Author: Diane

Dinner this evening was on land. Not 10 minutes from Juneau is the Salmon Bake. Chef Salmon is a cute petite native Alaskan who owns her grill. She actually dropped my salmon into the special sauce. It’s a brown sugar/butter sauce and when I went back for seconds I told her to drop another one in the sauce again. We both laughed. Grilling over wood gave this fish another level of flavor.

We took a yellow school bus there and Sherae from TX drove the bus. In those 10 min to the Salmon Bake we learned about Juneau. Sherae works in Juneau for 6 months serving the cruise industry and the other six months she lives in TX. She and her husband are building tiny houses for men who are homeless and down on their luck. Her personality is southern/black with a touch of spice. We loved her immediately.

Back from Juneau we went right to the thermal spa for the last time. Then onto the dueling pianos where sing alongs are the norm and these two were amazing. We sat there so long listening to James and Michelle that we barely made the pack schedule for tomorrow’s leaving of the ship at Skagway. No worries, they need the bed here and we’re ready to have our breath taken away by God’s glory. dmc

I could’ve ordered a bigger pair of crab legs but I know I’ll get another chance when I feel like we have more time. So I ordered a crab bowl and Dan the pork sliders.

When your order is ready they shout out your name and where you’re from. Diane from Florida? So many people from everywhere. New York, California, Indonesia, Indiana, New Jersey, everywhere. This was a just enough portion for me.

One troubling thing for us is seeing all the jewelry stores. Asked a local shop worker why so many? She said, they come up from St Thomas, inhabit all the stores for cruise season then leave. Even bring their own workers. Also said they go to all the Alaskan towns the cruises go to and do similar. We deliberately look for local. In a way, supporting the economy is good at any cost but the locals need it more. Just saying. dmc

The ship slowed down to almost a full stop. No wait it did stop. It’s our first clue that we’re getting close to our Juneau Alaska Port. How immense is this area? So quiet if you can weed out boat and ship noise. The first excursion off our ship onto another excursion boat. And off they go. Probably to see whales and other sea life. dmc

The saying goes that pictures don’t capture the true beauty of what the photographer is seeing. It’s true. Rugged, drastic, subtle, immense, massive, majestic, are just some of the words so far. dmc

At VanDusen gardens, it’s pollinating season. We discovered many species of pollinators, but this one stood out. Bigger than a honey bee but smaller than a bumble bee. What stood out was its beautiful colors. I was practically nose to nose with it. dmc

Current location, at 10:30am PST

Thermal Spa is the ticket for melting all the muscle soreness and pain away from the beginning of this trip. Warm thermal chairs and a super jetted hot tub is available as an upgrade which we’re glad we took.

So far the food has been good. First dinner in main dining was an Alaskan crab, scallop and shrimp cocktail, veal piccata, and a native Alaskan berry tart. I’m all about tasting the local flavors and supporting the small businesses that made them. dmc