Hot rock stars, screaming women, and fake mullets? Must be a Def Leppard concert!

I’d love to write a well-thought-out, entertaining review of the concert last Wednesday night, but I’m way too busy for that. So here’s the quick and dirty version.

Last Wednesday night (9/12) I saw Def Leppard and Styx at the Clark County Amphitheater in Ridgefield, WA. I went with a group of fellow fans, some of whom I’ve known for years and others I met only recently (*waves at Laurel, Erin, Karen, and Amy*). We were in the 12th row but waaaaayyyyy off to the left, behind a big stack o’ amps. So we got to watch the bands in profile for most of the show.

Styx opened with an hour-long set that included most of their biggest hits: Too Much Time on My Hands, Blue Collar Man, Renegade, Grand Illusion, and Come Sail Away, along with a cover of I Am the Walrus. No Babe, Mr. Roboto, or The Best of Times. Tommy Shaw and James Young are still with the band, but Dennis DeYoung is gone. Still, they sounded great and seemed to be having a great time. They also don’t really seem to be showing their age much, as you can see in these pics:







After a 30-minute break, we got what we really came for—Def Leppard! They played for only 90 minutes, typical when they share the bill with another big-name act. Since they have so much material, it really isn’t enough time, and the set felt rushed—very little stage patter, a shortened version of Rocket, all business to fit as much in as possible. They don’t have a new album out this year, so it was mostly a greatest-hits set (oh, heck… the last few years they’ve played mostly a greatest hits set, even when they have had new material to promote, but I digress…). They did make some changes from previous years, though:

• Different music during the changeover before they took the stage. Yeah, I know… Only someone who’s been to way too many shows would notice that, but it is a little discombobulating. They’ve had basically the same filler music for the last eight years at least, so I always knew how long I had to get drinks and hit the restroom before the show started. This year I actually had to look at my watch and think (horrors).
  
• They added some material from what Joe Elliott calls their “back catalog”, in this case “Mirror Mirror” from High ‘n’ Dry and “Excitable” from Hysteria. I don’t think I’d ever heard “Mirror Mirror” live (and this was my 20th show), and I hadn’t heard “Excitable” since the Hysteria tour. What a treat.
  
• They brought back the acoustic set, missing for at least the last two tours. It was cool to hear “Two Steps Behind” again, as well as a mostly-acoustic version of “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” with a kick-ass electric finish.
  
• They didn’t play “Let’s Get Rocked”. Drat. But we can’t have everything.
  
• They only played one song for an encore, “Rock of Ages.”
  

All in all, it was a great show. The band was energetic and the sound was great. And for you women in the audience, the guys look great. They still aren’t really showing their age, and the only major difference looks-wise is Rick Allen, who is now sporting facial hair. Let’s wrap this up with some eye candy:









The rest of my pics are posted in my Flickr account at http://flickr.com/photos/crumj/sets/72157601995769537/.

Next up: the Concord show on Tuesday.

Today's Meme: Things Everyone Likes (Except Me)

One of my friends on LiveJournal posted on this meme a couple months ago, and it seemed like a great excuse to rant a little. Here we go:

Things I don't like that everyone else likes . . . on TV:

• Reality shows -- all of 'em. I watch TV to escape reality. Besides, there's nothing real about these things. They're contrived nonsense that has proliferated because a) they're cheap to make, and b) we are a nation of voyeurs. Blech.
  
• Soap operas: Can't stand 'em. The last soap I watched was Dynasty back in the 80s. Joan Collins rocked.
  
• All Star Trek shows after Next Generation. I've tried to get into Voyager--I gave it a whole season. But I was bored. DS9? I gave it one episode. *yawn*. Enterprise? No soul.
  

Things I don't like that everyone else likes . . . on the radio:

• Queensryche: My music-loving friends love these guys, the critics love these guys... but I don't. Geoff Tate's voice annoys me, and they seem a little pretentious. But then what do you expect from a band from Bellevue?
  
• Hip hop: I could go off on a rant about misogyny and materialism, but I can overlook that. I just find that most hip hop lacks melody and is incredibly irritating. Yes, I realize that means I'm old. So be it.
  
• Prairie Home Companion: I like Garrison Keillor (heck, I even blogged about him once), but I just can't get into PHC. *yawn*
  
• Talk radio: I used to listen to a little of the liberal stuff on Air America, but even that annoyed me. It's just too negative, not to mention full of lies and deliberate exaggerations. When there's so much at stake, these shows just whip up people's emotions, ensuring they'll vote without engaging their brains. Plus, who wants to be angry all the time?
  
• Howard Stern: No, it isn't his crudeness (I'm pretty crude myself), and I usually appreciate guy humor. It's his ego. It's all about him, and he never lets you forget it.
  

Things I don't like that everyone else likes . . . actors/movies:

• Gladiator - good acting, good story... but horribly depressing. I was bummed for about 2 weeks afterward. I'll stay in my happy place, thanks.
  
• Nearly every movie nominated for an Academy Award. I think I must have a stray bit of Y chromosome somewhere, because I like movies with car chases, explosions, or laser blasts. Yes, they need plots and passable acting, but mostly they need action. I have the attention span of a hummingbird... Entertain me!
  
• Chick flicks: See my previous comment about the stray Y chromosome. I've seen some romantic comedies I like (and I'm a big ol' sap who needs half a box of Kleenex to get through one), but in general they aren't my thing. Maybe it's because I don't like to cry over some fictional person's love life (or my own, for that matter). Maybe it's because too many of the women in these movies irritate me ("Tell him to piss off, then sleep with his best friend! Sheesh, girl, grow a backbone."). Or maybe it's because they don't have enough car chases and explosions.
  
• Ben Affleck: Sorry, but he does nothing for me--too bland. Matt Damon, on the other hand, is welcome in my... uh... *house* anytime ;-)
  

Things I don't like that everyone else likes . . . when it comes to people:

This is a tough one, because I'm pretty tolerant and usually find people's quirks fascinating.

• Pretension: Not sure if everyone else likes it, but there sure is a lot of it, and pretentious people seem pretty popular. So you see art house films and go to poetry slams at the local coffee house? Good for you. I dig in the dirt and schedule my vacations around Def Leppard's tour schedule. Get over it. [And yes, I realize that many nice, non-pretentious people go to art films and poetry slams. But the ones who tell me about it while sniffing disdainfully at my entertainment choices are the ones who irritate me.]
  
• Parents whose lives revolve around their children: I'm a parent. I love my son, and he's the single most important person in my life. But I have other interests and do other things, and I don't raise him to think he's the center of the universe. News flash: You don't have to schedule every minute of your child's time (how many soccer games and dance lessons does one kid need, anyway?). And you don't have to spend every minute of your free time doing stuff with and for your child. When you do that, you just teach your child to be high-maintenance, expecting to be entertained constantly. Oh, and your child probably needs (and wants) his/her own space once in awhile--private time, away from the prying eyes of Mom and Dad, time to daydream, draw, write, imagine, think... you know, the stuff kids did before soccer leagues, taekwondo tournaments, gymnastics, and all those other structured, scheduled activities.
  

More randomness

Best quote from the book my son brought home:

Monsters don't apologize.

So there.

Today's randomness

So I thought about writing a thought-provoking post about 9/11, but I'm just not in the mood to be that serious. Maybe next year. Instead, since today has been sort of random, I thought I'd share some random stuff that's crossed my path in the last couple days:

1. I heard on the radio this morning that Sammy Hagar will turn 60 (that's six-zero!) next month. Holy crap! The man who gave us I Can't Drive 55 and Mas Tequila is going to be 60? How the heck did that happen?

2. Yesterday I went to a meeting near Seattle with some co-workers. On the way up there, we saw a couple funny things, which thanks to my camera phone I can share here:





The first one is a huge inflatable gorilla, used to advertise some store in Tacoma (a furniture store, I think). He's quite freaky-looking. The second pic shows someone taking his rock out for a nice drive on the freeway. When we looked closer, we realized the rock was plastic and hollow, but it still looked really bizarre.

3. Today, on my way back from a meeting across town, I saw a van drive by with two flags protruding from it. That's not so uncommon. But. These flags were *huge*. And. One was an American flag (not unexpected, since it's Sept. 11), but the other one was... the Jolly Roger! Huh?? Apparently we have a patriotic pirate in town. I really wanted to chase him down and ask him what was up with the pirate flag, but I decided I'd better get back to work, especially since I had a co-worker in the car with me. I really wish I could have gotten a pic, but I was driving, and traffic was heavy, so no such luck.

Rock stars eligible for senior citizen discounts, inflatable jungle creatures, rocks and pirates on the road... I'm confused.

I'm officially a published photographer!

No, I'm not quitting my day job, but it's still kind of cool. This photo from the California Railroad Museum:


is now published in the Schmap Sacramento Guide, an online guidebook for Sacramento. My photo is in the historical background section. You can find it at http://www.schmap.com/sacramento/introduction_history/#p=189735&i=189735_5.jpg.

What's interesting is that I never submitted the photo anywhere. The publishers found it on Flickr and contacted me for permission to use it. That's the second time something like that has happened to me. The first time, a woman who makes software for autistic children asked permission to use one of my photos in one of her programs. Of course I said yes. Oddly enough, in both cases the photos requested were just snapshots, not ones into which I put much effort.

There's something incredibly cool about the Web 2.0 world, which makes it so easy for people to connect with one another in new and interesting ways.

Alaska Adventure Days 7-8: Goofing Around in Anchorage and Heading Home

August 27-28, 2007

For our last day in Alaska, we decided to do some low-key, kid-friendly things. Our first stop was the Alaska Zoo. It’s fairly small but has the essential Arctic animals: polar bears, musk oxen, caribou, and yaks, plus bears, tigers, and other typical zoo denizens.

After the zoo, we ventured out to one of the many parks in town. We didn’t spend much time in the park itself, but we had some excitement on the way there. Here in Portland, we occasionally see raccoons or deer by the side of the road. Here’s what we saw grazing along the road in Anchorage:



The funniest part was that no one even seemed to notice except us! We’re such tourists.

We ended our day at H2Oasis, a cool but really expensive indoor water park. The wave pool and the river float rocked, and Jerry loved the pirate ship. The park also has a big water slide that’s about 4 stories high, but you have to ride in pairs, and Tony and Jerry were chicken. I should have taken the opportunity to ride it with some cute guy half my age, but I decided to be nice.

After the water park, it was time to pack up and get ready to fly home Tuesday morning. The weather for our flight was gorgeous, so we had an incredible view from the plane:







All in all, it was a great trip. But there’s so much of Alaska that we didn’t get to see—I hope we can go back one of these years.

Alaska Adventure Day 6: Palmer

I wrote the previous Alaska posts, at least in part, while I was in Alaska. The last three days, though, I didn't have much writing time, so I get to put those together after the fact. Here's the first:

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Sunday we decided to venture north to Palmer, about a 45-minute drive from Anchorage. Palmer is in the Mat-Su Valley, Alaska's agricultural region (yes, they do grow crops in Alaska, much to my surprise). On the agenda: visits to a reindeer farm, a musk ox farm, and the Alaska State Fair. The Reindeer Farm was interesting. Random fact #1: Reindeer and caribou are the same species. "Caribou" is used in North America to describe the wild animals, while "reindeer" refers to domesticated herds (raised for meat). In the rest of the world, they're just reindeer. In addition to Santa's means of transport, the Reindeer Farm had elk, including a huge bull elk named Awesome Eddie. We were warned about him: He can be aggressive, they said. He can pee about 30 feet, including all over the tourists, they said. Maybe so, but while we were there, he seemed primarily interested in food:


Jerry was a little wary of Awesome Eddie, but he became good buddies with some of the cows:


Our next stop was the Musk Ox Farm. Musk oxen are Arctic animals with lots of hair. They are raised for that hair and sometimes for meat as well, but the farm we visited raises them only for their wool--which sells for $400 a pound!! Clearly I'm in the wrong business. We need to move to Alaska and start raising musk oxen. Their wool is eight times warmer than sheep's wool and makes wonderfully soft scarves and hats, which sell for over $150. No, I didn't buy any, but I did look at them longingly for awhile.

The musk oxen themselves are really cool beasts. It was near rutting (a/k/a mating) season, so the males were a bit feisty. They win the right to mate with females by facing off and crashing head first into each other, just like football players:


Instead of mating with cheerleaders, however, the victorious musk ox gets one of these:


We ended our trip to Palmer with a visit to the Alaska State Fair:


It was a beautiful sunny day, so apparently the entire population of the state decided to go to the fair. We had to endure the first real crowds of our trip. Even Saturday Market, with its busloads of cruise ship passengers, wasn't nearly so crowded. But we persevered. The fair contained the usual stuff you'd expect: a Midway full of loud children and teenagers, booths selling all manner of overpriced stuff from various merchants, an animal barn, and other assorted fair things (quilts, flowers, 4H stuff... you get the idea). I really wanted to see the giant vegetables--apparently Alaska is famous for them, especially 100+ lb. cabbages--but they weren't there. I guess the veggie competition was later in the week.

All in all, the fair was a disappointment. But we did get to meet Chad Carpenter, the cartoonist responsible for our new favorite comic, Tundra. Tundra really deserves its own post, but for now I'll just say that it's a little like The Far Side but with a Northern twist. Chad had a booth at the fair, so we got to meet him and add to our collection of Tundra gear.

We also noticed a few things about the fair that were different from your average state fair. For example, you know you're in Alaska when:

• The fair has halibut stands (halibut tacos... *yum*)
  
• The fair's hot dog stands feature reindeer sausage
  

The elephant ears, however, were standard issue--and delicious.

Alaska Adventure Day 5: Downtown Anchorage

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Today we visited the Anchorage Market, an open air market downtown with various craft vendors, souvenir stands, and food. Our primary mission was to find the Tundra booth. We discovered Tundra, a comic strip that originated up here, on our first day, and we’ve become diehard fans. Arlene told us that the cartoonist has a booth at the market where we could buy books, t-shirts, etc., so we had to go check it out. We are now the proud owners of all four Tundra collections, along with a Tundra t-shirt and 2008 calendar. Other tourists buy native carvings; we buy comics.

Tony had fun drooling over the handmade, very expensive knives (I had to intervene to prevent him from spending $300 on a bowie knife with a handle made from elk antlers), and we all had fun eating: caramels made with birch syrup (not quite as good as maple syrup but not bad), funnel cake (feel your arteries harden with every bite), and a halibut quesadilla. Come to think of it, I’ve eaten some form of halibut nearly every day that I’ve been here. I think I’m starting to grow gills and develop eyes on top of my head.

We spent another couple hours roaming around downtown Anchorage, which is an interesting mix of tourist traps, stores frequented by the locals, and usual downtown businesses. Some of the kitschy tourist things are pretty entertaining, like the rare tundra snake:


Good thing they aren't real.

Now we’re lounging around Arlene’s, taking a much-needed rest before venturing out this evening. Tonight’s quest: internet access. All the hotels we stayed in were supposed to have access, but in every case it either worked sporadically or didn’t work at all. I’m going through MySpace withdrawl, and Tony keeps wondering aloud if he has any new email. Yes, we’re pathetic.

Update
We found internet access! Thank you, Barnes & Noble. Unfortunately, my laptop battery gave out after about an hour, and there was no handy plug-in, but at least I got my MySpace fix. As I said--pathetic.

We also found something cooler than internet access--Point Woronzof Park. We left Barnes & Noble about 9:00 and decided to watch the sunset at the coast (note: the coast is about 15 minutes from B&N, and sunset was at about 9:30). This turned out to be a great decision. The view was amazing, not only of the sunset but also the moonrise, as the moon was nearly full. The pics below show the sun setting over Cook Inlet:







And the Anchorage skyline:


Stay tuned for the next installment, in which we'll visit a reindeer farm, a musk ox farm, and the Alaska State Fair. It's truly a thrill a minute :-)

Mindset list for the Class of 2011

Let's take a break from the Alaska travelogue for a bit...

The kids are headed back to school, which means it's time for Beloit College's annual effort to make us feel old, the Mindset List. The Mindset List is an attempt to help us old farts understand Today's Young People (tm). This year's college freshmen were born in... 1989! Holy crap. I feel old already.

As is usually the case, some of the stuff on the list is an eyeopener, some of it is wrong (Sorry, but the World Wide Web has not "been an online tool since they were born"--at least not a mainstream tool--and some of us still roll down our car windows), and some is just plain scary. Here are a few of my favorites:

13. “Off the hook” has never had anything to do with a telephone. Really? I still accidentally leave my phone off the hook, but then I am older than dirt and still use phones that aren't cordless. I guess now the big problem is leaving it off the charger for too long.

22. No one has ever been able to sit down comfortably to a meal of “liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” No one except Hannibal Lecter, anyway.

24. Being “lame” has to do with being dumb or inarticulate, not disabled.

35. Stadiums, rock tours and sporting events have always had corporate names. Sad but true, as I contemplate going to the Sleep Train Pavilion (known to me as the Concord Pavilion) for a concert next month.

44. Thanks to MySpace and Facebook, autobiography can happen in real time. Yep, and you're lookin' at it.

55. MTV has never featured music videos. That was my first indication that the '90s would suck.

58. They get much more information from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert than from the newspaper. Don't we all?

So there ya go folks. Just when you started believing that 40 was the new 30, along comes a reality check. I can practically feel my bones creak.

Alaska Adventure Day 4: Whittier to Anchorage

Friday, August 24, 2007

Good news! We weren’t eaten by bears! (OK, are those sighs of relief or groans of disappointment I hear out there?) In fact, we never even saw the bears. I’m starting to wonder if Alaskans just enjoy terrifying the tourists. We spent a leisurely morning wandering around Whittier, walking on the docks, watching the bald eagles perched atop some sort of weird radio antenna thing, and taking lots of pictures:







We had to wait till the tunnel opened so we could leave Whittier. The tunnel I mentioned in my last post is the only way into or out of Whittier by car. It’s only one lane, so they open it for 15 minutes in one direction, close it for 15 minutes, then open it for 15 minutes in the other direction. So if you miss your 15-minute window, you’re stuck for 45 minutes.

The weather began to improve as we left Whittier. By the time we emerged from the tunnel, the sun was shining, though it was still raining. And you know what that means: sun + rain = rainbow!



After leaving Whittier, we headed for the Coal Creek Mine in Girdwood. Husband likes to pan for gold, so we spent the afternoon along a creek. I took pictures and wandered around while Husband tried to strike it rich and Son tried to see how much water his socks could absorb. The Coal Creek Mine, accessible via a 3-mile dirt road, includes a restored mining village. The family that owns it lives on site—with no electricity, running water, or phone service. It’s a gorgeous spot, but when I’m looking for a place to live, no amount of scenery makes up for the lack of indoor plumbing.

Looking in from the entrance to Coal Creek Mine:


One of the original buildings:


Where's my contact lens? I know it's here somewhere...


Dirt and water! Cool!


Since Tony didn’t hit the mother lode, we continued on to Anchorage. The Seward Highway runs along Turnagain Arm, and since the weather was decent this time, we stopped at some of the viewpoints and had a leisurely drive in. We even spotted some Dall’s porpoises and a beluga whale in Turnagain Arm as we drove along.

Turnagain Arm from Bird Point:


We had some time to kill before meeting my friend Arlene for dinner, so we wandered around Potter Marsh outside Anchorage. I’m told the marsh was created when the railroad was built. They had to raise the tracks above the water, which created the marsh on the opposite side of the tracks from the sea. In one of the larger streams in the marsh, we saw spawning salmon. These salmon are the lucky ones—their migration from saltwater to fresh apparently consists of swimming through a big pipe that goes under the highway and railroad tracks. They emerge from the pipe into the marsh and get down to business, and the tourists get to enjoy a fishy peep show.

Stream in Potter Marsh:


And... salmon porn!


Our next stop was the Moose’s Tooth, a brewpub/pizza place in Anchorage. If you’re ever in Anchorage, eat there! The pizza is great, and the breadsticks with mozzarella are to die for. We met up with Arlene, a friend from my grad school days who is putting us up for the rest of our trip. We’re pet sitting for her while she is away at a conference in Chicago. Arlene’s apartment is in suburban Anchorage, which at first glance looks much like suburbia anywhere else. But there are a few minor differences. Arlene warned us to beware of moose, which regularly visit the wooded, marshy areas of the complex, as well as the hiking trails around it. And they aren’t the only visitors. It seems that a grizzly killed a moose near the complex not too long ago, so apparently we have to watch out for the grizzlies too. Back in suburban Portland, all we have to worry about are raccoons, coyotes, and psychotic banana slugs. Clearly we aren’t in Portland anymore. [And yes, the Psychotic Banana Slugs would be a good name for a punk band.]

Alaska Adventure Day 3: Seward to Whittier

Thursday, August 23, 2007

As I type this entry, I’m watching a huge barge leave the dock in Whittier, heading into Prince William Sound on its way to Tacoma. Like everything here in Alaska, the barge is bigger than it looks. The entire lower level is filled with railroad tanker cars. Above those are shipping containers stacked three high. And at the front, on top of everything else, is a small motorhome. It looks almost like a toy, perched atop such a huge ship.



We’re staying in a bed and breakfast that overlooks part of Prince William Sound and what appears to be the main shipping dock here in Whittier. Whittier itself is a working village, apparently populated primarily by dock workers, fishermen, tour operators, and the people who supply and serve them. It’s wet, cold, and dreary, a bit like November in Seattle but with more daylight. Yet it’s also beautiful. Whittier sits at the end of a small fjord surrounded by green mountains and blue-white glaciers. The water of Prince William Sound is greenish blue and chalky-looking from the glacial silt that fills the waterways around here.

Our B&B is toward the right end of this apartment complex, built in the 1950s to house military personnel:


Earlier this evening, we walked down the hill from our B&B to the Anchor Inn, which we were told was where the locals eat.



Sometimes, our hostess warned us, tourists are “put off” by the “local color” in the place, but tonight the local color consisted of one guy having a beer, plus a cook and waitress. Instead, the local color was supplied by the local wildlife. About 100 yards from our lodging, we were approached by a sheriff’s deputy, who asked us if we’d seen a bear recently. Ummm, no. He said a bear had been seen about 20 minutes earlier at the harbor, which was about 100 yards from our lodging in the other direction. He warned us to be careful. A bystander pointed out that the bear had marauded through the building we were standing next to, which is why the deputy had been called. At that point, we contemplated driving to dinner but decided to be brave and continue our trek on foot.

When we arrived at the Anchor Inn, we were greeted by Beer Guy, who asked if we’d seen the bears. Note the plural noun at the end of that sentence. He said there were three bears (but apparently no Goldilocks), and they had been seen all around the hills above the restaurant--that would be the hills that house our B&B. He added that their visits were a common occurrence this time of year, because the blueberries are ripe. The waitress took a different view of the matter, informing us that the bears came down to raid the dumpsters but had never set foot in the restaurant. Clearly we are not in Portland anymore.

We had a completely bear-free dinner, followed by an equally bear-free hike back to our room. Son has alternated between being terrified of the bears and looking out our window, hoping to see them. So far we’ve had no bear sightings, but the night is young.

Today has been a long but fun day. We spent last night in Seward in a bed and breakfast overlooking Resurrection Bay. We began our day at the Alaska Sea Life Center, which has a few aquarium displays plus some marine mammal habitats. Center residents include Pacific octopus, Stellar sea lions, harbor seals, moon jellies, and a variety of sea birds including Son’s favorite, the puffins.

Anemones, my favorite!


All together now: Awwwww....

(the puffin is the one with combed hair)

And a real (but less cuddly) puffin:


Funny bit of artwork from a wall display on the oil spill in Prince William Sound:


Our next stop was Exit Glacier, the only part of Kenai Fjords National Park accessible by car. After a stop at the visitor center, where we read about all the bear sightings this week, we headed up the trail to the glacier. Son was thoroughly freaked out about the bears, but once again we had a bear-free hike. As we got near the glacier, it got colder, and the rain got heavier. But we persevered to the end of the trail, which is about 30 feet from the glacier. The glacier is huge, and its size and temperature cause it to create its own wind. Brrrr… We took a few quick photos and headed back down the trail to the relative shelter of the forest.

Closeup of crevasses:


Jerry and me, freezing our butts off:


After that it was time to head on up the highway. We have to be in Anchorage by Friday afternoon, so we wanted to head back in that direction. To reach Whittier, we drove through the longest tunnel in North America, a one-lane hole in a mountain that’s about 2.5 miles long. It’s also the only tunnel in the world that uses the same road bed for both cars and trains (but fortunately not at the same time). Good thing we aren’t claustrophobic.



Tomorrow we’re off to Anchorage. Will we arrive unscathed? Will our son’s whining finally push us over the edge? Will we be eaten by bears? To find out, be sure to tune in next time: same bat-time, same bat-channel.

Alaska Adventure Day 2: Seward

Wednesday, August 23, 2007

We spent Tuesday night in an overpriced hotel in Seward, a coastal resort town on Resurrection Bay, which is actually a fjord but for some reason they didn’t name it Resurrection Fjord. But then Seward is on the Kenai Peninsula, while the Seward Peninsula is way north, somewhere on the Bering Sea I think. Apparently Alaskans like to confuse tourists.

Anyway, we spent Wednesday on a six-hour cruise through Resurrection Bay and the waters off the coast of Kenai Fjords National Park. We sailed past islands, rock formations, and glaciers, spending about 20 minutes in front of a glacier, listening to it creak and groan and even calve. We also saw lots of wildlife: puffins and other seabirds, jellyfish, a sea otter, Dall’s porpoises, killer whales, and humpback whales. It’s impossible to describe the beauty of this place (at least for a 2-bit hack like me), so I’ll let you see for yourself:

Small boat harbor in Seward, where the sightseeing trips begin and the big cruise ships dock:


Leaving Resurrection Bay, heading for Kenai Fjords National Park:


Stellar sea lions lounging on rocks like big slugs:


Aialik Glacier:


Calving!


Seasick Janet through wet camera lens:


The weather was beastly, rainy and cold and windy, but we managed to be comfortable most of the time. I also learned a good lesson: Visit the doctor for seasick meds before getting near any body of water larger than a swimming pool. I spent the afternoon leaning against part of the aft deck trying to avoid blowing chunks over the side of the boat. It took about three hours on land and a plate of halibut tacos to set me right.

Despite being cold, wet, and nauseated, I had an amazing time. It’s really another world up here.