Juneau - The Capitol of Alaska!

We could feel the boat docking around 8am today but right before that, I was successful in securing an empty washing machine. Do I need to do laundry on vacation? No. But it was nice to be able to wash and dry all of our clean clothes and have more options for outfits for the remainder of our trip. 

This morning, we decided to skip the room service and check out the breakfast buffet. Lo and behold, we have clearly been missing out on a feast. Everything you could ever imagine for breakfast was offered, and everything has been delicious especially the cantaloupe.

We disembarked the cruise ship around 9 AM and promptly walked to the Juneau public library where a rental car from Turo was awaiting us. An eight seater  Honda Pilot was our transportation for the day and while some of us might be a little squished, the financial savings was unbeatable, considering we would have needed to purchase eight bus tickets just to get to Mendenhall Glacier - for the low low price of $800. For all those people who tell you about the amazing excursions, yes, they may very well be, but they do come at a cost!

We had a smooth time collecting our rental vehicle from Turo and immediately set the GPS for Mendenhall Glacier. Along the road, we were not in the car ten minutes when I yelled out, “On the right! Look right! Bear on the right!” There was indeed a black bear peeking his head over the guardrail on the side of the highway as if he was thinking about crossing the road. No photo of that as it happened too quickly - but dang that was cool! And just a few miles later Todd spotted a young deer on the side of the road. Alive, not dead. Lots of wildlife in Alaska!

The glacier was not too crowded and was well worth the 1 mile out and 1 mile back hike. We were shocked that there were even a few wheelchairs on the path.

After spending time in the visitors center and learning about why some of the glacier is the color blue, we hopped in the car in search of a disc golf course. Disc golf is really an incredible sport because it gets you out and hiking in nature and you get to play 18 holes of golf without paying a fee. Of course, if you lose a disc in the woods or in a lake, then the cost of the round is whatever that disc cost you.

While the three disc golfers enjoyed a two hour round the rest of us, drove back to town and visited a local Asian restaurant. I say Asian because their sign said that they served Chinese, Japanese, and Thai food! Most of our table settled on ordering bento boxes and sushi rolls while I had a big bowl of wonton soup. I know that it’s near the end of June and seems weird to be eating soup but here in Alaska the high was just 57° today.

After a tasty and filling lunch, we headed over to Safeway to grab a few provisions for the rest of our trip. One thing that we did not find at Safeway were flip-flops and so we headed to the local mall which was actually quite comical because it seems like one of our own local malls back in Sacramento that is mostly abandoned, and just a shell of what it used to be. But we did find ourselves in a sportsman‘s warehouse with a Life-size moose some shorts for someone who forgot to pack them and flip-flops.

As we rounded out our shopping, it was time to go pick up the disc golfers, and they were just wrapping up. When we picked them up, they told us all the tales of playing in the woods and the fear that there may have been a bear popping out behind trees as they played. Luckily they were safe the whole time, but they were sweaty. dirty, and hungry. So off we went in search of food! We drove back to the port area where all the tourist spots are and found Tracy’s Crab Shack  while some of us opted out of the experience, others devoured crab legs and left this mess on the table  

And then the shopping commenced! We stopped in stores and found trinkets from tshirts to sweatshirts to shot glasses and magnets. Everyone was happy and grateful for the mementos that they will be able to take home as a token of this trip. 

Eventually we found ourselves back on the cruise ship so that some could shower, some could take a Power Nap, and others could rest and relax before the evening festivities. 

Dinner was at the Coral Dining room again. We also learned that although there are two other dining rooms, there is nothing special with them. They literally have the same menu. Here we have been fretting about trying to get into the others, when in reality, they are all the same. 

It was Italian night in the dining room which means that we ate arancini, Caprese salad, seafood risotto, veal scallopini, chicken Parmesan, and bronzinni. Dessert was crème brûlée, gelato, a soufflé, and of course the staple of tiramisu. We are stuffed! So stuffed! 

In fact, Todd and I are already laying in bed, it’s 7:39pm, and I do not see us moving. The “kids” are heading to the hot tub, using up those drink packages, and hopefully having a great time. We sure are enjoying ourselves ❤️ 

Todd and I watched a really cool old movie called The Big Miracle and it was actually amazing AND based on a true story out of Alaska. Star studded cast! Big names like John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Miracle

And since we felt the move leave the dock, we figured we would walk up to the back deck and check out the views. And wow…We are on this massive ship in this small channel and it seems unbelievable. We are so so blessed.

What a day we had today! Tomorrow we wake up in Skagway, with more to see and explore!