The only time you should wake up early on a vacation is when you are going home; but this time it would be for a memory that would last a lifetime. “Get up!” my Aunt said as she threw a pillow at my head. “We have to check in by 7:20.” I squinted, trying to get a glimpse of the clock. 6:45 it read. I climbed out of bed and put on jeans and an old U of M sweatshirt. I opened the cupboard and poured a bowl of cereal. I took that and a cup of coffee out on the porch where I watched the waves roll in, with the mountains towering over the bay. The otters rolled around in water playfully, relaxing in the suns morning rays. Another beautiful day in Alaska. A dog came trotting from around the bend confidently, and stopped at a house, scratching at the door. I thought of my dogs at home. I wonder if they could find their way around our neighborhood that easily. I drank the last of my coffee and went inside. I put the dishes in the sink and got my rain gear together. “It isn’t raining now but by the time we get out to the cove, it will be,” explained my uncle. I nodded my head in conformation and grabbed the sunflower seeds as I headed to the car. I didn’t look it at the moment, but I was excited.
We all hopped in the black Ford Escape we rented and started driving towards town. We pulled around the bend and started on the actual road. It curved around the mountains and trees, until you hit bay drive, the road leading into town. It ran along the bay next to the face of a mountain. On the other side was the bay. “I will never get tired of this drive,” I told myself as we rolled over one of the many waterfalls under the drive. As we came in fishing boats went out, and they gave us friendly waves when we passed. We pulled off the drive and passed fisherman casting off the south docks. We passed souvenir shops, local bars, and the gelato parlor we went to the night before. We pulled into the dock parking lot and were greeted by the guides.
“Hi, I’m Jamie and this is Lisa,” he said, gesturing to the woman behind him. “We’ll be your guides today, along with one more, who we’ll be meeting shortly. Follow me.” He led us into a small building, with a sign reading “Sunset Cove Kayaking”. He had us sign waivers, and we got into our boat with two other families: a French family with two daughters, and a Chinese couple on their honeymoon. We all got acquainted and set off for Sunset Cove. It was a long 5 hour boat road, but eventful. We saw whales breach the surface while feeding and plenty of sea lions and otters. But the thing that amazed me the most was the porpoises. They swam along with the boat in our bow wake; and kept up with us too! They jumped up in the air and made their weird noise at us. It was truly a sight to see. We got to the cove, and had to get the kayaks off the boat. The process of this was tricky. You have to unload the kayaks and a dingy, attaching the kayaks to the dingy. Then, you had to paddle to shore with the kayaks through the green water. This process lasted about thirty minutes, but eventually, it got done. We all hopped in the kayaks, and set off down the fjords. About 30 minutes in, chunks of ice about the size of my head were in the water. I learned that these chunks were off the melting glacier, and were millions of years old. The chunks started getting bigger and bigger as we went. So big that if you weren’t paying attention and ran into one, it moved you not vice versa. It started raining, and a sea lion about 10 feet away poked its head up from the surface. It swam around for a bit then went back down. When it poked its head back up, it was following us. Eventually however, it swam away. The chunks were the biggest they’ve been and through the fog we could see the glacier, Huge and magnificent. When huge pieces fell off it sounded like thunder, and when they hit the water the wakes reached us. So we decided to beach the kayaks and have something to eat. It was hot soup and was probably the most wonderful meal I’ve ever had, considering the cold. The little French girl was shivering, so Jamie awarded her soup first. “You look like a popsicle little miss!” we all chuckled as the girl shivered. I looked around and realized what a beautiful place I was in and how three families, all from different continents, could find something in common.

On the way back, there were twelve-foot waves and the ride felt like a rollercoaster. While it was fun for me, the French family and my sister were not so into it. The look of sheer terror on my sister’s face was great. When we docked at the harbor, we all got off and said our goodbyes. It was quite the trip to remember.