We woke up at 4:45 am on vacation. Because we’re crazy. We booked a fjord cruise and had to catch a 7 am Alaska railroad train to Seward for it. At the train station, we actually met three Hokies (who know a friend of mine from Richmond) and picked up at our tickets at the station counter. Then we hopped on for the five-hour ride to Seward in a more traditional train car set-up. To be honest, I preferred the set-up of the Princess and Holland-America tour trains.
The trip down the coast is beautiful trip and has great views. This route hugs the coast, passes through around five tunnels, and has views of close to ten glaciers. The day was cool and foggy, which led to some interesting photo opportunities and challenges.
After our cruise, we hopped back on the Alaska railroad for the trip to Anchorage. It started off normally, and we enjoyed a quiet ride until we had to stop because of a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. We were delayed on the rails almost two hours while a track inspector caught up to us then continued ahead to check the integrity of the tracks. Because of the delay, we ate in the dining car. Mac had ravioli (from the refrigerated case, not canned), and I had a sandwich. With all the delays, we arrived back in Anchorage shortly after midnight.
