DAY 12 – June 29
Aialik Bay to Seward
I woke up early and took a few photos before everyone else was up. It was cloudy and cool, but the rain had stopped.
We had time for a leisurely breakfast, and to start packing some things away. Justine kept the kids entertained and warm by leading them in the hokey-pokey.
We started kayaking about 10:00. Access to Pederson Lagoon is only possible at high tide, so we had to time it right. There are actually two lagoons below the glacier, an upper and lower lagoon. As we neared the entrance to the lower lagoon, one or two humpback whales surfaced not far away. This was a treat for all of us, except it made Noah a bit anxious.
We made our way into the lower lagoon and stopped for a short break. The mosquitoes were bad here, so we didn't stop for long. The upper lagoon was filled with fantastic icebergs, and it was a treat to paddle around them. We crossed the lagoon to have lunch at a small overlook, and I took as many pictures as I could.
We couldn't stay long, as we needed to beat the tide back out and be ready for the water taxi to pick us up. Paddling back to camp, the sky started to clear and the air got warmer. We took down our tents and packed up our bags to wait for our ride. Noah went around the bend to use the bathroom, and came back saying he had seen a black bear swimming across to an island. Another group on a day trip joined us to wait for the boat.
The water taxi arrived on schedule and we loaded up. They had other passengers on board already, so it was a little more crowded this time. We took a more direct route back to Seward without stopping for wildlife, although I suspect they would have stopped if we had seen whales.
The taxi dropped us off at a spot south of Seward, instead of at the boat harbor. I had planned to pick up a rental car at the harbor, so Rob and I hopped a ride back to KAW with the day trippers while the rest of our group waited on a second van. Tina and the kids watched sea otters playing nearby while they waited. Rob drove me to Hertz where I picked up the car just before they closed. We met back up with the family and Justine back at KAW, turned in our rental gear, and picked up our bags from storage.
We were very pleased with Kayak Adventures Worldwide. Justine was a great guide, and Wendy, the co-owner, was a tremendous help in planning our trip. Seeing the glaciers and wildlife, and paddling among the icebergs was a wonderful experience.
We walked back across the street to Trailside Lodging, where the key to our room was taped to the office door. We had the same room as before. We got cleaned up then walked to the Apollo restaurant. Dinner was good and plentiful, although the service was slow.
We needed to do laundry. There was a laundry in our building, but it was drop-off service only. The nearest self-service laundry was several miles out of town. We had rushed to pick up the rental car with this in mind, but we were too tired to deal with it tonight. We decided to drop it off around the corner tomorrow morning.
Next: Day 13, Seward
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