This morning we left our Airbnb to start our day out in Seward. This small city is located on Resurrection Bay, which has beautiful views in every direction. We started out our day by visiting the Alaska SeaLife Center. This center allowed us to explore the marine life native to Alaska including jelly fish, sea otters, seals, salmon and many different types of fish and birds. They had a table where we were able to touch starfish, crabs, and sea cucumbers. Although we had to wait our turn behind a bunch of small children, we all really wanted to interact with them too! We were also able to watch a seal feeding. We learned that the center does research on its seals because they are endangered in Alaska. They are trying to understand why they are becoming extinct, and the current theory is that the water has become warmer. The fish that the seals eat are beginning to live lower in the water where it is cooler, making it more difficult for the seals to dive for their food. We all were also able to learn more about glaciers and the interworking’s of the Alaska ecosystem.
After this quick stop to the SeaLife Center, we were able to stop at a hardware store to pick up Dramamine, in order to prepare ourselves for our whale watching tour. Although the Dramamine did not work for everyone on the trip, we all agreed that the views were the best we could probably get in Alaska. We were able to get close up views of bald eagles, sea otters, and a dall porpoise. Although we did not see any humpback whales, the other sea animals made up for it. All of us also were able to take awesome photos out on the water, the views were breathtaking. We were able to see some glaciers through the mountains and they were still packed with snow. After we were done with our boat tour, we decided to warm up by getting some hot chocolate and a something to eat at a seafood restaurant. We filled our bellies with crab cakes, clam chowder, and burgers than made our way two hours back to Anchorage. Overall, it was a successful outing in Seward.