05/16/2026
Welcome to Day 2 (May 16, 2026)!
We have a beautiful day planned for everyone, I hope you all had a great sleep last night after our amazing Kenai Fjords Tour. I shared the videos of the Orca Whales with many last night. Wow. What a show they put on for us.
Today we’re going to take it mostly pretty easy. I did hear back from Alaska Helicopter Tours last night and, unfortunately, due to a death in the family they are not running any afternoon tours today. Their offices will be closed for a private celebration of life.
Remember to have your bags outside your hotel doors by 9:00 AM. Don’t forget to place your RED BAG TAGS on the top side of your luggage (this helps us check the numbers).
If you have any EXTRA bag tags, please just put those extras on your luggage. Do not throw them away. Missing bag tags are missing pieces of luggage in our eyes. If you have one, use it!
We’re going to depart from in front of the Seward Windsong Lodge lobby at 10:00 AM. Reminder: the difference between a tourist and hitchhiker in Alaska is about 5 minutes.
Anyone who needs a little bit of extra time will be asked to board first. Remember, if you are first on you are last off (just to give us an opportunity to keep the lines moving efficiently).
We have an approximate 2.5 hour drive to Anchorage this morning. As long as the weather cooperates we will stop at Bird Point for some photo opportunities of the beautiful Turnagain Arm. It is a little early in the season, but be on the lookout for Beluga Whales!
I expect that we are going to arrive at the Anchorage museum for our lunch break at approximately 1:00 PM.
At this time I am going to run into the museum and get everyone’s self-guided entrance to the museum. You’ll be able to explore at your leisure today.
The Muse Cafe inside the Museum has an excellent menu for lunch, along with a very good wine selection.
I’ll be giving everyone Anchorage City Maps which have highlighted some of my favorite places to shop and/or eat.
At 3:00 PM we’re going to depart from the Museum (if you want to) for an extended city tour (in addition to the orientation I will do when we arrive). If you want you can stay and explore the museum, or you can return later on your own.
Guests who want to stay at the Museum will have to meet us at the Marriott Downtown Anchorage on their own. It’s a choose your own adventure!
We will check into the hotel at approximately 4:30 PM. If you decide to meet us at the hotel on your own and you’re not there at 4:30 PM… no worries! I’ll leave your room keys with the front desk.
We have an early morning tomorrow, 6:00 AM bag pickup, 7:30 AM SHARP departure from the hotel (for the train).
DO NOT EAT BREAKFAST AT THE HOTEL. The train has an INCREDIBLE breakfast service, you don’t want to miss that. Be sure to have a solid breakfast on the train if you are flying on that day.
I have been asked a lot about sharing photos among the group, don’t worry I’ve got a plan for that ;-p
See everyone in a little bit for our bag pull and departure. Can’t wait for another beautiful day adventuring around Alaska!
