Looking at the vistas is certainly one of the pleasures of visiting southern Alaska. Becoming part of them is another, usually left for the more adventurous. Reluctant to leave Alaska without engaging in a sport more dangerous than over-eating, we had reserved a half-day to sea kayak on Resurrection Bay.

Sunny Cove and a few other guide companies rent kayaks to tourists for half-day, all-day and multi-day trips. Given the duration of our trip, we could only afford a half-day excursion which would take us to various points around the bay with a guide. We were quick to squander the cash necessary for the experience of adventure.

The sea was calm as we slid our boats into the water. A few fishing boats were already trolling for their catch and a very faint breeze rocked their vessels. Our guide, Michael, gave us superficial instruction on piloting the kayaks and sent us on our way. Before we knew it, we had paddled far into the bay and could barely make out Michael calling out to us to wait for him.

The guide was a trove of sealife knowledge. He pointed out seals, bald eagles, puffins and various fish moments before they would duck out of sight. One particular seal seemed intrigued by our mad paddling and popped his head up several times around the kayak to take a gander. During a break on shore, Michael grabbed a floppy stock of seaweed, "See, you just split this open and the ooze inside acts like aloe moisterizer on your skin." He rubbed it on his hand. Hm, yeah right, and it smells like heaven too.

If you ever do go kayaking, don't wear cotton. You will get wet and cotton, especially jeans, will dry as fast as a cup of water in a bathtub.

I will say this: kayaking is definitely an upper-body workout. Michael instructed us to use our abs to paddle and not our arms, which, as you might imagine, was very difficult given the fact that our arms were holding the paddles. Even though the three hour excursion just glided by, my shoulders and upper arms were dull and achy the next morning. I wonder how some of the older tourists manage the full-day kayak trips.

We tipped Michael handsomely and returned to camp to tear down our gear. It was our last full day in Alaska, and we didn't want to spend it in Seward. With the Buick packed and ready to go, Drew steered us north -- behind an RV, of course -- back to Anchorage.