Road Trippin' With The Niemeyers: Seward, AK 2014

Being all majestic in Alaska

Our Vigor friends, Mike and Nicole, are leaving Seward today to return to Ketchikan, so while the guys went to the shipyard, Nicole and I went to the Salmon Bake for breakfast and to catch up on each other’s lives. Before I left the apartment, I made cinnamon rolls for the kids and told them to enjoy their morning. After breakfast, Nicole and I stopped by the shipyard to bring Chad lunch and then I dropped her off at her apartment. It was close to 11:00 when I returned to pick up the kids and start our day.

Since it was low tide, we drove to Lowell Point to explore the tide pools. To get there, you drive on a narrow, pothole damaged, gravel road until you end up at the beach. The beachcombing was fascinating; we turned over rocks and found all kinds of animals we’ve never seen in Washington. I dare you to not scream when you flip over a rock and what looks like a baby eel squirms so suddenly and violently that you’re convinced it’s going to spring up at you and latch on to your face. Among the array of sea life we found, we saw hermit crabs, a red sea cucumber, and hundreds of creatures that looked like little alien termites. On the walk back to the car Ali and Jackson ran ahead of us and disappeared. Ashley and I had been following the trail for a while when we heard an ear piercing scream come from behind us. For as low as Jackson’s voice has become, he can still scream like a whistle. It actually sounds more like Piccolo Pete, if you remember what those are. We looked around us and couldn’t find him anywhere. He and Ali started calling our names and yelling "Up here!" It was coming from the hill of spruce trees. I finally spotted them. Can you find Jackson in this picture?

It's hard to grasp how steep this was

They had climbed up a hill that was dangerously steep and they got themselves stuck. After some careful maneuvering, they were able to make it back down and I don’t think I breathed once during the entire ordeal. I hope they don’t grow up to be mountain climbers. I don’t believe my nerves could take it.

For the entire eight minute drive back to town, the kids talked about our cat, Tootsie (they recently changed her name from Bonzai). They played the “What If” game:

“What if Tootsie followed us to Alaska and is hiding in the bay wearing an otter costume?”

“What if Tootsie took a little submarine to Seward and is looking at us right now through a periscope?”

“What if Tootsie misses us, and she's trying to be brave, but her courage sack is riddled with fear?”

These kids need to get home to their cat. And quick.

Back in town Ashley and I visited the gift shops before it was time to pick Chad from work. Chad and I ordered a cheese pizza for the kids from Christo’s Palace and then we walked six or seven blocks to Woody’s Thai Kitchen for a date. Woody's serves delicious Thai food. In fact, I can't remember ever tasting better Panang curry. We had a great time, and we needed this date very much. During dinner, Chad texted the kids and asked, “Is everything okay?” Ali replied, “No, we’ve all been brutally slaughtered,” which was actually a good sign that they were just fine. Our walk home together was like something out of a Nicholas Sparks movie—a romantic walk in a charming little harbor town. And then we got home to grumpy, bored kids.