Juneau, Alaska

Hello from Juneau!

Today was a day where I did have a definite plan. Of course, it started with the up and attem early morning sunrise picture. No injured bird scaring me today, thank goodness.

It continued with my early morning breakfast view.

Then a little nap back in the cabin. (Shh...don't tell anyone.) But before noon I was headed off the ship for my planned lunch. 

I remember very vividly being here in Juneau last summer. It was our first cruise after Covid, the first cruise using my scooter in many, many years, and was the first port where I left the ship. My anxiety level was high, not knowing how far my battery was going to last or if the old drive belt would break. I didn't know how long my body (mostly my bum) could last on the wooden walkways or even if I could manage being around crowds once again. I did sort of okay that day but not as well as I hoped. I got at the end of the pier and felt like I needed to get back to the ship. It was on that day in that place where I smelled BBQ and saw a whole bunch of crew members lined up at a Filipino BBQ cart. I told myself if I ever came back I was going to be bold, stay a little longer in port, and eat BBQ. 

Today was the day, and boy do I feel stronger (physically and mentally) than I did back then. I made my way all the way down the wooden walkways until the pier almost ends. The cement ramp on the right takes you to the Marine Park where you find a couple of different BBQ carts.

I picked the one with the Filipino crew members crowding around it. In my experience if it's full of crew members it's the place to go.

I sat there on the pier while the rain sprinkled down and munched on my pork on a stick and chicken on a stick. Can you say leftovers?

Unlike last year when I was done by the time I reached the end of the pier, today I had plenty of energy left. I studied totem poles, wondering what each level was meant to represent.

I checked out the flower pots and barrels. So many different colors and varieties. Some made it through the summer better than others.

And because I haven't been in forever, I made my way to Juneau Drug. The best reason to go to Juneau Drug? The 25 cent popcorn! Fresh and hot with plenty of salt. I still might not be able to taste much but I could taste the buttery salt. Oh. My. Goodness.

One of my favorite things I ever did in Juneau was when we walked the Nugget Falls Trail. You can read about my visit here. 

By the time I finished my rounds several other cruise ships had made their way into port. The Ruby Princess even left their dock, went out and anchored, and started running their tenders for passengers. Looks like Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas with their 5,000+ passengers needed the space more. 

Can't even fit the whole ship in the picture

With almost 25,000 cruise ship passengers expected to be in port by the time the day is done, I'm glad I had a plan, stuck to it, and got in and out while I could. 

Here's a quick video of Juneau as seen from the Grand Princess. Before the town got all cluttered up with other ships, that is.

Tomorrow we're in Skagway, Alaska. See you there!

Ketchikan, Alaska

Hello from Ketchikan, Alaska!

View from my balcony

I was up early this morning but not by choice. With a 9+ hour time different between Alaska and the European countries where I spent my whole summer my body doesn't know if it's daytime, nighttime, or somewhere in between. But a benefit of waking at weird hours is I get to see things I probably would have slept through like the hint of sunrise at 4:59 AM.

Good thing I was wide awake at that 4:59 AM because when I went onto the balcony to take the picture I had quite a scare as a bird flew off my footstool and onto the railing. I say flew but I really mean broken wing, flying sideways and falling (and repeat again and again), and then barely making it to the railing kind of flying. I left the poor fella alone and he stayed in that same spot until we arrived in port. I didn't see him leave but I'm guessing it was a free fall on the way down. TMI - I know he had been on the footstool for a long time because it's covered with a LOT of bird poo.

Poor lonely guy

Getting close to town!

Once 8 AM hit and the laundry room opened I washed some clothes.

No one there but me

With one token left over from the Island Princess I decided to dry them in the cabin instead of buying a second token for the dryer. Clothes are everywhere in here right now, balcony included. Anyway, I had plenty of time to hang them and dry them since I didn't have any big plans for Ketchikan. This is the 25th(!) time I've been here and have done all I care to do.

Totem Poles? Been to both Totem Bight Saxman Native Village.
Visit Creek Street? Yep. Totem Bight Park and Creek Street photos are here.
Salmon fishing? Yep. Salmon fishing photos can be found here.
See the salmon run? Yep. You can see the salmon run photos here.
Duck tour? Yep.

Take a photo of the rain gauge? Yep.

Take the Deadliest Catch tour? Yep.
Watch bald eagles at work and at rest? Yep.

Misty Fjords flight? That would be a hard no. After our passengers were killed on their excursion in 2019 I swore never to get on a float plane.

Lumberjack Show and sightseeing? Yep. You can see some of those photos here.

And even more views of the area can be found here.

So I did what I would do if Ed was here with me, go to the Arctic Bar and order a Long Island Iced Tea. 

Even though we were in Alaska for a month last summer, we haven't been back to the bar since Covid. So when I sat down and saw this sign I knew it was meant for me.

The Arctic Bar is a unique place on the waterfront where about every third word from the staff's mouths begins with the letter F. Here's what I wrote about our visit to the Arctic Bar a few years ago. 

I was going to order from Burger Queen (need food to soak up the alcohol) but I forgot it was Monday and they're closed. That meant lady on a scooter who just consumed a strong alcoholic beverage would be driving her scooter back to the ship. Not one to be irresponsible, I stopped off at the store and bought a bag of cheese puffs (sounded like a good alcohol-soaker-upper) and sat on a bench in the sun and watched the going ons around the area. 

The Ruby Princess was in port with us and the Crab Boat tour was on its way back.

I saw my cabin.

Hey, that's mine

Spotted some bright flowers. Nasturtiums?

And as the cheese puffs soaked up the alcohol I soaked up the rays. The weather was simply perfect. I then remembered about a popular donut place across the street so I wandered over there and found an animal cookie one. It was pretty dense, and doggone it, I couldn't taste it. For the record that makes three donuts for me this summer, three times more than I've consumed in the last three years.

As you'd expect with a combination of Long Island Iced Tea, cheese puffs, and a part of a donut I had to take a little nap. I didn't sleep long because crew members from the Island were sending me videos of today's port for them, Holyhead, Wales. They were a bit bummed because it was a national holiday and everything was closed, but their short videos gave me the idea to do a quick one, too. Just a view from my balcony, but if you haven't been to Ketchikan it gives you an idea of what you might see when you visit.

I think when we're back here next week we dock somewhere different. If so, I'll give you a quick video overlook of that area.

Tomorrow we're in Juneau, Alaska. See you there!