Our first step off the boat after stepping on was in Juneau, the capital of Alaska. Was it a huge fancy capital city? No. We did see the simple capital building. Looked like a regular building, no glitz or glam to it. The Son-in-Law rented us a car for the few hours from a resident. It was an electric blue looking Jeep! That was so fun. The Son-in -Law and The Girl walked from the ship dock to downtown Juneau to pick it up then drove back and picked us up. We older people just can't walk that much plus it was a misty rain. So we just allowed ourselves to be pampered.
From there we drove directly to Mendenhall Glacier, a famous glacier outside of Juneau. It was beautiful. After seeing it, we chose to walk the "non-stressful" trail down to the base of the glacier and the waterfall. It was a wet and muddy walk but The Husband let me hold his arm with one hand and my cane with the other. By the time we got to the waterfall, the rain began in earnest but it was still quite a sight to see.
The next day's port was Icy Strait. Our stop here was all day. We began with a scheduled whale watching tour. It was wonderful, the boat driven by an Alaskan native who had a world of knowledge. Whales, sea otters, and other marine wildlife were seen. It was one of the trip's highlights. After that we went "downtown" (uh huh) to find food and ate at a restaurant called The Fisherman's Daughter. There were very few seats but eventually we got a table. After that meal, we took a 3 hour tour with a guide in his truck on a bear hunt. We saw signs and signs and signs but no live bears. Here again, we got a wealth of information and a tour way out in nowhere Alaska. For me, it bordered on creepy if I thought about it too much.
The following day, whatever day that was, we stopped in Sitka. There we saw the bear rescue place, a bit of the town, and shopping. This was possibly the place we got the huge funnel cake type dessert. I can't recall the name but it was crowded and delicious! The Husband, Grandbaby and I went back to the boat to have lunch on the ship while The Son-In-Law and The Girl had lunch in Sitka. Again, in the rain.
Skagway was the city where we rode the Alaska Railroad to Whitehorse, Canada and back. Again, it was very cloudy so we couldn't see very much but it was trip we had never done before and for the older folks, it was a sit down event. Then we shopped a bit and ate a bit.
That was the last off the ship port. The final day was on ship with a 2 hour stop at Hubbard Glacier. It, too, was a beautiful sight to see.
Mendenhall Glacier is 13.6 miles long, 12 miles from downtown Juneau.
Mendenhall Glacier waterfall at end of the "easy" hike. Note the people standing on the sand at the bottom of it. Notice how tiny they are.
After the glacier tour, we drove back to Juneau for shopping and dinner at Deckhand Dave's food truck. Yummy.
Whales. Some came up to our small boat.
Sitka....
Bear "burger". Bears had to be quick to beat the crows.
Skagway....
On the train...
If you ever doubted I'm a good sport, doubt no more....
...a repetitive good sport.
Downtown Skagway....
I think I will close out this portion. Next time, I will finish up the ship activity with The Hubbard Glacier, landscapes from the cruise ship, and family posing onboard.
