

 

So no matter which direction you turn, there was the mountainous gift Alaska loaned to us on that day.  Even the crew could not believe how beautiful the day was and how calm the waters were.  We enjoyed it completely.

Cindy with typical vista surrounding us.

Captain of my ship!  Mountains and mountains!

We learned that the peaks closest the water were usually more rounded than the ones behind.  This was due to glaciers rolling over into the now bays, so they tended to rub down the mountains closed to the water.  Makes sense.

City of Seward with Mt. Marathon right behind it.

As we left the harbor, we got a great view of the City of Seward at the base of Marathon Mountain.  If you look carefully, you will see a trail toward the summit of the mountain which falls behind the city.  Each year people run (yes!) to the top and down in a race.  People come from all over to participate in, and watch, this prestigious race of determination and endurance.  So this is basically sea level to the top of the first peak of the mountain; over 3,000 feet in elevation - RUNNING. 

We say many harbor seals.  The boat's captain 

Harbor seals we saw in several locations.

was extraordinary about stopping at animal sights and talking all about the animals and their habitats throughout the year here in Alaska.  

We saw dolphins and otters, as well.

Humpback Whales (saw many) on its back feeding.

We were thrilled when we had our first whale sighting.  Then another, and another and another.

Here, a Humpback Whale was floating along, laying on its back, slapping the water to fish.  It looked like she/he was waving at us, but it sounded like a beaver's tail slapping the surface. 

Tails of Humbacks as they dove for food.

 For the longest time, we watched a group of Humpback Whales that kept diving and surfacing over and over again.  Ira saw one come up with its mouth open, but I missed the shot!

Beauty of high mountains with rock coasts and islands

At times, I just had to stop taking pictures and just watch. 

Reflections in the extremely turquoise glacial waters.

Our first views of 2 tidal glaciers.

At Northwest Glacier.  It was HUGE, and we are still 1/4 mi. away from it.

As we left the Northeast Glacier, a group of kayakers came up to it.  Notice on right of glaciers, by rocks, how small they are compared to the glacier.  This glacier was one of the most powerful elements of nature I've ever seen.

Because of the small sized boat, we maneuvered into many intimate places along the Alaskan coast.

And a PERFECT part of the day was seeing Orca's.  What a happy when a pod of them played around the boat for 1/2 hour.

Many of the islands and mtn. ranges created their own weather.

Seward's cute harbor buildings

 Okay, this is what made this day over the top, special.  After we saw the Orca Pod, a sweet woman was standing by me and we were both beaming with excitement about watching the creatures for over 1/2 hour.  She said it had been the last thing she wanted her Mom to see, and the trip that day was the most spiritual things she'd ever encountered.  I had been watching her earlier in the day as she was such a happy, sunny person.  She was speaking to other people and said she was sure they were going to see Orcas.  I kind of chuckled at that point.  So when we were later talking,  I told her I heard her earlier saying she wanted to see an Orca.  Ultimately, she started to cry and she said this was the best day of her entire life and could think of so place in the world she would rather be.  I told her I agreed completely with her.  She then told me she felt there were no accidents in this world, then went on to tell me her mother was just declared in remission from stage 4 cancer and her Dad brought the family there to celebrate life.  She expressed how precious life is to their family and they are thankful for every day.  She then told me her name was "Michelle."  Well, there you have it!  Life has no coincidences.  I then told her about my sister, Michelle (you know who you are, Sissy!).  She threw her arms around me and held me tight.  She told me her feelings on making sure we all know how precious we are to each other and making every minutes count!  We cried and held each other, perfect strangers on a boat!  She told me she would never ever forget that moment in time, she would never forget me and would never forget my Michelle.  She was a very special, warm, caring woman - just like my Michelle!

As Ira and I were leaving the boat, there was Michelle, her mother and their family all there to say good by to me!  They said they would be praying for our entire family.  Her Mom looked at me as though she knew me completely and smiled, blew me a kiss and walked away.  There you have it.  What are the odds of standing beside a perfect stranger and in 1 second having everything important in common.  It was special, indeed.

Posts to come later on the activity of August 16, 2013-Exit Glacier day.