Preparing to Board the Ship

We came into the town of Seward early enough today to have breakfast at Zudy’s, a restaurant that is housed in the old train station . Then we walked next door to spend an hour at the Seward Sea Life Center. This research facility takes care of injured animals found in the bays and inlets nearby. It’s also a center for research. Marine biologists and oceanographers from all of the world come here to study the unique maritime environment around Seward.

We still had lots of time on our hands so we walked to Iditarod mile zero where the original serum run began. Seward was the closest ice-free port to Nome, where diphtheria broke out among the children in 1925. Vaccination serum was brought here by ship and was taken to Nome by mushers on dog sleds. The modern Iditerod dog sled race was first run in 1973, yet it incorporates sections of the original serum run route. We wandered down the lovely path leading to the ship terminal where Chris met us in the hotel van with our luggage. Our in processing on the ship went smoothly and now we are all learning our way around.Read more