5/30 - Kayaking in Whittier & bye bye Alaska

Today was our last day in Alaska and it was going to be a long one!!! We had to leave the boat by 8:30 a.m. and our flight was not until 1:30 a.m. the following day. Needless to say – we were not looking forward to this loooooong day. Once we were done with our last breakfast on the boat we joined our group to head out to mainland Whittier for a kayak tour. The weather was so so… looked like it could rain any minute, but that is considered a good weather in these parts of the world. Lucka has never gone on a kayak so she begged me to go on a double with her…. That was at least until she heard the speech from our guide on what to do in case you tip over…. She didn’t like the idea of swimming in the water that not too long ago was an ice… so she opted to go with the guide instead and I was free to go with Chris. We had a good group of 11 to start with, somewhere along the way we lost 5 so there were only six of us finishing the tour. One couple was lost to fear, they turned around right away… and the second had to return with the guide after the husband got seasick. We spent the next three hours paddling along the coast, crossing to the other side of the bay and exploring some waterfalls and thousands of nesting birds along the way. It was spectacular. I was very proud of Lucka how she handled it, she didn’t even complain and actually enjoyed herself. We had a great time!!!
Mom & Dad didn’t go with us on the kayak tour but instead they took a bus tour to yet another glacier and to the wild life sanctuary. We were to meet up with them in Anchorage. We got on a bus just in time as we only had 5 minutes before the tunnel was to close. You can leave Whittier only once in an hour, on the hour, through one way tunnel. That is the only way in an out by land.
We met up with Mom & Dad in Anchorage, grabbed delicious food in our favorite restaurant – The Snow Goose restaurant… and walked around the town for a bit while Mom & Dad went to a museum and movies. We returned to our hotel in the evening and hang out there until it was time to leave for the airport….. sooooo tired!!!