Juneau

We arrived in Juneau, Alaska’s capital this morning. Here’s a view of the downtown from the 14th deck after our workout and buffet breakfast:



We disembarked early and took this fun photo of my aunt in front of a souvenir shop and then in front of our ship:





My cousin and I walked along the boardwalk and saw this memorial for the USS Juneau - a cruiser that was torpedoed during World War II and claimed the lives of all 5 brothers of the Sullivan family from Iowa. They are also the inspiration behind the movie, “Saving Private Ryan”:



We then boarded a bus driven by “Juneau Jim” who is actually from Georgia who regaled us with trivia about the area and plenty of “dad jokes”. He consistently made references to music lyrics while pointing out government buildings, eagles, and various houses. He was serious though when he pointed out the house that fell into the river recently due to glacial flooding that made national news - just another example of climate change and the damage it brings.

Upon arrival at Auke Bay which took about 30 minutes, we boarded a boat with the cleanest windows and headed out in search of humpback and orca whales. Here’s my aunt and mom in front of the boat and views of the beautiful Alaskan scenery:









We passed this buoy that had at least 5 sea lions resting which have to be shooed away every time the Coast Guard comes to service it:



Here we are on the top deck in search of whales and blowholes:

We had seen one whale early on, but on our return to harbor, we saw at least 7 whales all at once! The naturalist on board explained they usually see an average of 5 whales on a trip, so we saw quite a bit with about 9 the entire voyage. It was also difficult to take photos or videos as they were spread apart and very active. Here are several blowing out of their blowholes in sync:





It was also special since they do not often breach or jump out of the water in this climate and we saw one particular whale practicing its breaching repeatedly:



My cousin took many videos and you can hear the Korean chatting in the background. We also enjoyed snacks and fresh salmon dip on Ritz crackers made by the crew…A selfie of my cousin and me in front of the boat:



On our bus ride to and from the harbor, my brother and I were the only ones not napping from our crew - I guess listening to the cheesy jokes was tiring for those who’s first language isn’t English!

After a short ride, we arrived at the famous Mendenhall Glacier, formed during the Little Ice Age, which began about 3,000 years ago. Due to the unique climate of the area, the glacier has been able to survive much longer than others in North America. Several photos below of our visit and from various viewing points:























At the Visitor Center, we learned about glaciers - like why is it blue and why does it look dirty? Here we are learning from the videos:



Near the bus stop was a salmon viewing area and it was fun to see them in the shallow waters of the creek - look how red they are!:





We drove back through downtown Juneau and returned to the docks where there were 5 cruise ships - apparently 6 is the maximum capacity. We were very hungry as we didn’t have proper lunch, so we headed to the buffet on the 14th deck. Here’s a picture of some champagne and my plate:



We also treated ourselves to frozen yogurt and some flat white coffees, sitting at our table for awhile. Eventually, my cousin, aunt, and I wandered to get more steps in and stopped into the Charme Duo’s Abba show - I think we have heard “Dancing Queen” at least once each day! But what a fun day enjoying nature in multiple ways and at its finest in Alaska’s capital!