Valdez to Whittier

Friday June 28

After having spent a few days in sunny Valdez, where we met some great locals and finally sat outside without worrying about mosquitos (sooo nice!) we jumped on a ferry to Whittier. Initially we had planned to drive to Kenai, where we were meeting the Maxwells, Debbie and Michael since ferry crossings with a vehicle are rather expensive, but then we decided to sneak me on so we would save one fare. Well that didn't quite go as planned as we discovered the signs about number 1 state of alert/security due to terrorism and vehicle searches and all that sort of thing. We chose to save ourselves a LOT of hassle and paid full fares.

The ferry took about 5 hours to cruise through beautiful Prince William Sound, home to whales, whalrus, otters, orkas, seals and ICEBERGS!

What a great way to see this area. We decided we'd come back later to do an organized 7-day seakayak trip through the glacial waters.

Whittier, our ferry destination, was struck badly by the massive earthquake in '64, which destroyed the 1 apartment building that most of the Whittiers lived in. Now, as you come into Whittier by boat, one new apartment building greets you and this is where almost all residents of this tiny town live!!

The old building is still standing since no one is sure what to do with it.

Apparently this town gets so much snow that they thought it would be easier for everyone to reside in one building. Less snow clearing.