Life is not fair (well, at least not always) - suck it up!!

Our first day of Alaska trip started off with funny (or was it humiliating?) incident. In order to reach to Seward, we had to catch Alaska railroad train which leaves at 6:45AM in the morning. So, we got up early and went to reception area at around 5:50PM. Confused whether to take a cab or wait for hotel's 6AM shuttle, we thought of making an informed decision.

Me to receptionists - Hi, Good morning. We need to catch 6.45AM train to Seward, will it be okay if we take 6AM shuttle? Will it take us to train-station on time?
Receptionists - pppshhhhh- Good luck with that!!!

....and she continued to do her work. Me and Arnab went away from her and burst out laughing. You see, we were in vacation mood - I don't think any sort of humiliation would have brought us down. Anyway, we did take 6AM shuttle and reached on time. Unfortunately, it was raining. Being Seattlites, it is not a new thing for us but it was a bit disheartening.

Coastal classic is really classic - A very comfortable train ride from Anchorage to Seward. We got first glimpses of Alaskan wilderness here when train reached shores of Seward passing through Turnagain arm ( Captain Cook had to turn here while he was searching for passage to Pacific ocean here), strings of beautiful glaciers and Moose pass ( moose outnumbers human population here). It was great to see Dall sheep looking down from mountain cliff and Moose munching on his breakfast totally ignoring huge train making noise just 20 feet away from him and Bald eagle chic waiting eagerly for his mom to return with food. Occasional water falls made this ride even more beautiful.

So engrossed in enjoying beauty of Alaska, I had totally forgotten about the rain...well, almost! But it hit me right on when I got down from the train at Seward. There was no other option other than heading towards our hotel to do luggage drop-offs. Our bad experience with receptionists continued here too. Upon asking which street was right in front of the hotel, our dumb (sorry - I do not have any other word) receptionists told us that he does not know it. But he said he can mark it for us on the map. Huhhh???

No outdoor activity was possible in the rain, how about some hot meal? This thought cheered me up a bit but guess what? Downtown is 2miles away. To catch half-hourly shuttle bus to Downtown, we ran to the bus stop as bus was scheduled to come in 3mins. Very happy to reach on time and see bus coming towards us. Well, you would think we climbed the bus and reached Downtown in 5mins. But nope - it did not happen. The bus driver lady gave us big smile (really - all 32 out) and waved at us but did not stop!! What the ****? We had to walk for 20mins in rain to reach Downtown. First day of our trip was not at all going good. I could see all my excitement slipping away from me.

Following Frommer's Alaska 2010 suggestion, we went to Mediterranean restaurant for lunch - food was ummm, abysmal. I thought - well, here goes my last hope of something I can feel happy about. Our happiness meter was going down and down every passing minute. I got tired of thinking about how my expectations out of Alaska were going into drain and thought - Life is not fair (well, at least not always) - suck it up!!

Sky was still crying his heart out. Okay, what is wrong? Hopeless!! Only solace was to get inside Seward Aquarium. It is good one (nothing compared to Baltimore or any other big city one) but still. Spending 2 good hours in aquarium did cheered me and my hubby. You see - we are bit boring kind of people. We actually feel happy when we learn something new - both of us. So, knowledge about sea lion, sea otter and puffin did made us happy. Do you know that sea otter has millions of hair every square inch? That is how it can survive in cold water without any blubber. :)

When we came out of the aquarium, sky had stopped pouring down. And all the beauty hidden in the cloud came out. We soaked all the beauty - Resurrection bay surrounded by green lushy mountains by walking National historic Iditarod trail. At the end of the trail - we were smiling and we were at Kenai Fjords National park visitor center. It was 5PM but hey, it is Alaskan summer time - time of 20hours of sunshine. Ample time to go to Exit glacier and come back.

Exit Glacier , 12 miles away from Seward harbor is one of few glaciers accessible via road. A bit stiff "Edge of the glacier" trail took us right in front of edge of the glacier. Huge mass of blue glacial ice coming down from Hardings icefield above, vast meadows below and mountains standing tall surrounding the area - I was totally in awe. Dear hubby asked me to close my eyes and sit still for two minutes - hearing winds gushing, smelling wild fragrances and birds chirping in sweet melody - I was in eternal bliss.

Our first day ended with nice dinner at Ray's waterfront restaurant. Over-all, day was great. Was Universe teaching me that it does conspire to maintain balance in every little thing that it encompasses. Life is not fair many times but it is fair - well, most of the time. Isn't it?