Shortly after a rainy (7:56 a.m.) sunrise, we bid adieu to Seward. <pouting...> A few miles out of town, we made the turn towards Exit Glacier.
We saw very few cars and quickly lost cell service; but we found the glacier - and some eagles.
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| Exit Glacier |
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| Bald Eagle, Juvenile |
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| Bald Eagle, Juvenile |
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| Bald Eagle, Juvenile |
We then made the 125-mile trek north back to Anchorage. The bright foliage was particularly colorful against the overcast weather.
A stop at Girdwood was full of surprises. At a rustic grocery/video store we inquired about a place for lunch, and a nice man sent us to The Bake Shop. From the outside, it was easy to miss; but inside it was a bustling neighborhood hangout of college students on laptops, young parents with babies, middle aged couples and seniors. When the tables filled up, multiple parties filled in the empty seats by sharing tables with other parties. Mom had soup, and I had a BLT club. Next door was an art gallery co-op featuring work of 38 artists. We met September's artist: Monica and her dog "Bea."
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| The Bake Shop & Art Gallery (Girdwood, AK) |
Aleyska's resort, ski lift and aerial tram added to the diversity we found in Girdwood.
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| Aleska Aerial Tram |
We then backtracked out of Girdwood and back onto the Seward highway to finish our drive back to Anchorage. But first we stopped at Potters Marsh Bird Sanctuary. It was a pair of wooden boardwalks erected over a broad marsh. There were few birds though... which might have (hopefully had) to do with a rather large rifle range being located directly across the street. Gun shots (from hunters) and sanctuary (for the hunters) hardly seemed to go together!
The spot I picked for dinner (Jen's Restaurant) was not open yet. (We seemed to have remained on east coast time all week...) We met the owner, who invited us in. We chatted, accepted a menu and instead ended up at a place called Kinley's. Mom had pasta with vegeys in pesto, and I had scallops in a corn sauce with broccoli/potato croquettes and fancy vegetable garnishment.
Our hotel (Marriott Residence Inn) provided two bedrooms, two (!) full baths, a full kitchen, dining room table and den with a sleeper sofa (for the men we picked up at the bar... )
The hotel was a block south of Benson Boulevard - named for the kid who's 1926 design was used for the state flag! At the time, Benny was thirteen-year old seventh grader! His design was submitted in a Territory-wide contest for school children sponsored by the American Legion in 1926. On his submission, Benny wrote, "The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaska flower. The North Star is for the future of Alaska, the most northerly in the Union. The dipper is for the Great Bear - symbolizing strength.
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Photo from: http://www.micktravels.com/alaska2006/whittier/06-whittier-alaska-flag.html
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