Rough Seas Ahead

It seems we have accumulated quite a backblog, having recently been so busy that we haven't found time write about the many things we have to write about.

For the last week, my sister Rachel and her husband Jeff have been visiting us from Indiana. I think this isn't a typical vacation for them (most of their vacations have involved the Gulf of Mexico), so I'm especially glad they came up for a taste of something different. And, they pushed us to try a few new things.

They were interested in trying some good Alaskan seafood, and weren't impressed by the frozen king crab clusters we'd served other guests (although they are delicious). But the first live dungeoness crabs were in, so we bought four and endeavoured to try to cook these beasts--two at a time--in our spaghetti pot. The first three went in OK, but the fourth one managed to wrap its legs around my wrist as it was being lowered into the steaming water. (Did I mention crabs aren't banded like lobsters? Yeah, the crusher could crush if, if given the opportunity.) I did manage to flick him off (ironically, into the melting butter), but I did take a minute to count my fingers, lest I be working in base 9 for the rest of my life.

The five of us went down to Seward last weekend, where we were going to switch off days taking a glacier cruise and watching Soren, Rachel and Jeff cruising Saturday, and Kirsten and me Sunday. My parents had earlier done one of these six-hour cruises, on perhaps the nicest day of the summer, and saw lots of orcas, birds, endangered Steller sea lions and seals on the way out of the mountain-surrounded Resurrection Bay and around a penninsula to the adjacent fjord to see a large tidewater glacier. With this experience, Rachel and Jeff set off on an overcast Saturday, and returned excited from seeing orcas leaping out of the ocean and breeching humpbacks, though cold from the drizzle falling in the wind blowing off the glacier.

Sunday morning, Kirsten and I turned Soren over to Rachel and Jeff and set off for our cruise. When we got there, we were told there was a weather advisory and we had three options:

1. Take a full refund now.
2. Rebook for another day.
3. Go on the boat and give it a try. If too many people got seasick, they'd turn around and turn it into a cruise of Resurrection Bay. If this happened, they'd give us a $40 refund (making the cost of the trip $89).

Since this was really our shot, we went for it. (Consider what it says about people's risk preferences that they (we) still pay a premium for the chance to see the glacier, even when it doesn't happen AND it doesn't happen because a significant number of people get seasick...they offer a Resurrection Bay tour for $69, so really they're just charging $20 for the opportunity to get seasick.)

Well, we had a cold, wet tour. But we got to the mouth of the bay, hit strong crosswinds and 12 foot seas, many people ran for the stern, and we turned around. Most people on the cruise would tell you they saw three sea otters. Kirsten and I saw a fair number of birds you can't usually see from shore. No whales or glacier for us.