Spontaneous Seward

The kids and I, sans Dad, joined a friend and her children for a day in Seward.  I thought of calling it off because it looked as though we might finally have sun that lasted past 7 o’clock in the morning in the Anchorage bowl whilst the weather in Seward was forecasting as most likely rainy and at least definitely cloudy (surprise).  It is soooooo hard to say no to sun in Alaska usually, but this ‘spring’ has been especially difficult.

But I rallied the troops, or rather, they rallied me, and we packed up the car, loaded the dog and headed out–only an hour past schedule (my fault!).

Have you noticed how difficult it can be to be spontaneous as an adult?  Maybe it’s just me, but initiating an adventure that takes a lot of effort is hard, and doing that impulsively, well, that can be downright discouraging.  That’s when it is really easy to give into all the logical, responsible lines that run through my head.  It’s too far for just a day.  We’ll spend more time in the car than on the beach.  I’m as sure as the weather person it’s going to rain.  It’ll be so exhausting to drive home alone.  The kids are going to fight the whole drive.

And I wonder why they whine.  What’s that laws of nature cliche—something about an apple and a tree…

It’s a 2–3 hour drive from Eagle River, and we logged the full 3 hours, stopping to run and use the outhouses halfway through on Turnagain Pass.  Arriving in Seward we headed straight to Lowell Point.  If you have been to Seward and hung out on the beach right in town, it is wonderfully okay.  But Lowell Point is spectacular.  It is generally an uncrowded beach, with tide pools, and huge trees trailing almost right to the water.

We picnicked in a mossy paradise, explored the steep hill above us; admiring the giants holding it up.  The kids set up bases and the olders promptly began a game of attacking the youngers (instigated by my son, sigh) which went over really, really well, as you can imagine.

We set up a hammock to play in, oh, excuse me, a rocket ship.

And of course, spent three hours on the beach.

Tide pooling, watching an otter snack, digging, flying kites, and playing frisbee.  The joy of going with other kids is that my friend and I were really just able to sit in the SUN (!).  Yep, the sun came out in Seward.  It was g-l-o-r-i-o-u-s.

Traveling with gluten sensitive friends plopped us at Ray’s, build-your-own-pizza, gluten free crusts available.  My family decided to try the gluten free crust as well and were impressed as although it was very thin, it tasted just like a good pizza crust!

We finished off the evening with a visit to Seward’s own trex park so the baby could be fed and the dogs walked one last time.  Then we hauled it, two hours home, in which everyone but the little man fell asleep (in my car).

And you know what?  I know I have regretted impulsive adventures before, like when I forgot the paddles on a quick kayak trip, or left at noon without lunches, but that is a pretty rare feeling.  I’m thankful for adventurous friends with impulsive ideas who invite us along.  And I’m glad for my kids, endowed with explorative, enthusiastic natures by which they learn how to be good human beings, for propelling me.  Splendid spontaneity!