Oct. 5th, 2008 at 7:48 PM
Juneau
Days are still getting better and better. Woke up at 6:30 as we entered the Juneau area. Justin ran to top deck to watch our entry. I, however, was still slightly exhausted and took my time getting ready. He saw some huge moutainy waterfalls as we came into port.
We met up for breakfast before heading into town. Our long anticipated Bike & Brew wasn't until 2, so we decided to spend some morning time getting to know Juneau. We saw the state capitol building, which was fairly unimpressive. It's one of the only capitol buildings in America without a dome. Apparently a lot of government meetings are held in Anchorage anyway, even though Juneau is the capitol. Later on we saw the governor's mansion, too. Palin doesn't live there, much to the chagrin of Juneauites (Juneauans?)... we could tell by the plethora of Obama signs in the neighbor's yard. We gave our legs a pretty good workout by walking around historic downtown, visiting the famous Red Dog Saloon and dodging the numerous jewelry stores.
(the dinky capitol building)
Juneau is the second largest city in the world. It's over 3,000 square miles in area. Still, by about 9:30, we'd seen as much of Juneau as we could on foot. We stretched out things and just sort of wandered around more until finally sitting down at a local coffee shop for coffee, hot chocolate and "Mt. Juneau" Gelato. Made our way back to the boat for lunch before our afternoon excursion...
The Bike & Brew was TOTALLY the highlight of today. I feel like we really saw Alaska. We had 8 riders in our group -- us, a middle-aged couple from Orlando, an old couple from England and an old couple from Australia. Most of the bike ride was smooth, cool and serene, always with lush mountain views and often with postcard panoramas of the Mendenhall Glacier. We stopped briefly on the banks of Auke Lake, which is right below Mendenhall. Big chunks fo ice (bergy bits - that's actually the technical term if I haven't already mentioned it) floated in the weirdly teal-ish lake. Got some cool glacier pictures, drank hot apple cider and just marveled at the wonders that we're privileged to count as part of our country. Awesome.
After our brief stop on Auke Lake's beach, we continued riding to a wooded dirt trail. I can't possibly describe the incredible beauty of this ride (I have a feeling I'm going to run out of words pretty quickly when detailing this trip). It's like something out of a dream, and I can honestly say it's the most beautiful thing I've ever experienced in my entire life. As one guy put it, it wouldn't be entirely surprising to see hobbits and fairies coming out of the forest. Everything was covered in moss, making the trees and boulders look soft enough to sleep on. The trees let in this storybook kind of light that just soaked into the moss. Saw a few well-placed waterfalls within the woods, making it even more unreal. This is my new "happy place," a picture of such natural serenity and comfort that I will remember forever. No wonder the bears like it!
Once the riding portion ended, we got to walk around the Mendenhall visitor area to look for bears (they're very active lately since the salmon run is in full swing). Saw lots of tourists and no bears... until we were walking back to the bus and a HUGE black bear ran across the road less than 100 yards ahead of us. I'll be the first to admit that my initial instinct told me to run at the bear to get pictures. Thankfully, millions of years of ancestral evolution quelled that stupidity before I had a chance to act on it. My species didn't survive by running at 400 pound animals with nothing but a (heavy, yet insufficiently dangerous) camera as weaponry. I tried to get a picture from a safe distance, but he lumbered into the woods before I could adjust my settings. Still... we've been here FOUR DAYS and we've seen salmon, whales, sea lions, dolphins and a BEAR. This vacation is officially exceptional.
(Can you see the bear?)
After the Big Ass Bear encounter, we loaded into the van for a visit to the Alaska Brewing Company for free beer samples. As in 6 ounce glasses of all-you-can-drink beery goodness. I tried their Summer Ale, Winter Ale (made with spruce tips), Alaska Ale, Alaskan Amber, Oatmeal Stout and Smoky Porter. I shared some with Justin, as they packed a pretty good punch. All actually tasted quite good, even the kinds I wasn't sure I'd like. The brewery tasting tour is free to anyone who wants to partake. Alaska law won't let them give it away if it's too much like a bar, so the Brewing Co. doesn't have any seats and doesn't serve food. (After a few of the tasty beverages, though, nobody cared that we had to stand). Sadly, we had to leave.
Justin and I went to dinner with the Florida couple at Taku, and amazing fish smokery / restaurant. Got salmon tacos, salmon croquettes and clam chowder. Also picked up some hot smoked salmon for eating tomorrow. Mmmm. Most people have tried the cold smoked variety, but hot smoked seems to be the preferred local method. Little pinecone looking things from alder trees smoke and allow the salty brine to preserve the salmon. Good stuff.
We made it back to the boat and decided to take photos of our departure from Juneau. Grabbed the tripod and headed up to top deck as we pulled away to port.
We decided to take advantage of one of the ship's many hot tubs that evening, so we suited up and went to 14 aft. I've heard sitting in a warm, bubbly pool in cold weather is actually quite enjoyable. I don't doubt this, but the 15 seconds between disrobing and submerging... not so pleasant. The tub wasn't as warm as we'd hoped, so I took one for the team and ran across the deck to test the other tub. I managed not to slip and break my face (which would have frozen to the deck like a tongue on metal...okay, maybe I'm exaggerating), and frostbite didn't damage anything important. Not sure if it was actually warmer than the other tub, but it sure felt better than the 40ish degree air. I told Justin to come on over, and we relaxed for about 15 minutes before it started raining on us.
Inevitably, we had to walk through the open air to get back into the ship. I chose to ignore the possibility of people walking by and giving me weird looks... Re-clothing on the inside of the entrance door/hallway just seemed smarter than standing in the wind. Dignity schmignity.
After tubbing, we headed back to the room to crash. Another long, fabulous day in paradise!
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