Our second day in Seward we headed to the sea life center. Some of the highlights included seeing puffins up close, watching a huge sea lion swim by, and seeing a bunch of tiny baby octopi. It was a fantastic place to go with our kids.
That afternoon we headed to exit glacier which is part of the Kenai fjords national park. After a short stop in the visitors center M found a stuffed animal bald eagle that we agreed he could have if he hiked all the way up and back. We started out on a paved path with J in the Kelty carrier on my back and M running ahead. Less than a minute up the path, Erik heard some rustling in the bushes ahead of us and took M's hand which was good timing because a little black bear popped out and walked across the path about 30 ft in front of us. We assumed it was a cub based on its small size and were concerned that a mama bear would be arriving next. We backed up and slowly made our way to tell a ranger at the visitors center. M started crying when we headed back as his dreams of earning the coveted eagle were apparently crushed. We reassured him that we would figure out a way for him to earn it. No one seemed too worried about the bear which was kind of a big change from Denali.The ranger said the bear was young but not a cub and had been hanging around the area. After some reassurances we started up the trail again. M was determined to hike to the top and back so he could earn the bald eagle. There was a nice breeze and it was the perfect temperature for our hike. The glacier was cool to see up close, though it wasn't as majestic as the calving glaciers we had seen the day before on our cruise. The highlight of this part of the trip for me was seeing a bear so close and I think for M it was earning his eagle!
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