Alaska, Day 5: Unbelievable Breakfast, Seward, and Rockfish

Well, the baby pictures that watched us from the walls all night never entered our dreams, and we slept well.  The owner had a piping hot breakfast ready for us at 7:30 am.  Belgian waffles, fresh blueberry syrup, rhubarb sauce, fresh fruit, yogurt with amaretto, bacon, and orange juice.  Oh boy, did I eat a lot.  It was absolutely delectable.  After breakfast we headed down to Seward.  It was a cloudy morning, but the drive was still beautiful.  Can you imagine what this would like with sunshine and blue skies?

Probably, my favorite sign of the trip.  There were some really good ones, but this one wins.

On the way down we had time to take a short hike.  We hiked down to a creek called Devil’s Creek.  It was a beautiful little creek and we were able to see a sockeye salmon after he had spawned.  He was bright red.

After the hike we headed down to the Seward marina to find the boat that would take us to our next destination, Orca Island.  Orca Island is a little private island that has been developed with several yurts.  

See the boat in the background.  This picture could not be resisted.  That glacial water really brings out the red!

The boat that took us to our beloved island.

The yurts were your standard yurts (though brand new) but the owners have framed in a bathroom complete with a shower, hot water, and a cool composting toilet (doesn't stink), and there was a kitchen with sink, stove, and oven, all the kitchen necessities, as well as nice furnishings: a queen bed, a super thick and comfortable futon (really!), and importantly, a heater.  With our stay we had full access to an array of sea kayaks, a row boat, fishing gear, fire pits, and a couple of large decks at the front of the island that overlook Resurrection Bay.  The adjective that best described this place was...charming.  

Panorama of our little yurt.  Cozy and charming!

The view from our front door.  Nice huh?

Once we got settled a little bit, we headed down to the kayaks.  We hopped in 2 doubles and paddled into the deepest part of Humpy Cove.  At the end of the cove was a small stream with a nice waterfall.  We took pictures and hiked up the the side of the waterfall for a bit to explore the area.  Very nice.  On the way back we saw a couple of harbor porpoises, and a light rain began.  Still charming.

It was around 7:00 or so when we got back, so...Brady and I figured we needed to go out and get some food for our wives.  I was down on the dock gathering the fishing gear and such when I hear, “Aaaahh!  I’m going to do it!  Here I come!  Oooo, it’s coooold!  Ok!  Ok!  Ok!  Oooo, it’s cold!!”  Karen was running down the deck and across the bridge in her swimsuit ready to take a plunge.  Before we could get our cameras completely ready, she was jumping off the dock.  Brady pointed and shot.  Julie got half the jump on video.  Many glaciers feed into Resurrection Bay and the water typically sits between 50 and 55 degrees.  Needless to say we heard multiple gasping screams coming out of Karen’s mouth as her head surfaced.  Karen is hoping that picture doesn't end up on facebook, since I had another guest's camera in my hand when she made the jump and I took a couple shots....but forgot to give them my email address.  

After Brady put his camera away, we headed out on the row boat to a rocky outcropping that would hopefully produce many a rock fish for our dinner.  I had done a little bit of reading on how to target rock fish since you never know how the salmon run would be.  I had purchased the specific lures before we left Longview, and Brady and I were off to give them a whirl.  Brady and I didn’t even know it was raining because we were pulling in rock fish after rock fish.  After a little over an hour of fishing we had caught 12 rock fish, and kept 8.  And to top that off, one of the other guests who had been out on the bay salmon fishing that day gave us a fresh pink salmon fillet.  As the girls conversed over how cute their “Grumpy Old Men” were out in the boat, fishing in the rain, they chopped up some vegetables for grilling, and we filleted the fish.  A little teriyaki marinating, and some grilling later we had a scrumptious feast of grilled vegetables, rice, and fresh grilled rock fish and salmon.  It actually did get dark here in Seward, but still late enough that we were thrown off and ended up cooking dinner and setting the table, etc by headlamp (aided by a "charming" little kerosene lamp).  We sat down to a candlelight dinner at 10:47 pm!

While this may have looked like a scene from Grumpy Old Men (rain, row boat, two aging, less attractive men fishing) we were certainly not grumpy.  Fished for about an hour and a half.  Had a rock fish on nearly every cast, landed 12, kept 8.  Ugly, though they may be, they are a tasty, white meat fish.

Daily totals: 1.5 miles hiked, 3 miles kayaked, 1 bald eagle, tons of jellyfish, 2 harbor porpoises, and 12 rock fish on the ends our rods.