Offseason tourist towns can suck it

Friday started off so well... Glenn dropped me off at the bus, and I watched the scenery go by for two and a half hours until we reached Seward. At which point it's always a good idea to secure lodging right away, especially when you're weighed down by a hiker's backpack.

One of the reasons I chose Seward was because it had three hostels, and I figured that at least one must be open for the summer already. I figured wrong. I trekked around Seward for five hours trying to find affordable lodging, with no success. The lowest rate I found was 49 a night. I do not have that kind of money. And as far as I knew, there was no bus going back to Anchorage until Monday (found out later there was a saturday morning bus, but I still needed to find a place to sleep.) My ass was saved by a woman named Michelle, who I met in a coffee shop, who invited back to stay at her house. She turned me loose on the kitchen, gave me a place to sleep, let me shower- even spent at least half an hour working on my grandmother's pendant when the clasp broke! Yesterday, she and I slept in, I spent some time writing, and then she drove me back to Anchorage. She saved my butt- here's a shout out to Michelle! Thank you so much, again!

So now I'm back at Glenn's place, trying desperately to find some place I can go where I can afford both transportation and lodging! I'm so frustrated I could turn my teeth inside out! What I wouldn't give for money and a car!