SUNDAY IN SEWARD, ALASKA

Welcome To Seward, Alaska

We arrive in Seward at 5:11 am. Flanked by rugged mountains and sparkling Resurrection Bay. Seward is long and skinny, and the main drag of business are along this long stretch.Named for William H. Seward who negotiated the purchase of Alaska. It's an ice free port in a setting of great beauty.

Linda and Ken disembarked here to travel on by car, making their way back home to New York. I think they are to arrive home Sept. 7Th. We made plans the night before to meet them at 1pm to spend the day here with them. However, there must have been a snag somewhere along the way, and we were not sure if our cell phones would work up here, but we charged it it and we exchanged numbers. Tom and I went out to wait outside the ship, where there was a horrible rank smell of sewage. Yuk!! We sat and watched the buses leave for tours, the shuttle bus went back and forth into town and we waited until 1:30. Tom's leg was giving him a little problem that day, so when we decided they weren't coming, Tom returned to the ship and I took the shuttle into town. Obviously our cells didn't work up here. We both were looking so forward to spending the day, so when you read this Linda and Ken, know that we felt very sad to have missed you. We hope you enjoyed 2 days in Seward and hope you seen more then I did in town.

I was feeling a little down at losing our friends, and was tired and not really in the mood for shopping, but away I went, regardless.

It was very pretty here as you can see.

The Zaandam (our home away from home) seen from shore. Look at those mountains!

I thought I better get a picture to prove I was here!

A view from the street looking both ways. I wasn't really impressed with the stores and was only in town a short time before taking the shuttle to return to the ship.It's really an old town. Get a look at this very old movie theater.
Lot's of nice wood carvings in this store.

On the way back to the ship in the shuttle, we passed though this little area that looked more interesting, but I was almost 'home', and was tired, so just came on back to the ship. Walked around the promenade deck a little, found Tom in the Library.

Another thing about Seward was that during the earthquake Alaska experienced in 1964, this little town was almost wiped out. The earthquake was centered 95 miles from Seward. Seward's shoreline dropped 6 ft.

Population here is 2,700 and on the trip back to the ship the driver told the passengers, there are 30 churches here. I had been looking at some books in a store and picked up one about the earthquake they had here and really was astonished at the damage it caused. Incredible!

Promenade Deck (our floor which I love)

Sometime in one of these past days, I forgot to mention that the Captain holds a special lunch for the Mariners who have sailed before with Holland America, and you are given little pins or coaster, and medallions, depending on how many days of cruising you have done. We were sat at a table with another couple who you will see more and hear more of in the few days ahead.

This is Delores, Linda, Tom and Boni (short for a name we couldn't pronounce) Delores is an elementary school teacher, Boni is East Indian, but I think I recall he wasn't from India. He's a very gentle quiet person and both nice people. They introduced us to Joan, who is 86, travelled all the way from Australia on her own, and is such an elegant, most sweet lady that we all loved and took care of any way we could, although she was very independent on her own.

In the afternoon, I went for a walk around the ship, I think Tom was watching Obama give his speech on CNN, so I went for a walk, went through the pool area and this tiredness came over me and I sat down on a deck chair, and instantly went into the most wonderful deep sleep for two hours. The roof was open just a little, so there was a soft breeze blowing though, it was very quiet, and I just seem to go into that zone you feel going under or coming out of an operation. I can only call it a "Zone", but it was the best sleep!!

Then back to find Tom and then we are to meet Delores and Boni and Joan in the Lido for dinner.

Tomorrow is our return trip to Vancouver, stopping at the one new port of Haines.

Before Haines, we travel back through Glacier Bay, and I will only show a few pictures and a video of that trip and show you more friends we have met and more of activity around the ship.

I have to get some work done around here!!! This travel trip for you is very time consuming, plus I keep needing naps because of my cold. Yesterday we went to Ireland!!! Well, maybe not the real Ireland, but a pub that made us feel we were in Ireland. We went with Bill and Dianne. If I have time after finishing up with my travel blog, I'll show some pictures of that. But, work is piling up and I need to get some things done, as I'm leaving on Wed 10th for Ontario to visit with my family and friends. My suitcases are still sitting here from Alaska, ready to go again. I'm babysitting a cat upstairs for a neighbour, Batman howls like he's dying everytime I go out the door and always has one eye on me, even while he naps, making sure I don't leave him again. He was more then ticked off at me for leaving him for 14 days. Hopefully he won't mind so much, me being gone to Ontario with Tom here loving him. I also have to take a cat on the plane with me for a friend who needs the cat delivered to Ontario. What is it with these cats!!!