We have had a couple fun days in the north as we begin. We fully expected to leave a hot, humid Austin for cool, rainy spring days in the northwest. Instead we have had simply beautiful weather in both Seattle and Anchorage, though one must always have a rain jacket handy for those short, daily drizzles. Our hope is that this will continue at least for our trip later this week to and into Denali as those days will be big days for sightseeing and a clear day could actually mean seeing the top of Mount Denali which we know does not often happen. We will see; in the meantime we are thoroughly enjoying wearing sunglasses in both Seattle and Anchorage.
It was a long day yesterday as we left Austin super early and arrived at Sea-Tac before the city had fully come to life. We took the light rail into downtown Seattle and spent the day there revisiting Pike Market and the harbor area. We have always loved being at Puget Sound and found it as beautiful as ever yesterday when the sun was out, the water was blue, the mountains were totally visible and the boats were busy.
This time we soared way above the harbor as we took a ride on the Big Wheel to see it all from the air. Downtown buildings have risen every direction from the last time we were here years ago.By noon Seattle was bursting with people everywhere. We joined the thousands at Pike Market (we never tire of this place!) and then at the Seattle Aquarium which we had never visited. Memorial Day weekend was Family Science weekend and the place was packed with kids anxious to see and learn. The museum was huge: some indoor, some underground and some outdoor. We spent hours there -- watching everything from tiny colorful fish to huge octopi and all sorts of marine life between. Favorites for us and for many of the visitors were the fun-loving otters and lazy seals.
By then we had registered about 14,000 steps -- and, as you may know about Seattle, many of those were steps up or down -- but the day was only half over. Back to the airport for our trip to Anchorage where it was still broad daylight when we arrived after 9pm (or after midnight Austin time). We are staying at a Holiday Inn near the airport and it didn't take us long to get to our room and call it a day.
We deserved a slow morning and that is what we had today. This is our third trip to Alaska but we have never had a chance to spend much time in Anchorage which is one of those cities people are proud to call home. We met many of those people today and have thoroughly enjoyed our time here getting to know the place and rugged individuals living here a bit. There is plenty of public transportation in Anchorage, but it does not operate on Memorial Day so we had to rely on Uber to get us downtown today. After shopping for new pants for Vic who tripped and ripped his yesterday, we took a narrated, and very entertaining, trolley ride learning much of the history of settlement here and hearing some folklore.
We have a real appreciation for the hardships and opportunities of living in such a rough, isolated and ecologically-challenged location such as this. Alaska is huge in area and so very small in population. Half the Alaskan people live in Anchorage. Almost everything they have or use comes to them through the local seaport. Private plane ownership and use is common and begins at a young age. Earthquakes of one magnitude or another are daily (one this morning at 1am we found out later) and severe ones happen regularly and too often have been devastating. Winters are long and dark; summers and growing seasons are light up to 18 hours per day. Mountains and water are everywhere. Views are majestic and stunning. Life, we are told, is laid back.
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| Seaplane docks are everywhere and often come with buildings. |
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| Eisenhower named Alaska a state in 1959 |
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| Not who you want to meet on the street |
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| View from our room in Anchorage |
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