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| Jed and Jim Luczycki watch for whales in Blackstone Bay, off Prince William Sound |
I spent the day on Sunday being a tourist in my own state. My husband, son and I drove to Whittier, about 60 miles from Anchorage on the coast of Prince William Sound, to take a 5 ½ hour glacier cruise.
We’ve lived here for nearly 10 years and it was the first time we’d done something so typically touristy. We usually pride ourselves on enjoying Alaska the Alaskan way: hanging out at our rustic cabin in the woods (no running water, no electricity), going for a hike or a walk in the Chugach State Park, dipnetting, avoiding crowds, traffic and tourists at all costs.
But I needed to take the cruise so I could write about the experience for an upcoming issue so, this time, we decided to actively seek out tourists and spend the day with them.
And you know what? We had a great time!
The food was amazing, the wildlife was accommodating —including a humpback whale that did some impressive breeching very close to the boat—the glaciers were more active than I have ever seen them before, and it was a lot of fun to watch visitors marvel in awe at the sights and scenery I am so used to.
So even though crowds of slow-moving, parka-clad people on the downtown sidewalks in July will probably still irritate me, I think I’ll try to spend a little more time doing touristy things this year. After all, why should they have all the fun?