My room for two nights in the Hotel Edgewater. It was a nice place, but not quite what I expected given the hefty price. Everything in Alaska is expensive, and I still hate paying more than $30/night. I guess that's why I sleep in tents a lot.

Seward was shrouded in clouds all Friday night, and early the next morning. However, there were a few bright spots in the overcast skies that weren't there the day before. I was hoping for a relatively dry, calm day on the water.

Fishermen off the southern tip of Seward, as seen from the waterfront park.

I enjoyed my morning stroll along the waterfront; it was very peaceful.

Seward is a very small town, mostly supporting the fishing industry. What little flat land can be found is completely unstable during earthquakes, so the city is limited in its development. I have no idea how the town can handle the huge cruise ships that dock there. My guess is that most of the passengers either stay on the boat, or board trains headed for Anchorage or Denali. There's not much of a tourist infrastructure, and I had dinner at a small diner filled with locals.

The small boat harbor was packed.

A different cruise ship was moored at the large boat harbor in the background that day; the ship carrying my fellow coach passengers had indeed departed in the night. I wondered how port visits were scheduled among the various cruise lines.

The Fjordland, the tour boat I would be aboard during my 8.5 hour Kenai Fjords National Park cruise.

One of the many smaller fishing boats docked at the harbor. I assume she's the "Wayword Reb," but she's lost her "A." Security here was nothing compared to the marinas in San Diego. I appeared to be free to wander around wherever I wished.

Atop the Fjordland. Most of the tour passengers elected to sit in the large, heated cabin on the main deck, but several of us wanted to remain in the open area. The skies were still cloudy, but the rain had tapered off to a sporadic drizzle. The winds picked up when the boat moved, but I had enough warm-weather gear to stay comfortable on the exposed deck.

The tour started out on a nice note almost immediately after we left the harbor. This bald eagle was hanging out on some island structure, and remained agreeably still as we circled him.

Another view of the Ocean Princess cruise ship.

A sailboat heading out into Resurrection Bay, with the Seward RV park in the background. Many of the RV residents were out fishing along the waterfront early that morning, with no success that I saw. It must have been frustrating to watch fish constantly leap out of the water, catching insects while completely ignoring the hooked bait.

The tower nestled in the valley is part of the local correctional facility. It's practically inaccessible. Seems like a good location.

The town of Seward. Hotel Edgewater is the three-story tan building with the blue roof on the water near the center of the picture. Mt. Marathon is in the background, but I was only able to see the top of it during my ride out of the town the next day.

A Sea Otter in Resurrection Bay.

Houses along the western shoreline.

Steve the captain did a great job.

Fox Island, our first destination and lunch stop.

Glaciers along the eastern shore. See the patch of blue sky? Steve referred to this as "cloud failure."

We stopped at the tour company's Fox Island lodge for about an hour to eat a grilled salmon lunch. It was good. Their lodge seemed to be a coastal equivalent to Mt. LeConte Lodge in the Smokies.

After lunch, I took a short walk along the rocky shore. I was glad for the opportunity to stretch my legs. There wasn't much room for exercise on the boat. Scattered all over the rocks were objects that looked like enormous orange sperm. I decided that they were some form of kelp.

Pulling away from the Fox Island dock.