Visited the Alaska SeaLife Center which is a research institution & aquarium. They have a beautiful facility thanks to Exxon Valdez oil spill (1989) settlement money. They had large underwater viewing tanks for the seabirds (my favorite are the puffins), harbor seals, & sea lions. It was such a relaxing atmosphere that I struggled staying awake.
I met an Australian named Ben at the hostel. Ben just last Sunday completed the climb to the top of Mt McKinley, he was one of those 391 on the mountain when I was there! It was his second attempt, took 3.5 weeks due to bad weather, ran out of food so traded items & jobs for food. It actually only took 20.5 hours to climb up & 14 hours to come down; but due to the altitude, you can only climb so far & then allow your body to adjust for a few days before going higher. Was an interesting guy with interesting stories of his accomplishments!
