A Travel Day Turns into an Adventure Day

Seward, Alaska

I'm skipping ahead a day in our Alaska adventure. If you missed my post about Friday, check out my boat tour of the glaciers blog posted on Sept. 14, An Alaska Mini-Mystery. 

Saturday was a travel day. We needed a restful day already. Early that morning, we enjoyed the freedom of our self-directed tour. After a buffet breakfast in the hotel, we walked to the docks, and a maritime monument. The Seward Mariner's Memorial was a sobering reminder of the dangers of the sea.

A bald eagle perched on the dock. Sure, we've seen bald eagles in Colorado, but this was an Alaskan bald eagle! Harbor seals competed with people fishing from the shore. The view of the harbor full of boats, with mountains in the background, was unlike anything we could see at home.

Mid-morning, we boarded a Park Connection Motorcoach from Seward to Talkeetna. The bus was nice, and the views stunning. We had an hour layover in Anchorage. My husband and I snuck up to a balcony on the third floor of the Dena'ina Convention Center to eat our brown bag lunches. 

Ever on the alert, my husband noticed an event in a nearby park. We hustled over a few blocks to see the Hmong Festival. The Hmong people came from southern China and southeast Asia. The park was filled with families in traditional, colorful costumes. Although we couldn't stay long, this unexpected discovery became one of our favorite moments of the trip.

Back on the bus, we had a new driver. The school teacher eagerly shared Alaskan history, gossip, and interesting trivia, keeping us entertained all the way to Talkeetna. The bus went up a long driveway to the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. We were surprised to realize we'd booked a night in a fancy resort. Wishing we were staying longer, but wondering whether we could have afforded a longer stay, we made the most of our evening.

Tomorrow we made another unexpected discovery: Talkeetna, Alaska. But we'll go there on my next Sunday blog.

​My Alaska trip will provide background for book three in The Tapestry Tales YA science fiction series, written with co-author Merida Bass under the pen name Ann Belice, coming in 2026. Books one and two are available now in e-book and paperback. Audiobooks are currently in production!
Broken Strands: book two
​Frayed Dreams: book one
Watch for Grandpa's New Year's Relocation in December. And watch for the cover reveal for book three in the Rose Creek Mystery series, The Body in the Hayloft.

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