Glacier cruise from WW II era Whittier

Thursday, August 11, 2016
Whittier, Alaska, United States
Thu Aug 11
 -crew slept in late and had a well deserved mellow morning . We got going in the rain and made a quick stop at a salmon viewing point. Was cool to see two species of salmon and healthy ones. Worth getting out of the car in the rain and eventually the boys actually came to take a look.
  -we drove through the tunnel which shares one way auto traffic with trains. Was built in the 40s and was neat. Arrived in the port town of Whittier and walked through the rain to get our glacier cruise tickets.
  -Laura and the boys decided to stay put and play cards in the shelter so I set out alone to explore the town. It felt like a rundown industrial town built by the Soviets. It turns out the remaining concrete buildings were built during the Cold War. The original wooded ones built during World War II were torn down and burned. Suffice it to say that it was barely worth walking through the rain to see the "sights."
 -I rejoined the crew and boarded our ship. The rain continued and we tried to cheer ourselves that it was a good way to spend a rainy day. The first hour of the cruise was lackluster other than a cool waterfall . But then we arrived at Blackstone Bay and nestled up to a glacier that came all the way down to the water. We spent a good 20 minutes there in awe of the size and color. We even saw a small calving. It was very cool.
  -we went around the point and saw another spectacular glacier. Despite the cold and rain the boys left their cards on the table and came outside to view it. It made the cruise worthwhile and brought back memories of Antarctica.
  -we played cards for the ride back to the dock and were glad to disembark. It had been a good way to spend a rainy afternoon but 3.5 hours onboard was more than enough. 
 -We headed back through the tunnel and made no stops on the way home much to the joy of the kids. The boys opted to stay in the condo and fend for themselves rather than join us for dinner. So we had a pleasant adult dinner at Jack Sprat and pondered the recipe for successful family vacations. There has been a lot of friction this trip trying to get the kids to motivate in the morning, hike or whatever. Sigh.
  -we prepacked for the next morning's departure and then headed to bed. 

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2025-02-11

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