Our Juneau day was simply amazing; we went on two excellent excursions, one a catamaran tour of the Tracy Arm glacier, accessible only by smaller boats, and the second, a photography land and sea tour of the Mendenhall Glacier outside Juneau, with a trip on the sea channel as well. We saw icebergs, a rare gray whale, humpback whales, eagle nests and eagles flying, and a very funny porcupine scurrying across a parking lot.
We also saw the Juneau state capitol from a distance and heard a few funny Sarah Palin stories from a fairly irreverent tour guide. For a day that started with boarding the catamaran at 7:30 am, and ended just now with a room service dinner, it was wonderfully exhilarating and oh so tiring. We are now watching CNN in our suite, and drinking some wine.
David, who has the much better camera, is going to download some of his wonderful whale breeching pictures to my computer and sometime later, when we are home I will post them for you to see. Our afternoon guide, a college student from California who attends a photography school, was very helpful in showing us, particularly me with my digital point and shoot skills, how to set the camera for different types of photos. In essence, perhaps if I had bothered to read the manual . . . as an aside, we have been really impressed with our tour guides, a mixture of native Alaskans and students from the lower 48, working the tourist summer trade. I know that I have joked that we were coming to “see” Alaska, not “do” Alaska (referring to those tours that involve seaplanes, helicopters or other scary, to me, things), but in all honesty, I never expected to learn as much about life in Alaska as I have from these incredibly personable guides.
Mendenhall Glacier outside Juneau
David taking whale pictures:
We had some fairly nice weather in Juneau today, a little rain out on the morning glacier tour, but Juneau was rather balmy for this trip. Today is the summer solstice, it is quite light still at 10 pm, and we are also a hour farther west from PDT. We set sail at 11 tonight, for our next port of call, Skagway, another historic Alaska city. Our cruise line newsletter for tomorrow says that Skagway was established as a result of gold strike in the Klondike region of Canada’s Yukon Territory. We are rising early for a Sunday champagne and caviar breakfast, then a streetcar tour of historic Skagway, and David’s Father’s Day treat, a steam train ride up into the White Pass.
Comments (16)
Hi Marcia, it sounds like you're having a fabulous time. Beautiful photos! The icebergs are huge and amazing. Must be fun to photograph such beautiful scenery.
Thanks for taking the time to post and share some of your great experiences so far. Keep on having fun.
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | June 22, 2009 6:46 AM
Posted on June 22, 2009 06:46
It sounds like a wonderful cruise. I love the icy blue on your first glacier picture.
Posted by Marta | June 22, 2009 10:43 AM
Posted on June 22, 2009 10:43
It is so great to hear from you, Marcia. Sounds like a wonderful day, even if a bit tiring. Can't wait to see photos of the whales.
Posted by candi | June 22, 2009 11:49 AM
Posted on June 22, 2009 11:49
Marcia & David,
So glad you are enjoying your first cruise.
There's nothing like sitting on that balcony watching the world go by.
Our favourite cruises have been in the South Pacific and Europe-Med. & Baltics.
Maybe you'll try one of those some day.
All cruise ships/companies are not created equal, but it looks like you've chose a good one.
chiaro
Posted by chiaro di luna | June 22, 2009 7:25 PM
Posted on June 22, 2009 19:25
Marcia and David, I am thrilled you are having a good cruise, that you enjoyed your day in Juneau, and are enjoying your suite. Sweet. Continue to enjoy the adventure. W.
Posted by Wendy | June 22, 2009 8:20 PM
Posted on June 22, 2009 20:20
Oh Marcia, I'm so hoping you're having such a great cruise. I'm glad Juneau blessed you with a little weather that wasn't rainy. Isn't Mendenhall glacier beautiful? Can't wait to read about the rest of your cruise.
Posted by Cindy Ruth | June 22, 2009 9:09 PM
Posted on June 22, 2009 21:09
I'm so glad you two are having a wonderful trip! Blue icebergs? Beautiful...
Posted by Kathy | June 22, 2009 10:48 PM
Posted on June 22, 2009 22:48
You sound like you are really enjoying this experience--good for you!
Keep posting--we are loving it.
Posted by jgk | June 23, 2009 5:40 AM
Posted on June 23, 2009 05:40
Wow, love these photos! Glad to hear you're having a great time.
Posted by Annie | June 23, 2009 5:43 AM
Posted on June 23, 2009 05:43
Hi Marcia, I'm taking really good notes on everything you do. Love the photos. What a memorable Father's Day for Dave and YOU! Thank you for posting.
Posted by Barb Cabot | June 23, 2009 8:33 AM
Posted on June 23, 2009 08:33
Pretty nice post. I just came by your blog and wanted to say
that I've really enjoyed reading your posts. Any way
I'll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you write again soon!
Posted by April | June 23, 2009 4:22 PM
Posted on June 23, 2009 16:22
It sounds like you've been having an amazing time! I guess David did a good job pulling this all together. *smile*
Posted by Jerry | June 23, 2009 6:00 PM
Posted on June 23, 2009 18:00
Gorgeous. My glacier photos were WAY before digital camera days. Enjoy!
Posted by Palma | June 23, 2009 7:03 PM
Posted on June 23, 2009 19:03
So, my question is, have you stayed up to enjoy any midnight sun, or has it been too cloudy to notice? When in the Air Force, I was a crewmember to Anchorage a number of times, and recall once around this time that we entered the bar at a "twilight" 11pm, only to emerge at a "sunrise" 2:20am. Do you have blackout curtains in your cabin?
Posted by Brad'll Do It | June 24, 2009 11:18 AM
Posted on June 24, 2009 11:18
Your trip sounds fabulous! I want to see Alaska someday - from a cruise ship balcony would be perfect.
Posted by nancyhol | June 25, 2009 3:09 PM
Posted on June 25, 2009 15:09
It sounds like an amazing day! I love the glacier photo.
Posted by girasoli | August 8, 2009 8:48 PM
Posted on August 8, 2009 20:48