Alaska - Day 9

Thursday, August 7, 2008 - We docked in Juneau sometime last night or early this morning. Buffy and Shari were awaked sometime around 7:30am from some loud clanking noise outside our staterooms. I never heard a thing as I was asleep. Since Juneau is in a tempered rainforest, the weather was cloudy and rainy.

We did our normal routine of going to the Lido Restaurant on Deck 8 for breakfast. Jack slept in late this morning... somewhere around 10am. This caused Dennis and Jack to miss the most of breakfast. So Dennis, Mom and Jack stayed on the ship while Shari, Buffy and I ventured into town. They were happy to go into all these different shops Juneau had to offer. I'd wait outside. After about 45 minutes to an hour, I was getting extremely board. All of us with the exception of Buffy were signed up for a helicopter tour for 2 15-minute landings on a glacier leaving the ship at 12 noon. The van took us to the airport where we donned some kind of cletes to allow us to walk on glacier ice. I had walked on a glacier about 15 years ago when visiting Anchorage, Alaska. And I did it in sneakers. That was not safe as I would slide all around. I finally noticed a sink hole of sorts and then realized that if I fell right here, there would be nothing to hold on to and it would be all over for me.

We boarded the helicopter and got to wear the headphones to talk to one another. Jack especially like doing this. He would press the button and say "Awesome!" We were able to travel up the canal along Juneau for about 10 minutes and got a glimpse of the Mendenhall Glacier. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating with us. The pilot claimed that it was too unsafe for a glacier landing and we turned around for the airport. Once landed and inside the facility, the tour manager claimed we would get a full refund since they could not deliver what they offered. So we got a free helicopter ride... it wasn't a complete loss. This was to be Mom's birthday present from all of us.. a helicopter ride to a glacier. She was happy to get to go for a ride. And the walk on the glacier may have not worked out too well for her since she mistakenly put her cletes on the wrong feet. So I guess things just were not working in our favor today... especially for Dennis.

Meanwhile, Buffy signed up for a whale watching excursion. At least things were working out for her. She was able to see a school of whales, which the tour guide said is rare. The whales were also making some sort of mating calls, which was unusual as they mate south near Hawaii.

After returning to the ship from the ill-fated helicopter ride, Dennis, Shari and myself went to take a tram ride to the top of Mt. Roberts in Juneau. Mom and Jack headed back to the Volendam to, guess what... go swimming. The tram ride was alright. It is very similar to the tram at Jackson Hole. At the top is a restaurant, shop and hiking trails with a number of lookout points. On a clear day, you could probably see quite a bit. But we had low cloud cover today. You could see most of the city, but if you hiked up higher, about all you saw was clouds. Also at the top was a wounded bald eagle they named Lady Baltimore. She was shot in the beak and when she fell, damaged and lost a retina in her left eye. With only one eye, Lady Baltimore does not have any depth perception, which makes feeding and getting around very difficult. It would be unlikely she could survive in the wild.

Shari returned to the ship, but Dennis and I ventured upward where we even ran into some leftover snow from the winter months.

We all finally met up in the pool area where we took a hot tub. When we went our separate ways, Buffy and I dressed up as it was formal night. We weren't able to get into the Rottendam Restaurant until later. I ordered the Surf n Turf, which I think is the first time I've had lobster. I can't tell you if the lobster was any good as I have nothing to compare it too. It was still good though. My only complaint was it took me 4 times to ask for a Heineken until I finally got one.

After dinner, we adjourned to the Ocean Bar where we caught up with not only Dennis and Shari, but Tracy Lynn, the girl from Rhode Island, a fellow passenger Dave from the land tour and our favorite bartenders, Auggie, Marc and Dan. And "Dan the Man" is getting to know me all to well... he might have my entire biography. He told Buffy, "Rick drinks Diet Coke during the day, Heineken at night." Just imagine if I came up here during the winter when nighttime is about 18 hours a day.... a lot of Heineken drinking! All the wait staff are from the Phillipines. And they work on the ship 11 months out of the year, 11 hours a day, 7 days a week. And they still have a wife and kids back home. Shari told them they should quit and go home to their families. Dennis and Shari left for a short while to watch a comedian, but then came back within 20 minutes.

Several Heinekens, Bud Lights and wine later, Buffy and I retired for the evening while Dennis and Shari left to lose money in the casino.

Today's Alaska Fun Fact
In the late 1800's, a Tlingit Chief named Kowee led 2 drunken prospectors to a creek which emptied into the Gastineau Channel. The prospectors, Richard Harris and Joe Juneau, found gold. This changed the course of history and the face of Alaska itself. On October 4, 1880, Harris and Juneau laid claim to the area they called Gold Creek, one of the largest finds of the Alaska Gold Rush era. In 1900, the capital of Alaska was moved from Sitka to Juneau. (source: the Holland America Daily Program). According to Andy the bus driver taking us to the airport, the town was once undecided on a name. They went back and forth between Harrisburg and Juneau, both after the 2 prospectors. They eventually decided Juneau as the bus driver put it, "they felt there were plenty of Harrisburgs but not enough Juneaus."

Photo Info:

Top - Buffy & Shari shopping yet again

Bottom - Mom just before taking off in the helicopter