After the Yukon, our next stop was Alaska. We had a few nights here before jumping on a cruise. To get there, we flew from Whitehorse to Vancouver, and then from Vancouver to Anchorage. If you look at a map, you'll notice that this route makes absolutely no sense. But there aren’t any direct flights from Whitehorse to Anchorage—so, here we are.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Anchorage. Most blogs about things to do in Anchorage seem to focus on things outside Anchorage. And they weren’t lying—there’s not a whole lot to actually do in town. Unless you enjoy strolling through slightly sketchy neighborhoods or blowing your vacation budget at the grocery store.
We did hop on a one-hour trolley tour, which was… fine. The National Park Service visitor center had some surprisingly good exhibits, though. So that was a win.
I’m glad we didn’t plan to stay long, and instead headed to Seward, where our cruise would depart. We took the Alaska Railroad train to get there—it was pretty comfy, but the weather didn’t cooperate. It was cloudy most of the way, so we missed the dramatic views we were hoping for.
Seward is a small town surrounded by mountains and Kenai Fjords National Park. Much of the park isn’t accessible by road, so one of the only ways to really experience it is by boat. Naturally, we booked a six-hour wildlife and glacier tour.
Things started off well. We saw a bald eagle right after leaving the harbor, then some sea otters. But then Teddy started feeling queasy—even though we’d preloaded him with Gravol. I don’t blame him; the boat was super rocky.
The crew said the best spot if you're feeling sick was outside at the back of the boat. So we went back there with Teddy. In hindsight, I’m not convinced that was solid advice. Watching ten other people projectile vomiting off the back of the boat isn’t exactly soothing when you’re already on the edge yourself.
One lady looked like she was having an especially rough time—curled up in a ball on the floor and shaking. It seemed like a panic attack, but things got serious fast. The crew gave her oxygen and asked if anyone onboard had diabetes meds. Not sure what exactly was going on, but they had to cut the tour short and return to the harbor after only two hours. I hope she’s okay.
We did see a small humpback whale and some dall’s porpoises, but missed most of what the tour was supposed to offer. Definitely not the adventure we signed up for.
The next morning, while walking with Teddy, he asked me, “Do I still have gravel in my butt?” I just stared at him, like, what?! Then he said, “Mommy put gravel in my butt.” At that point I was like, WHAT?! And then I remembered… Mylène had given him a Gravol suppository the day before. 😅 Mystery solved.
We actually really enjoyed Seward. The Alaska SeaLife Center was pretty cool—lots of sea creatures doing their thing, and some great exhibits. We also did a short hike to Exit Glacier with a park ranger leading the way. The ranger told the kids to ask him questions and try to stump him, which immediately became our family’s new life goal. We took it seriously, threw some tough ones at him, and—victory! We stumped the ranger. Emma even got a badge to prove it.
Oh, and it also happened to be July 4th while we were in Seward. We hadn’t planned for that, but the town was buzzing with festivities and jam-packed with people. I don’t really have any further comments I want to post online about that, so… let’s just leave it at that.
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