Went to bed at 2 a.m. Woke up at 6:12 a.m. to one of my sources calling me. Conducted a phone interview wearing nothing but Carolina gym shorts, shivering. Fell back asleep despite the broadest of daylights.
Woke up for real at 12:30 p.m. Took a shower. Hot water lasted 30 seconds longer than usual. Conditioned my facial hair. Ate leftover salmon salad. Read about proverbs. Considered my future.
Readjusted the rubber jar gripper in the cushion of my destroyed hiking boot. Walked to Pullen Pond to watch salmon fight the current. Learned the difference between king and pink salmon. Admired the beauty of spawning season.
Hiked to Yakitania Point. Climbed all over the rocks like it was my own personal playground. Listened to the waves crash. Pretended a giant cruise ship wasn't spoiling the beauty of it all. Lay out on a rock when the sun came out from behind a cloud.
Walked farther to Smuggler's Cove. Touched my beard for a solid three minutes.
Ran into a pack of tourists walking back from the cove. Recommended they check out Yakitania Point. Fielded their questions concerning puffin activity in the area despite being theretofore unaware Skagway had puffins.
Ate peanuts and cherries for dinner. Wikipedia'd the Rosetta Stone. Walked out to the Broadway dock per the advice of book store employee Anne to check out some harbor seals. On the way there, looked up at Face Mountain and noticed the part that looks like a face was obscured by a wispy cloud, as if it were wearing a veil. Reminded me of the figurative masks we wear from time to time.
Reached the Broadway dock to find a family there, also seal-watching. Recognized the father as the source who woke me up this morning. Chatted him up in real life. Observed seals poking their heads above the water in search for fish and occasionally launching themselves airborne to the amusement of my source's two daughters.
Returned to the book store to tell Anne about the seals. Stopped talking mid-sentence when I remembered my source's last name was Seale. I had just gone Seale-watching. Mark watching Seales. Seales watching seals. The perfect Skagday.
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