Seward, AK 2014 - Day 13

Earthquake Park

The bright sunshine early this morning perfectly matched the kids’ moods as we checked out of the hotel and started our last day in Alaska. They were counting down the hours until we arrived back home. We decided to eat breakfast at Snow City Café, which has extraordinary online reviews. At 9:00 AM on a Monday morning, the wait time was fifty minutes. We walked across the street to Resolution Park and looked across Cook Inlet at the mountains. It was a bit too hazy to see Mount McKinley, but the view was beautiful anyway. After twenty minutes, we went back to Snow City Café and waited on the sidewalk with about twenty other people since it was packed full inside. The café offers coffee for waiting customers, so Chad and I drank ours outside while we played silly games with the kids.

When our buzzer alerted us that our table was ready, we squeezed between people who were standing shoulder-to-shoulder so we could get to our table. It was like we were in da club. I actually don’t know what being “in da club” is like, but apparently, I imagine it being like a café in Anchorage on a Monday morning. Except with champagne and dolla’ bills, yo. The booths were huge, the décor was excellent and the food was delicious. Our entire morning was so much fun. Snow City Café is one of those restaurants that you wish you had in your town, but you don’t, so when you finally find one, you end up writing way more about it in your blog than people care to read.

After breakfast we parked in a parking garage and snorted at the $1.00/hour parking rate. What a great deal in a town where pancakes cost $12.00. We visited gift shops, walked around downtown, and even went to the mall (just to use the restroom, I feel it's necessary to clarify). We watched a group of people pushing a baby in a stroller stroller while a woman in the group screamed obscenities and threats into a flip phone as the baby watched. I spent the next ten minutes worrying about that baby and wondering what his life will be like. I hope his name isn't Rayzor Blayd, but I'm pretty sure it is. 

We found a little tourist area called The Bear Square where we bought ice cream from Bear-ly Enough Ice Cream and then Ashley got to pan for gold at Bear Paw Mining. They offered her a hat and a fake beard to wear while she panned for gold and she refused. The moment I watched her turn down the hat and beard, I felt as though I’d been punched in the gut. Those moments when you realize your baby is growing up and letting go of childish things is never easy to bear (I’ve typed the word “bear” way too much). So instead, Jackson wore the hat. Ashley found two miniscule nuggets of gold and placed them in a vial. We walked to Alaska Mint to have the gold appraised and learned that Ashley had found about $10 worth of gold. Judging by how happy she was, it might as well have been $10,000.

Now, imagine her wearing a hat and fake beard.
Last year she would have

Her first flake of gold

We stopped on 4^th Avenue at a park and we sat in the grass among the throngs of other tourists. Wait a minute, I thought, why are all these tourists asleep? Then I understood, these weren’t tourists, they were locals and most of them were passed out drunk. As we continued walking through town we noticed that wherever there was grass, someone was asleep in it. It was like National Nap in Public Day. Ashley accidentally startled one guy when she ran up to us yelling about something she was excited about. It was sad to see him snap out of his drunken stupor and try to figure out where he was. Sorry, guy, welcome to how we wake up at home.

Best visitor information center ever! Even though we didn't go inside.

We drove to Earthquake Park which is an area of Anchorage that slid into the ocean during the 1964 earthquake. There are walking and bike trails with signs describing the events of 1964 and while we were on one of the trails, Chad noticed a woman having trouble with her rental bike. He stopped to fix it for her and we were on our way.

Chad saves the day

Ali's cool shot of Earthquake Park

 We drove to Lake Spenard which is the world’s largest floatplane harbor. We saw hundreds of floatplanes along the shore of the lake and watched a few planes landing. It would have been neat to explore but we didn’t stay long because it was time to head to the airport.

Chad walked us to security and we said our goodbyes. He comes home for good on Wednesday but I still cried, and my tears were met with jokes and ridicule from the kids and a “Poor Rachie,” from Chad. He watched us all the way through security until he couldn't see us anymore, and then he headed back to Seward alone. It sure doesn't feel right leaving him behind.

We had a great flight back to Seattle and it was wonderful to be welcomed at the airport by our sweet friends Evan, Cyndi, and their boy Kellen. They were so patient with me as I babbled and continually changed subjects the whole way home because I haven’t talked to anyone but my family in two weeks and need to relearn communication skills. Ali, Jackson, and Ashley were very quiet on the way home but every now and then I would hear the word "Tootsie" from the backseat and then lots of giggling. Evan and Cyndi dropped us off at our house, politely declining my invitation to spend the night. Leah had already brought Jessie and Tootsie home after pet-sitting them for two weeks. She had turned on lights and made everything cozy and welcoming, and when I sat down on the couch and thought about the friends and family we have, I was astonished at how fortunate we are. I love that you join us on our trips. I love all your comments and suggestions about places to visit. I love that you enjoy reading about my silly family. Thanks for coming on this one with us, it was nice to have you along.

Alaska Fact #13:

The Alaska flag, eight stars of gold on a field of blue, was designed in 1926 by 13-year-old Bennie Benson from Cognac, Alaska. Seven stars form the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) constellation and the eighth is Polaris or the North Star.

The Niemeyers