We flew to Anchorage over Memorial Day weekend, where we drove south to the Kenai Peninsula to visit Seward. Along the way, we visited the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, Chugach State Park, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, Chugach National Forest, and had a great lunch at Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ.
In Seward, we visited the Alaska Sea Life Center and the starting point of the Iditarod National Historic Trail. We also took a sightseeing cruise through Kenai Fjords National Park where we saw Holgate Glacier and an abundance of wildlife (bald eagle, sea otter, horned puffin, black oystercatcher, common murre, tufted puffin, mountain goat, black bear, harbor seal, sea lion, orca, and more). Finally, we hiked to Exit Glacier inside Kenai Fjords National Park.
Benjamin took a cruise through the inside passage of Alaska for a family reunion. The Norwegian Sun Cruise Ship visited Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. In Ketchikan, he visited the Totem Heritage Center and hiked along Creek Street to an overlook above town. In Juneau, he took a bus to the Mendenhall Glacier. At the final stop in Skagway, he took a scenic ride on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad to the Canada border. The cruise also visited the Sawyer Glacier / Tracy Arm Fjord.