Juneau, Day 9

We had incentive to get up and moving today - 

QE was docked at the pier until 10:30 am, but after that passengers had to wait until noon to disembark 

plus take the ship’s tender (very tiny boat) rather than just walking off. 

We beat the deadline by 15 minutes! (I am not a morning person . . .)

Our goal was to see some sights and do some shopping.

First stop was the capitol building (not very decorative but very nice statues out front)

and the associated museum across the street, which had a good 27-ish minute film about historical Juneau and great examples of Chilkat weaving (and they allowed photos!)

I love Russian Orthodox Church architecture, so when we spotted a sign for one on our way to the capitol, we had to double back afterward and find it.

According to the museum presentation, the Native People built this in the 1800s for Serbian miners who missed having their own church. 

By lucky chance, two blocks away was Deckhand Dave’s and Alaskan Crepe Escape, the top two lunch spots in Juneau according to TripAdvisor. It turned out to be an open air dining area surrounded by various food shacks (Dave’s was a food truck). Some of the best fish and chips I’ve ever had and the crepes - both sweet and savory - were huge and delicious. 

Shopping was successful - hope the kids like what we chose -

then back to the ship via tender (not a bad ride except for being super crowded.)

Five cruise ships in port today. No wonder the shops were so crowded.

We should head out to sea about 8 tonight and be in Icy Straits tomorrow morning

View of the hills from our balcony.

for another whale watching excursion. Four more days and we head for home. 

Rains in Haines, Day 8

Our scheduled shore excursion wasn’t until 3 pm today, 

so we thought we’d take a walk into Haines 

and maybe have some lunch . . . do a little shopping . . .

It was cloudy and gray when we started out, but the clouds parted momentarily so we had an amazing view of the mountains above Haines. 

We made it up the 1/4 mile of dock and across the street to the first shop when the rain started in earnest. Since there’s no restaurant around here, we headed back to the ship . . . to get caught in the loooooong line of fellow passengers waiting while QE’s crew manually moved and reset the gangplank (ok, the gangway) to allow for changes in the tide. This was at noon, and was at least the third reset of the day.

By the time they got it fixed - they are not fast - the line of soaked, very annoyed passengers stretched almost the entire length of the dock. 

We debated canceling our shore excursion, but the sun was out and the clouds had receded, so we decided to chance it. 

The Tlingit cultural center was well worth the trip. 

We had two excellent Native guides just for our group of 17. No pictures were allowed inside, which was a shame. 

They have an amazing selection of Chilkat and RavensTail weaving, done mainly by one local multi-generational family.  

The river junction is also one of the few places in the world where all 5 species of salmon live and spawn.

One of the things I especially love about Alaska is that, although the growing season is short, there are flowers deliberately grown everywhere, including along the deckway to the cruise ships.

So beautiful. 

Hubbard Glacier, Day 7

(We had very limited internet on Day 6, so the Glacier Bay post will be along shortly …) Today was cold and gloomy when we started in toward Hubbard Glacier.

We again had great seats on the back deck - 

complete with wool blankets in Cunard’s colors supplied by QE’s crew - 

and none of the crowds that were standing 3 and 4 deep on the front decks. 

Fun fact: according to today’s Naturalist, light reflecting off the glacier’s surface warms the air, dispersing the fog and clouds, creating its own microclimate. 

So by the time we reached the glacier, 

the sun was out and the ice just sparkled. 

So much blue! 

This is the largest saltwater glacier in the world at 7 miles long and 265-ish feet high. 

The only way to see it is by air or sea - there are no roads in the area. 

View from the bow.

Hubbard is also one of the very few (7-ish?) glaciers that is still advancing. All the ones we saw in Glacier Bay are receding, as is Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau (at a rate of 40 feet a year!)

Tomorrow we visit Haines, with Juneau scheduled for the next day. Crossing our fingers the great weather continues.

Sitka, Day 5

 Sitka was blues and greens and peaceful,

with lots of open water and forests all around us.

As promised, hubby went from a big boat

to a tiny one (in comparison)

for an afternoon of volcanoes,

sea otters,

humpback whales

bald eagles

and eaglets. (That nest is so big it’s bending the tree!)

The tour group was barely back on board

before we cast off and got under way.

See ya next time, Sitka. Tomorrow we’re in Glacier Bay!

At Sea, Day 4

Today was our first at-sea day as we traveled slowly up the coast of Canada toward tomorrow’s port call in Sitka - where we’ll leave our big ship to get on a small ship and go whale and wildlife watching. 

Bailey’s and hot chocolate in the lounge after dinner

Tonight was the first of two formal dinners and afterward 

we took advantage of the beautiful settings and professional photographers to get pictures of us all together in our fancy duds. 

Those shots won’t be ready until tomorrow so we did a few iPhone pics too.

We clean up pretty good!