While sailing to Juneau, we took a morning nap, since earlier we visited Tracy Arm Fjord at 6:00-10:00 am. We knew we had a hiking adventure ahead of us, so we ate breakfast in the dining hall rather than the buffet. It’s so nice to eat at a dressed table and have wait staff honoring your every request.
Once docked, we took a motor coach to Mendenhall Glacier Park. We missed a bear sighting by minutes, but we saw salmon swimming in a clear shallow creek. It’s really amazing to see creatures on a mission to spawn their eggs in a safe place from predators, since they won’t be there to protect them. God’s creation at it’s finest!
Our next adventure in Juneau was a whale watching boat ride with a knowledgeable captain and tour guide. This boat had three decks and 6 crew. It was comfortable and had a galley for snacks. Our first wildlife sighting was a huge colony of sea lions. They were resting along the shore and barking at each other.
Everyone enjoyed looking for the first humpback whale to appear. We learned that they present three spouts, then you see the tail and they dive deep to eat krill before coming back up for a few minutes for air. The tour guide knew, by the markings on the tail, which whale was which and their names. On this day, it was a family of three, father, mother and adolescent son. Apparently they travel in families. We were lucky to get shots of one or two at a time.
one hump
two humps
As the overcast morning began to clear up a bit temporarily, my husband, Greg – the family photographer, took this beautiful landscape photo. It’s important to have a good camera on a cruise to Alaska!! (no filters allowed)
We got back to the ship and had a reservation for our special anniversary dinner. We had a fancy Italian dinner and dessert at Sabatinis on the Princess Grand. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful day, next stop Skagway.
Skagway’s history is interesting, and I recommend reading about it before you get there.
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[Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska, on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2010 census, the population was 920. However, the population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with more than 900,000 visitors.] Wikipedia
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Most people take the scenic railway excursion, but after our whale watching day, we decided to shop the city on at our own pace and get some souveniers. The steam locomotives were really exciting to see as we took the short trek to the city from the port.
The snow removal locomotive on display bleow on right was an amazing site!
Looking back toward the ships docked in tandem at the port is an interesting sight, and it gives perspective on the size of the mountains because we know the ships are large.
We enjoyed our walk around this quaint historical town. We purchased some beautiful watercolors of the ports of call , drank Alaskan Spruce tip ale at the Scagway Brewing Co. We even met up with friends from the Disney ship in port with our ship for a quick hello.
I’m second from right next to Greg.
We headed back to the ship for dinner and saw an illusionist show before calling it a night. The next day was a Sea Day and I got a massage at the spa. We had our formal dinner with lobster and a special chocolate cake for our anniversary. We caught a show with Bobby Brooks and he was a great singer of the oldies. He went through the audience kissing women’s hands.
Next and last port of call before Seattle at Victoria B.C.
shawneepooh 