WalleyeLJ

Upon leaving the hotel, we headed for Wal-Mart to stock up for snacks and water for our week of excursions on the Kenai. While we would have liked to have avoid WM while on vacation, it was cheap and right along our path out of town. After grabbing a case of water, some Pringles, gummy bears & trail mix, we headed south on the Seward Highway along Turnagin Arm. The weather was not fantastic to start out:

It got a little better as we travelled along Turnagin Arm:

As I was driving along Turnagin Arm, I kept scanning the cliffs along the roadside hoping for a glimpse of some Dall Sheep. Low and behold I spied some just past Beluga Point - two adults and two little ones! Fortunately, it was at a spot where there was a gravel pullout on the inside/northbound side of the road, so with a quick safety check I pulled quickly into the parking area and jumped out to open the back door and grab my camera.

It all happened so fast that poor Bev didn't quite know what exactly was happening for a couple of seconds! In the end she actually got better video than I was able to get photos, thanks to my trying to shoot a 500mm lens in high winds! While not the best shot, this did make the first non-seagull wildlife (sorry seagulls - you didn't make the wildlife poll either) we saw in Alaska, all of 20 minutes or so into our road trip!

I'd read about the traffic jams that can happen as people stop to view wildlife on roadways in Alaska. People are killed in traffic accidents each year caused by people stopping suddenly or in bad spots to watch wildlife along this particular stretch of highway, and I can see why. When I whipped into the parking area there was only one other vehicle there. After a minute or so of taking photos, I looked behind me and a dozen cars were pulled over or stopped on the Seward Highway, or were pulling into the parking area! At numerous points along the way, we also saw signs that said it was illegal to have more than 5 vehicles stacked up behind you or you had to pull over - something we'd never seen before, not even on our first trip to Alaska in 2009. Bev decided that it was better if she drove and I sat with cameras at the ready. She said it was so things were easier for me to read the Kenai Peninsula Wildlife Guide, spot wildlife and then take photos, but I think the truth is I scared her more than she'll admit when I stopped for the Dall Sheep!

As I mentioned previously, we had a bit of a time crunch here on Day 2 as we were supposed to check in with K Bay Air in Homer by 3pm for our bear viewing trip the next day. If there was one thing I'd do differently next time, it would be to NOT create that time pressure on the very first day of the trip. Given the flight schedule we had, it forced us into a short night of sleep. Plus, while the weather wasn't great most for this day, I certainly would have stopped to take more photos and enjoy the trip along the way to Homer if we had the time. So really the only photo stops we took were for wildlife photos. As it was we called and got permission to check in a little late, which was good or we would have had to skip lunch too!

More to come...

L.J.

Well,

As I mentioned, we didn't have a lot of time to enjoy the Embassy Suites hotel in downtown Anchorage, but I did want to post a few photos of the facility. It was super clean, with a friendly staff and great decor.

Embassy Suites Anchorage:

Main Entrance/Lobby Area:

The humpback whale tail fountains were particularly cool! We also had a great breakfast to start the trip - one of the nice advantages of staying at the ES, especially with the cost of dining out in Alaska compared to most places in the lower 48. This is a shot of the satellite seating area outside of the main dining room.

They also had some great Starbuck's coffee (in the breakfast area for free, plus a for purchase Starbuck's for specialty coffees in the ice cream shop) with to go cups, so I filled up and we hit the road to Homer!

L.J.

What a FANTASTIC trip!!!

First off, I have to apologize to those who started following my attempted "live from" thread I started at the beginning of our trip. I figured I would have the time, energy and internet access to make a decent attempt, but between our schedule, internet connection speed and once on the ship - cost - it just didn't work out after my first few entries. So, for those who started there and decided to check out our post trip, there will be a bit of duplication in the beginning, but I'll put some additional detail and a bunch more photos into this review.

Now...on to the review!

*A quick outline before I dive into the details. My wife Beverly & I spent a week on the Kenai Peninsula, staying in Anchorage on arrival night, then heading to Homer for three days, a day trip to Soldotna on the way to Seward, three days in Seward, then departing on Radiance of the Seas southbound to Vancouver. If you have any questions along the way, please let me know and I'll do my best to answer them!

Ok, here we go!!!

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Day 1 Friday 7/6/12 – headed to Anchorage! No photos worth posting on Day 1. I promise there will be a few later on;) We flew US Airways from Charlotte to Phoenix, then Phoenix to Anchorage. Last year when I started setting this trip up, I thought that would be a good thing. We had $1300 in credit vouchers from a flight bump on last year's cruise out of San Juan (that was STILL a good thing). In addition, last summer US Air had 5 flights a day to Anchorage to choose from, including a couple non-stops from Philadelphia. I figured we'd be able to book a short hop to Philly, then fly straight to Anchorage.

Not this year!

For whatever reason, US Air only has a single flight to Anchorage each day this year.

One flight...

Through Phoenix...

Leaving at 8:05pm...

Arriving in Anchorage at 12:33am...

Sigh:rolleyes:

So, we didn't leave Charlotte for Alaska until 4:35pm - which just seemed like a weird plan:eek:. On the other hand, we got two tickets from Charlotte to Anchorage, and Seattle to Charlotte for a total of $217, so it was a no brainer:D. Before we left, the departure from Phoenix was moved up to 7:50pm - so things were already improving! We were also able to use miles to upgrade the first leg of our trip from Charlotte to Phoenix to first class, so it was a nice way to start the trip. We even had dinner on the flight - Bev had cheese ravioli and I had teriyaki beef. When it came out, it didn't look super appealing - like just short of making me rethink my dislike of the mushrooms in Bev's dish, but it actually turned out pretty tasty. We had a little less than a two hour layover, and then off to Anchorage. Both flights went well, each arriving early (whaoo!) which we needed. Our flight arrived in Anchorage at 11:58pm, so while it was ahead of schedule, it was also 3:58am in North Carolina, so we were a bit weary!

By the time we got bags (quick off the plane), rental car (Avis at the airport - quick and easy), check in to the Embassy Suites in Anchorage (yea free night thanks to points!) and got to bed, it was 2am/6am. The hotel and the room was excellent. A little more earthy/outdoorsy than your average Embassy Suites. Unfortunately we couldn't elect to sleep in late to try and get our feet under us or enjoy the hotel fully as we had to be in Homer mid-afternoon to check in for our first big adventure of the trip. NOT the best way to start a trip to Alaska. At least it's almost time for breakfast!

L.J.

Anyone going this summer, be sure and post a link to your reviews, or atleast let me know how it went and if you did any of the same things I did.

Have a great one!

Jen,

Fantastic review. We went on Radiance in May 2009 and it was the best trip ever for us as well. We leave again for Alaska 7/6. We're spending a week on the Kenai, then headed south on Radiance. While we're on the Kenai, we're doing TWO bear trips, weather permitting:D. The first one will be with K Bay Air out to Katmai, the second will be with Talon Air out of Soldotna to Wolverine Creek across the Cook Inlet near Lake Clark NP. In between we'll be sea kayaking Katchamak Bay to photograph sea otters, and once my parents join us, we'll be doing the 7.5 hour Kenai Fjords tour, as well as a float fishing trip on the Kenai for trout and dolly varden. On the cruise we'll be fishing in three ports for salmon & halibut (my Dad & I love to fish and this will be his first trip to Alaska), with whale watching in Juneau. I'm hoping to post "live" each day, but exhaustion and wifi access may limit me until we return home:).

A also plan on putting together videos once we got home. The funny thing is I found your vidoes three weeks ago before I found this review. Great job!

L.J.