I See Land

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Land, I see land!  We're passing through the Gastineau Channel on our way to Juneau, our first port.  I can't wait to plant my feet upon solid ground.

Coming into Juneau.  We're lucky because it's not raining, in fact, we only encountered light drizzle in Victoria (but I'm getting ahead of myself).  Juneau became the capital in 1959 upon statehood. It is the only state capitol with no road access.  It is approximately 3,081 square miles.

The library is the first building one encounters when getting off the ship! I have little time to explore downtown before my excursion to Mendenhall Glacier, the Alaska State Museum and a rain forest garden.    I went into a fur store.  Omg, the touch of mink is exquisite.That's probably not P.C. to say.  Our guide Kyle who hails from Idaho when not doing a stint in Juneau was so funny and knowledgeable. We had an hour in the museum.  It was an amazing learning experience.  Hey, it's not all about being on the Love Boat.... The rainforest garden was sort of a bust but the couple who manage it gave us a good lecture on Alaska. 

Next stop on the bus is Mendenhall Glacier.  Kyle, our guide, shared funny stories about the grand opening of McDonald's, the closing of Walmart, the husband who didn't speak up that his wife didn't get back on the bus....  The Internet has made a big difference; Amazon delivers in 2-3 days.  My companion on the bus told me his sister got married the night before in the chapel on our ship.  Omg, small world, I happened to have walked by the chapel and saw the ceremony!  I'm wearing my university windbreaker.  Turns out quite a number of people on the bus are graduates and one is a professor.  Small world, eh.

Here we are at Mendenhall Glacier.  It stretches from the Juneau Icefield to Mendenhall Lake.  My companion and I walked to the waterfall which you can see in this picture.  I tried to capture the rainbow in it in another photo but was unsuccessful.  When we got back to Juneau, my companion went off to do the Mt Roberts Tram ride.  I should have signed up to do that!  He and I would meet up later to see a show aboard the ship.  Shout out to the crew in terms of getting us on and off the ship.  Remarkably well organized the entire trip.  Tomorrow we enter Skagway.  Another adventure awaits.