Seward, AK 2014 - Day 10

Their excitement was palpable

If I had a dollar for every time one of my kids said they wanted to go home, or told me they were bored, I would have about $16.00. Maybe $14.00, but definitely more than $8.00. I didn’t really start keeping track until today, otherwise I’d be able to give you an exact amount. The kids are used to vacations where we are up from morning until night with activities planned, an itinerary to follow, and where we are constantly busy. This trip is all about relaxing, enjoying Alaska, and more importantly, being together as a family. Apparently, that is boring and stupid.

Because of the severe boredom that I have subjected these poor, unfortunate children to, I decided that today, while Chad was at work, I’d take them to a museum. After breakfast, we walked to the Seward Library that houses a small museum about the history of the city. We had been there five minutes and I was still reading the placards in the first display case when Jackson came up to me and said, “Mom! You’re not even a quarter of the way through yet!” I didn’t know it was humanly possible to walk through a museum as fast as those three did. But I kept my own pace and they ended up finding things that interested them.

They found videos and documents to hold their attention while I took my time

After our minds were full of Seward’s history, we walked to Alaska Nellie’s Roadhouse to fill our bellies with lunch. The town was packed with tourists from the cruise ships, the sun was shining, and it was really a great day to be out. Nellie’s was full of people on vacation, so the atmosphere was fun and full of energy. The kids and I had a great, long lunch. We spent some more time at the bay where Ali and Jackson practiced their Karate Kid moves on pilings. Jackson yelled, "Mom, look, I'm Frank Macchiato!" I bet that happens a lot to poor Ralph Macchio.

We walked back to the library to watch a video of the 1964 earthquake (known as The Good Friday Earthquake) that caused massive damage. The kids were hyper from lunch and I was worried they wouldn’t want to sit through the film. I told them it was a three-hour long film with one intermission because I figured they’d be relieved to find out it was actually only twenty five minutes. They weren’t.

Once the film started though, they sat motionless as we watched real footage of the earthquake, the tidal waves, and the subsequent damage to Seward. The first-hand accounts from survivors held all of our attention and the kids’ focus on the film told me that they'd clearly been touched by the stories. They continued to stare at the screen once it was over and I knew they were processing what they’d just seen. But the second the credits were over, they jumped up and started making shadow puppets on the screen and cracking up. I should've known...

Yes, people were still sitting in their seats during this

We window-shopped as we made our way down the street to the apartment. When Chad got home, we went down to Sweet Darling’s to meet Janeal. And I learned something important. Her name is spelled GeNeil. Oh well, I was close...ish. 

GeNeil grabbed a flashlight and led us downstairs into the largest, oldest, creepiest basement I have ever seen. There were passageways, rooms, and stairs under the building. We found dusty canned foods and bottles from back when there was a general store upstairs, and we explored for an hour. When we came up, GeNeil brought us to the back and showed us the original bank vault from when there was a bank in the building.

The vault used to hold up to $1,000,000 of gold bullion at a time 

The safe inside the vault

Back upstairs in the candy shop, Chad and I were given samples of bourbon cherries (they’re made with Jim Beam), the kids just got regular chocolate covered cherries and then we hugged our new friend goodbye and came upstairs for dinner.

The kids with a master gelato maker

GeNeil's creations

Tomorrow is our last full day in Seward. We have nothing planned, no itinerary to follow. I dare not ask the kids what they want to do because I already know what their answer will be: Go Home.

Alaska Fact #10:

On March 27, 1964 at 5:36pm local time an earthquake of magnitude 9.2 occurred in the Prince William Sound region of Alaska. The earthquake lasted approximately 4 1/2 minutes and is the most powerful recorded earthquake in U.S. history.

The Niemeyers