Jake and I won tickets for the Anchorage 1st Lady Military Family Support Initiative & Renown Charters & Tours Benefit Cruise on May 21st. The 'cruise' was a 6 hour Kenai Fjords National Park and wildlife tour on Renown Tours new 149 person Catamaran. Transportation from Anchorage, meals, and the tour were all paid for! It was a great time! Right after we left the marina, we were able to float right by a mature bald eagle, and then a whole group of sea lions. There were a ton of birds around...from sea gulls to puffins. We also had the opportunity to see 3 Orca Whales...2 adults and a young one. Although, they didn't want to put on a show for us, they showed us their dorsal quite a few times. On our way back to the Aialik Galcier, we saw 3 black bears down along the coast looking for some food. They were just small ones, but fun to watch. Once we reached the glacier, there were some harbor seals playing around in the ice chunks that had broken off of the glacier. And the glacier...WOW! It was HUGE! About a mile wide and about 250 feet tall. While we were there, we got to watch and hear the massive chunks of ice breaking off (called 'calving') it was soo cool! Something you should definitely experience if you ever make it to Alaska. We got a few pictures of that...and even an awesome video clip (Jake did a wonderful job of pictures and video!) On the way back, we came across a small pod of Humpback whales. At first they showed off a bit with a few 'flukes' (where they bring their tail out of the water...usually what you see pictures of), but then they became a bit shy and would just show us their topline as they would surface. They are still huge and amazing creatures! WOW! While we were out, we also were able to spy a few nanny mountain goats. You see, when they are close to giving birth, they come down the mountain closer to the shore line (but still on the side of a mountain) to give birth...so we were able to see them from the water! There was also a little (err..they really aren't that little...) sea otter that allowed us a few pictures while it was eating before it had to dive back down in search of more food.
As you can tell, we had a great time! We are so thrilled that we won! Thank you to all of the sponsors that made it possible!
~Kristine