Seward: Where Heaven Kisses the Sky

At long-last: I have uploaded my pictures from my day-trip down to Seward AK! Seward is a small fishing town located 127 miles South of Anchorage, on the Southeast coast of the Kenai Peninsula. Population ~ 3,000. 

The drive from Anchorage to Seward (pictured ABOVE and below) is a breathtaking event in itself, and the road that connects the two cities - The Seward Highway - has been designated an All-American Road by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Notable points along the Seward Highway include: Beluga Point (where several pods of Beluga whales live and occasionally come up for air); Moose Pass (guess what people lood for there); Portage Glacier; resort town of Girdwood; and the Turnagain Arm BBQ Pit (a foodie favorite and National Icon).

Along the Seward Highway

Entering Seward

My little Sea Lion Friend (Seward Dock)

Boats in Dock at Seward

"It's really too bad about the location!"

Dumpsville Seward, AK

Future El Cabino!!

These signs were posted every ~10 miles along the Seward Highway outside of Seward AK
...I'm sorry, but if you DON'T know to run AWAY from a Tsunami... let Darwin's Survival of the Fittest Laws Apply!

Rough McGruff & Cell Phone Fluff!

Most beautiful places I've been to on this Earth: 

Redfish Lake, Sawtooth Mountain Range, Idaho

Cottesloe Beach Perth, AU

Seward Alaska

Obviously, of these three locations, Seward AK is the one pertinent to this blog, described to Mom and I by a local as "the place where the Heavens kiss the Earth."

If you look very closely at the picture of Seward (above), you can see a small white dot in the water; yes, that is a sea otter! And even still, this picture hardly does the area justice. What's more, the drive from Anchorage is perhaps a greater feast for the eyes than the destination itself.

**** **** **** **** ****

UNFORTUNATELY, those pictures are on my phone, and the gods of the Alaskan Wilderness wanted to first remind me that I am not on a 5-star luxury cruise. So to that end, they broke my phone 6 days ago (on May 1).

What's ironic is I LOST my phone the week prior (fell out of my pocket while running), but it was returned to me. THIS week: it spontaneously died while charging one morning. No water or falls; no faults on my part.

Day 6 of NO PHONE * WOW MOM!

Additional Obstacles:

• VERIZON WIRELESS DOES NOT SERVICE ALASKA. (Guess who my provider is)!
• This means NO Verizon stores, kiosks, help desks, or representatives in the entire state.
• No help on the website
• DO PAY PHONES STILL EXIST? Not at my nearest grocery store, mall, or hospital! 
• Using courtesy phones for long-distance calls: *Classic Poor etiquette.*
• Did you know: if you are on a FAMILY PLAN, your service providers MAY NOT BE AUTHORIZED TO SPEAK WITH YOU?! 
• Why is Katie an authorized user, but Mom and I are NOT? 
• Right, like my Dad will ever get on the internet to read this
• Yes, I am 27 y.o. and still on a family plan. Blah. Blah.

These fun obstacles have made for a really fun week. Today May 6 is now my 6th day without cellular service, and if I am lucky, my phone will finally arrive today. If I am not lucky it will arrive on Monday, at which point I will have spent over 1 full week without cellular phone access.

Now I can officially say: "I am Christine McCandless." Can I go home now? 

; ).       

IN OTHER NEWS: I can still do Crow's Pose, so that's pretty cool...

Much love from up here in the Wild North,

B