Alaska Review! Day 9--Valdez

This probably was my second favorite day...with the best day still to come.

We had a 6 hour Columbia Glacier cruise scheduled with Stan Stephens.  We thought about doing Meares Glacier, but since our other cruise is 7.5 hours, we figured that if there was an issue with being on a boat for a long time, we didn't want two cruises that were that long.  This cruise was less likely to be a problem anyway as it didn't go into unprotected waters, so it was a good first one for our family.   We paid $393 for the five of us--originally, it was $462 but I received an Alaska email back in March which mentioned a 15% discount on the cruises.  I called and they honored the discount, which was really nice of them.   I booked this in February when I noticed that the only date we could do this was almost full. 

We had our continental breakfast and then layered up.  Unlike Fairbanks, it was overcast and cool, and we didn't know what it would be like once we got close to the glacier. 

The cruise departed at 11, so we didn't have to rush.  We did have to check in at 10, so we walked over, which was nice.

Murals are common in Alaska.

Our ship awaited us:

When we were allowed to embark, we headed for the top, where those rows of seats are.  We made some new friends from Florida, who were on a tour.  We wound up talking to them throughout the cruise...super nice couple.

Waiting to go!

And we were off, right around 11!

 I thought the clouds lent a mystical air to the whole adventure.  I was warm,  and it wasn't raining, so we were good in my mind.

 Anchorage had float planes, and of course, here we have boats.

 I believe this is mile 800 of the pipeline (above).

Yes, this is Alaska.

 Now, time for some animals.  This tour is known more for the glacier, so animals are a bonus.  Look at the cute otters.

 Just stunning, and relaxing. 

 Waterfalls here, too.

 

There were free warm drinks on this cruise--tea and coffee, and I think lemonade.  Who can say no to that?  Certainly not Imp.

Note he is starting to put on more clothing here.

Yes, everyone is warm.  Perhaps the only time we'll have fleece, hats and gloves on a July 10 vacation.  Everyone except me had binoculars, which kept the peace.  I didn't have binoculars, but I did have my zoom lens, which is fine since if I see something cool up close I'm going to want a photo.

 There are Steller sealions.  We didn't stop for these, because we were told that we'd see more later.  (And we did...) I still took a photo just in case.  😉

Look--our first humpback whale!  So excited!!

We stayed put for about 20 minutes.  It seemed like this whale would come up every 7 minutes or so for air. 

I think it was time for lunch.  They had everyone move inside as it would be easier to be served.  Our new friends had saved us five seats, which was so nice.  We were served clam chowder and a bagel with cream cheese, which was fine.  You could also substitute a minestrone soup, but you needed to commit before the cruise departed.  We had also brought additional food, and we ate the snacks and yogurt as the day went on.  But the lunch was good, and there is also a snack bar in case you needed more food.

 I was hoping the kids turned around, but they did not. 

We were getting closer to Columbia Glacier at this point.

 Larger chunks of ice.  It was hard not to think about Titanic here.  😊  But we were fine.

 We heard many times about why the ice looks blue--it's the only wavelength of light which is transmitted by the ice.

Again, no editing here.  It's that blue.

So amazing!

Aw, more cute sea otters.

Here it comes!

 This is Columbia Glacier.  I think we were maybe 1-1.5 miles away.  That ice along the water is 10 stories high.

 We tried to get some selfies to prove we were here.

 Yes, we were hear, even though some of us don't look so happy.  This was the front of the ship.

This photo was the back of the ship, and was edited.  Kids look happier...maybe it was less windy here.

We stayed near the glacier for about 40-45 minutes, and it flew by.  I just looked at time stamps on photos and couldn't believe it was that long!

They brought in some glacier ice and everyone had a chance to touch it.  Yes, it actually is just ice, but something about it being a part of the glacier made everyone happy.

The captain was very accessible and you could go up and hang with him and ask questions.

 Imp asked if he could try out the camera below.

Nah, I don't think so.  😲

Time to head back.

What are these?  

 Puffins!  Our first.  We saw horned and tufted.

So cute!

 And we finally came upon those promised Steller sea lions. 

These guys were fun to watch...and listen to, as they were quite loud.

We hung out here for about 20 minutes.

We even witnessed swimming.

Time to move on.

 This could be the same whale from the morning, as we were close to where we were when we saw him.

 Earnest is enjoying the breeze here.

I feel like this boat is in heaven somewhere.  So ethereal.

 We were told that several of the boats we were seeing were part of the TV show Deadliest Catch.   I don't watch the show, but I figured someone might appreciate them.

We wound up being out until 5:30, which is half an hour longer than scheduled.  That is considered a good day, as we saw a lot which kept us out longer than the normal 5 PM return time.

Love the colors against the gray.

I think the cruise agreed with us.

And here is a photo of us with our friends from the cruise:

We said our goodbyes and walked back to our hotel.  We dropped off our things and headed out to Old Town Diner for some tasty burgers and fries.  The bill was $80.  Some of us got their equivalent of a combo, which came with a drink and fries, and some just got the burger and a drink, since we didn't need all the fries.  I think Trust got a chicken sandwich instead. 

We then went back to the hotel and started to do our laundry.  This was quite the project, since there were only 3 washers and 2 working dryers, and there were many people who wanted to also do laundry.  It took us roughly 4 hours to get our laundry done, and some of it was hanging throughout our rooms and bathrooms since it wasn't completely dry.  Still, it was good to get most of it done, and it probably cost us around $18-20 or so to do the four loads of washing and drying, plus the detergent which was sold at the front desk.

Day 9, done!