Juneau

Juneau, Alaska's capital and third-largest city, is on the North American mainland but can't be reached by road. Bounded by steep mountains and water, the city’s geographic isolation and compact size make it much more akin to an island community such as Sitka than to other Alaskan urban centers, such as Fairbanks or Anchorage Juneau is full of contrasts. Its dramatic hillside location and historic downtown buildings provide a frontier feeling, but the city's cosmopolitan nature comes through in fine museums, noteworthy restaurants, and a literate and outdoorsy populace. The finest of the museums, the Alaska State Museum, opened in May 2016 on its old site as the expanded Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum (SLAM) following several years of planning and exhibit research. Another new facility, the Walter Soboleff Center, offers visitors a chance to learn about the indigenous cultures of Southeast Alaska–-Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. Other highlights include the Mt. Roberts Tramway, plenty of densely forested wilderness areas, quiet bays for sea kayaking, and even a famous drive-up glacier, Mendenhall Glacier. For goings-on, pick up the Juneau Empire (www.juneauempire.com), which keeps tabs on state politics, business, sports, and local news. When we arrived this morning the fog horn was blowing but it was not long before the fog lifted to reveal a wonderful blue sky and a sunny morning. The forcast said rain but fortunately it seems they were wrong.

Our excursion today is an Alaskian Salmon Bake. We do not need to disembark until 11:50. I was awake early so I decided to go topside to have a quiet cup of coffee. That was a mistake. It was a mad house up there and I was quite uncomfortable with all of the people and all of the comings and goings. I really do prefer the small ships. Yesterday the Grand was in Ketchikan when we were and I could not help but think that we should be on that ship instead of this one. I returned from upstairs and got Ken for breakfast. We went to the dining room for breakfast and we sat next to a lovely couple from Australia. They are recently retired and doing a lot of traveling. The visit made for a very pleasant breakfast. On the way to breakfast we hid 3 more ducks. Hiding when the ship is almost empty is so much fun. This morning I found a tiny and I do mean tiny duck. So now I have found 2.

I forgot to post yesterday that we got our invitation to the most travelled Passenger luncheon. I checked and found out that we are number 12 on the list and that there are several passengers with thousands of days. It was disappointing because I thought we might be one of the most travelled, but at least we are going to get to go to lunch with the captain. We had time to kill after breakfast and before we had to go ashore for our excursion so we just relaxed. I fought with the internet but that is becoming par for the course. We went ashore and met our transportation to the Salmon Bake. We traveled in what was an old school bus but it was comfortable enough.John was our driver and he is a member of the Tlinget nation, the Eagle clan. He told us a few things about the area during our 10 minute ride.

As soon as we got on the grounds we could pick up a small cup of clam chowder. It was very nice.

Next we were to pick up a plate and peruse the buffet. The choices were many and I gather it was all you could eat. The menu items were green salad, coleslaw,assorted pickles, baked beans, corn bread, rice, spare ribs and scalloped potatoes. You made your selection and then headed to the area where they were cooking the Socheye salmon. Everything was deliscious and you can get seconds if you wished. There was hot coffee and lemonade as well as a blueberry cake for dessert. They also had a fire set up so you could roast marshmallows if you so wished.

The area was covered with clear plastic and there were those gas heaters at evert table. They had a gift shop and bright clean washrooms as well. There was bar service if you wanted spirits or wine. ( for cash)

There was a gentleman singing and playing a guitar. He had his CDs for sale.

The area was very well laid out and landscaped. It was not rainy today but we would have stayed dry if it had rained because the area was well covered. But it was also well landscaped with water features and totems.

It was very well attended with bus loads of people coming and going the entire time. The buses came and parked and as soon as they were full they left and others arrived. We waited less than 5 minutes to get on our way back to the ship. There were 4 ships in port so on our return we sat out on the balcony and watched the seaplanes coming and going. We caould also watch passengers disembarking a neighbouring ship. Soon it was time for a nap. We got up and we soon had to get ready for dinner. My stomach was not happy so I had very little for dinner I guess I was still full from the salmon. We met 2 very nice couples who we hope will be dining near us again. After dinner we returned to the cabin so I could complete this entry on the blog. I am so pleased that the picture problem has been solved. Now to go back and put some photos into the previous blogs. Tomorrow we are in Skagway.