[Travelandtourism] back from Alaska

[Julie J.]

Heya all!

I've actually been back for almost a week now, but catching up with 
everything has been a huge effort.

Anyhow, Alaska was amazing!  I highly recommend it to anyone with a bit 
of an adventurous, outdoor interest.  We ended up spending our whole 
vacation, about a week in Homer on the Kenai Peninsula.  The weather was 
in the low 50's the whole time.  It sprinkled a couple of days, but 
nothing like what we get in the Midwest.

I did not take my guide dog.  I used my cane or went sighted guide while 
there.  Much of the terrain is fairly rugged, lots of rocks, uneven 
gravel paths, steep inclines etc.  It was a challenging travel 
situation, but all the tour guides were exceptional!  I did not tell any 
of them in advance of my blindness.  That has worked out badly in the 
past.  I prefer to deal with things as they come in person.

We went digging for Razor Clams.  This is a serious workout and 
seriously dirty work.  The clams are very good though, better than I can 
buy in a store here.

We went to a local museum.  It was small, but very nicely done.  It's 
modern so has the typical combination of things behind  glass to look 
at, audio displays, audio/video movies and some things to touch.  I 
enjoyed it.

We went kayaking.  I've never been before so was a little unsure about 
how this was going to work, but like everything else I figure it out as 
I go.  The company uses very stable, double seat boats.  My sighted son 
sat in the back seat, so he could use the foot pedals to move the 
rudder.  He told me which way to paddle.  This particular tour is not a 
sport kayaking trip, but a more sight seeing via kayak trip.  We saw all 
sorts of sea critters, sea stars, anemones, jelly fish, many varieties 
of kelp etc.  Our guide told us about local land features, history, 
weather, earthquakes, volcanoes, glaciers, the native people and 
wildlife as we went.  They were also very easy about my blindness.  At 
every opportunity they pulled things out of the ocean for me to touch.  
Sea stars feel like sandpaper.  anenomies are like a ball of very soft 
jello.

Next we took a ferry to Seldoviaa, a nearby native village only 
accessible by boat.  This afternoon was taken up with shopping, 
sightseeing, a visitors center, lunch at a tiny cafe and coffee at the 
most remote location on the planet.  The main road connects to a dirt 
path through the forest.  You go until you see the "open" sign on a 
tree.  That's where you turn and go down a very windy, very steep dirt 
path to the water.  The coffee shop was built over the water, but partly 
over the shore.  It was an experience I will never forget!

We visited the Howling Husky Homestead.  The lady who runs it does not 
compete in dog sled races, but rescues retired or neglected sled dogs 
and runs them on her land as a hobby.  Again I got to touch lots of 
stuff, the dogs, the harness, the sled, clothing and lots more.

Our final excursion was a combination fishing/sightseeing/eating boat 
trip.  We did a bit of sightseeing on the way to the fishing spot.  then 
we fished for our lunch.  I caught two and Kiddo probably caught four 
including a small Halibut.  Kiddo and the guide cleaned the fish, which 
was then incorporated into our lunch on a tiny island where the guide 
lives.  No electricity and no running water out there.  After lunch 
Kiddo and the guide went wading in a tide pool to collect sea 
creatures.  They brought them back to the picnic table where I had opted 
to rest and enjoy a bit of quiet time.  I got to see all the little 
creepy crawlies while they looked them up in a reference book to try to 
identify the ones they didn't know.  Then it was back on the boat for 
more sightseeing and pictures.  I have some very good pictures from this 
part of our trip.  One is of a seal on a rock and the other is a bald 
eagle over the water a split second after he has grabbed a fish.

Our last day we checked out the Alaskan Islands and Ocean Visitor 
Center, did some shopping and ate some more seafood.

The only really bad part of the trip was the  three separate planes we 
had to take to get there and the layovers.  I didn't have any problems 
with airport staff, security or lost bags or anything like that.  It was 
just going from rural Nebraska to rural Alaska takes a while.

I'm working on a longer more detailed travel log.  I'm about half done 
with it.  If anyone would like to read it, I'd be glad to share.

I would also like to ask that if anyone wishes to repost this to other 
lists or share it anywhere on the internet that you ask first.

Thanks!
Julie