We presented ourselves to the Kenai Fjords Tours office for our 12-hour boat cruise to Northwestern Lagoon (two fjords over from Seward’s Resurrection Bay) for wildlife-ogling and glacier-viewing. Dark clouds loomed overhead. Rain spit from the skies; the forecast promised significantly more. Inanely, the tour operators said: “The weather isn’t good.”

Apparently we had three options. We could: (1) cancel the boat tour for a full refund, (2) put the tour off until a nicer day, or (3) go for it, understanding that the captain might elect to turn back early, in which case we would receive a partial refund.

Well duh! That’s easy! Door #3, please!

It rained hard all night, and was still raining as darkness brightened to gray. We propped ourselves up in bed with comfy pillows and, through the huge windows, watched a sea otter swim slowly by. It dove and rolled in the bay, feeding and grooming as rain poured from the sky.

Watching sea otters while lying in bed. I’m never, ever leaving.

Because it was forecast to rain all day, we decided on an indoor activity, and duly presented ourselves to the Alaska SeaLife Center. It is an enchanting aquarium full of informational exhibits and videos, glass tanks with all kinds of fish, crabs, and jellies, plus several large animal enclosures. Each exhibit so enthralled me that I could barely tear myself away – but then the next exhibit would enthrall me, too.

First stop was the aviary. I knew it’d be a cool place when I read the sign at the door: Please do not touch the birds.

Are you kidding me? Don’t touch the birds? They need a sign stating that? Is there even a possibility of touching them? Surely they couldn’t be that close, that accessible.

Yes they could, and yes they were.

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We were flying to Anchorage, the starting point for our two-week vacation in Alaska. And because “vacation” is the operative word, the forecast was, of course, for rain.

Heavy rain. Like, the entire first week. Possibly longer.

Looks like another classic Beebee vacation!

And since it’s Alaska, let’s expect some snow during our summer vacation, shall we? Why not!

From the plane, the panhandle of Alaska gave us stunning views of mountains, shimmering lakes, and snow. But as we neared our destination, clouds gathered and blotted out the majestic peaks and green valleys. We descended, diving down into the white-out, until suddenly the wheels were skidding across the runway.

Alaska! We couldn’t wait to get right into the middle of it.

In the rush to start our adventure, Martin left his jacket on the plane. You just can’t venture into Alaska, even in the summer, without plenty of warm layers. So he ducked back up the hallway from baggage claim, ignoring the conspicuous “Exit Only!” and “Do Not Enter!” signs, intending to slip onto the plane and grab his jacket. He made it about two steps before being stopped by a veritable wall of stern-looking, beefy security guards. For a bunch of big guys, they sure materialized silently, from seemingly nowhere.

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