A Weekend in Seward

BE YE WARNED: the following post contains ridiculous amounts of pictures that may want to make you either 

a) fall asleep
b) never want to read this blog again
c) want to come visit us in Alaska (which we would not object to)
Proceed with caution........


It's been nearly a year since we've been on a vacation or had any "time off" from work.  

I know, it's not that long of a time and some people go their whole adult lives without taking more than a handful of vacations,

But knowing that it will be until next April-ish (possibly July) before Garrett and I do take time off from work makes me feel a little stir crazy.

Luckily, there is so much of Alaska that Garrett hasn't seen (and still so much that I haven't seen.  Alaska is a big place!)

So in order to "get out" and have some family fun, we've been taking advantage of our weekends by going on family stay-cations to different places in Alaska. 

This last weekend we went down to Seward to go camping, visit the Sea Life Center, and hike Exit Glacier.  

Seward and the Sea Life Center
Our first stop was to visit the Sea Life Center, where we could see all sorts of sea life found in the Bering Sea off the cost of Alaska.  Many of the animals here have been rescued and are being nurtured back to health.

The kids LOVED the Sea Life Center--the sea lions and diving birds were Kenadie's favorite, but what she loved the MOST was getting to drive the little fishing boat.

The view of Resurrection Bay was absolutely breathtaking, like standing in the middle of a postcard.

Camping

We decided to camp a few miles north of Seward right along where a creek and large lake connect.  It was soo beautiful, and even though it rained all evening, we had fun roasting marshmallows and throwing rocks into the creek.

(Future advice to myself: camping with a not-yet-walking-toddler while it's rainy and muddy = not the best idea in the world.)

The view of Kenai Lake where we camped:

 Our Camp:

Exit Glacier

In the morning we packed up and headed to Exit Glacier after having the most delicious crepes at a Creperie run by a Belgian-turned-Alaskan.  If anyone ever goes to Seward, you must go there! 

The girls loved the hike to the glacier and it was by far our favorite activity and the weather stayed nice the whole morning and afternoon.

This girl is so excited for the hike to the glacier!

When I visited Exit Glacier 12 years ago, the Glacier extended to where those people are in the distance behind me!

Kenadie's favorite moment?  Throwing rocks in the glacial river, of course!

Scenic Drive
On our drive home we had to pull over and frolic through this field of wildflowers.  Could you even imagine a prettier setting than this!?  

A few more pictures along the way home (Garrett was so camera happy that he pulled over to take pictures every few minutes and extended the trip home by a few hours):

The girls were such troopers and completely exhausted by the end of the trip:

So far, I am LOVING this stay-cation thing!  I have been able to appreciate Alaska like I never did as a kid and it has made for a fun summer.  Next stay-cation: hiking around Denali (Mt. McKinley) for our anniversary.  Can't wait!