Day 8 July 11, 2022, Monday

The appetizer for breakfast was delicious pancakes with some kind of blueberry compote. Followed by a scrambled egg bowl with caramelized onions. Very yummy. Of course, I got indigestion from the onions, but it was worth it.

Another boat

After breakfast, our whole group met at the lodge and walked down the stone beach to the dock by the kayak shed. We stood looking towards Seward and finally saw a much smaller boat than the tour boat that had brought us out come around the curve of Fox Island.

The women who ran this boat were Tonya, the captain, and Lacy, the first mate and all-around helper. The lodge staff also loaded our lunch at the same time. Yes! When they were loading it, I didn’t realize what it was. Later, it was wonderful. Here’s a photo of the boat.

Tonya and Lacy asked if we’d all wear masks while we were on the boat. They didn’t but we had to. Her boat, her rules. Honestly as cold as the wind was as the boat plowed through the waters, the mask helped keep my face warm.

John not well

We know John is sensitive to motion, so I gave him half a meclizine, but evidently, that wasn’t enough. He did fine at first as long as the boat was under power. Then Tonya stopped the boat to watch some humpback whales coming up to breathe which caused the boat to wallow. That did his stomach in. He went to sit in the middle of the boat inside with his eyes closed. He told me he felt better that way. What a horrible way to spend the day.

At one point, Lacy brought him a can of ginger ale and some ginger hard candies. He said the drink helped some. We were out on the water for a good five hours and he spent most of that time sitting inside the cabin, hunched over with his eyes closed. Honestly, I did feel bad for him and I checked on him occasionally, but I spent most of my time outside the cabin watching for critters. I was just so sorry he missed them all.

Whales

Early on, we saw humpback and fin whales. Lacy got out a book to show us that the fin whale is a type of baleen whale. I’d never heard of one before.  This is a picture of the fin whale coming up to breathe.

Glacier

Our final destination was the glacier in the picture below. I don’t know what the name of the glacier was. I didn’t do too well with names on this trip.

The wind coming off the glacier was very cold. Occasionally, we could hear pieces of it cracking and splashing into the sea. As we arrived, Lacy got out a large fishing net, scooped up bergy bits, and put them in a cooler.

Lunch

At lunch, we had those pieces of the iceberg in our cups for our soft drinks. Such fun! Not every day do you have an iceberg chip in your drink. We had lunch on the boat inside the cabin. Lacy and Tanya unpacked the chest that the Wilderness Inn employees had brought on board. First, there was a large thermos of vegetable soup that we were served in cardboard bowls. The delicious hot soup was very warm in my stomach. Next, turkey wraps and little individual bags of chips. Cathy and I split a wrap. Most restaurant food servings are just too big for me, so I was pleased she was willing to split it with me. The dessert was chocolate chip cookies that were quite good. I didn’t split that with anyone. Unfortunately, John was too seasick to be interested in lunch.

After lunch, we made John get off his bench and come take a picture with us. As you can see, he does not look as happy to be there as the rest of us do.

 

Return to Fox Island

On the way back to the lodge, we saw more sea creatures. We passed a bait ball, something I’d never heard of. Evidently, the fish swim in a very tight ball, and the seagulls notice that then they start diving into the ball and eat the fish. On the water’s surface, it looks like a ball of seagulls, but they are just following the fish. We also saw sea lions and seals. There is a difference. One of them can swivel its hips. Don’t ask me which is which. Google it.

We saw lots of bird life as well, bald eagles and puffins, as well as seagulls. Then it was done and we were back at Fox Island. A great time was had by all except John. He really didn’t enjoy the day at all. However, once we got back and the world wasn’t rocking, he felt much better.

Dinner

At dinner, chef Jessie really outdid herself. Really good. I had duck, yum. John had a crusted eggplant, the vegetarian option. Both entrees were served with little potatoes that were sliced short-ways almost through and then roasted. On top, were Parmesan crispies, yum. The veggie was some kind of creamed spinach that I didn’t like at all.

For dessert, we had a berry crisp with homemade buttermilk ice cream. It was a two-antiacid dinner. I took one when I went to bed and another when I woke up at midnight with some stomach pains.

I said to John, “I could sleep on my back last night without the fan in my face like it is at home, but I bet I snored more.”

“You did,” he said. Oh, well.

So, add one more boat to our list of types of transportation we have taken on this trip. Almost to ten.

1. Jet plane
2. Small shuttle bus
3. Tourist bus
4. Alaska train (and spur train)
5. Ski plane
6. Rubber raft
7. Tour boat
8. Kayak
9. Private tour boat

Fitbit data 5,744 steps, 2.29 miles, 1426 calories, 1 floor, 0 active minutes

Next day: Alaska Wildlife Center and Anchorage