Whittier, Alaska

We enjoyed our week long stay in Seward, wonderful laid-back summer holiday town, but Thursday morning was time to move on. We packed up the RV and headed north on Seward Highway. We pulled into a reststop overlooking the beautiful waters of Turnagain Arm, disconnected the jeep and headed out to explore the harbor town of Whittier. Whittier is a quaint town on the shores of Prince William Sound, we drove there from the Portage Glacier road through the single-lane 2½ mile long tunnel shared (not at the same time, they take turns) by both vehicles and the Alaska Railroad. Yes, it is a 2.5 mile tunnel, I believe it is the longest in the USA. 

We had dinner at Varly's Swiftwater Seafood, great place! I had the fish and chips and John enjoyed a cheese burger with fries; ate on the back patio, it has a nice harbor view. We met a fun couple, Patti and Brian, they were also enjoying the fish and chips. We traded a few travel stories and they told us that the beluga whales gave a good showing yesterday in the Turnagain Arm.  So when we returned to the RV we started looking for balugas and about a half dozen young, small, blue-grey belugas swam close to our shore. Belugas turn all white when they are about 4 or 5 years old. Today, before we got back on the road we saw a group of adult belugas playing and swimming just offshore, an amazing sight! John said a few of them looked like large marshmallows bobbing in the water. 

Later, we checked into the campgrounds at Fort Richardson, then ran to Anchorage to pick up some RV supplies and have dinner at Texas Roadhouse.