Happy birthday to me! We checked out of the Anglers Lodge today and headed west to Soldotna. In Soldotna we picked up some film and then went over to the fish packer’s place of business. As it turned out, we had over 150 pounds of fish to pack and bring with us. That’s four boxes… three at 50 pounds each [which will cost us on the plane as extra luggage] and a fourth at about 14 pounds. We’ll end up checking two total extra pieces. The difference in price between sending it Fed-Ex and checking extra luggage is about a $150 per piece. It’s a no-brainer!

We drove from Soldotna to Seward today. Seward is on the southern part of the Kenai Peninsula and a town of about 3,000. We rolled in as it started raining and started looking for a place. Marlene at Anglers told us it shouldn’t be too much trouble finding a place. We stopped first at the Edgewater near the aquarium in town, but there was no room at the inn. A very helpful Lisa called around and found something for us. Oddly enough, I realized as she was calling just how small the largest state is. Marlene at Anglers was Lisa’s principal at Soldotna High School, and she ran track with their son there. Go figure.

We checked into Murphy’s Hotel here in town. It’s a bit pricey but has a great view of the small boat harbor. There’s a Little League field across the street as well, and we got to see a game tonight. There were lots of runs scored… of the unearned variety. Before the ball game, we went over to a place called Ray’s for dinner. The view out the window was of the harbor, and seafood was the specialty on the menu. We had Pacific calamari as an appetizer and a salad that tasted a lot like Carrie’s with spinach, feta cheese, and craisins, and I ordered the seafood linguini. Dad had halibut, and we both left quite satisfied.

After dinner we took a quick tour of the harbor to work off a few calories. It must be quite the life to have one of these larger vessels. There was even a Coast Guard cutter moored in the harbor. I suppose if I had a little money and half a mind to, I could easily get into the business. We saw at least 10 ships for sale, ranging from house yachts to commercial boats. It must be an interesting life all right.

Tomorrow we’ll head over to the aquarium and then up towards Anchorage. We ought to have a bit better luck finding a place there, but we’re not counting on it. I’m just assuming that there are more hotel rooms, and therefore, more options.