Tuesday - Glacier Bay

What a day this has been. It was raining and foggy when we picked up the naturalists from the park this morning and went to sunny and beautiful at Marjorie Glacier. Lindsay loved her day in Glacier Bay even if she spent the first part of it in bed snoozing until Debbie and I got her up when we started seeing bergie bits. It was freezing cold this morning and when the sun came out it turned warm and even hot on Lido where the roof was closed. She got to see and hear the calving at least 3 separate times which was really exciting since some come all this way and don’t get to see it at all. We spotted an eagle floating by on an iceberg and there were tons of other birds around too. We got lots of great photos and I am working on them now. Lindsay is out of her bubble bath and napping before we go the the Pinnacle tonight for dinner. Tomorrow is Sitka and our Otter and Raptor Tour.

Juneau June 11th

Well we are within an hour and a half of docking in Juneau and we have gone from broken clouds to seeing the sun and back into the fog again. We have walked the ship and although it is cold outside, it is not horrible. Lindsay saw a seal while we were in the Crow's Nest Lounge and was able to spot it before others. We docked and then went to meet our excursion. They fit us into the right groups of fat and skinny people and we took off in our float planes in the mist and drizzle to Taku Lodge. This is a log cabin in the woods about 30 miles from Juneau with the “Hole in the Wall Glacier” as it’s back drop. They serve wonderful grilled fresh caught salmon and grilled chicken for those who don’t like the salmon, homemade backed beans, slaw and sourdough bread and they also have a resident bear who loves to eat what’s left on the grill when they are finished cooking. Debbie and Lindsay went with the group for the hike to the waterfall while I chose to dodge the mosquitos in the gift shop.  When it was time for us to head back to the dock to the planes Debbie found some bear prints in the sand near the dock..they really do roam the area and that really made it all seem very real.  Lindsay was in awe of being above the glaciers in the float plane and even just being in the plane. She loved every minute of it and really was excited just to be in Alaska and see the bear first hand. It is a shame the weather wasn’t better today but we did get some good photos..the color is better when you have a bit of sun. It was fun watching her enjoy it so much.  After coming back from our excursion we came back to the ship then went back into town to shop a bit. Yes, Dave it is mosquito season here in Alaska and they were out in full force today and quite large! We did not have this issue when I was here with Kay two years ago but it was later in the season. Lindsay bought a few souveniers for her friends and she and Debbie walked to the Jelly Belly store (yum buttered popcorn) and then we came back to the ship exhausted again…Glacier Bay day is tomorrow and begins at 9 AM. None of us are hungry really so we just get some sandwiches from room service and Lindsay got a salad and we watched the Golden Princess leave a few minutes ago. The Zuiderdam and the Celebrity Infinity are still here and it is now almost 10:30 PM local time and still light outside. The long daylight hours makes it hard to gauge what time it is.  We are four hours different here in Alaska than east coast time.  More tomorrow. Oh and Lindsay was excited that she was able to finally talk to Mom, Dad, Chris and Paige. She misses them but not enough to stay home I am thinking. Lindsay took the photo with the rainbow!

June 10th - Sea Day

June 10^th Sea Day
It rained all day and as our captain “PJ” said it was a beautiful day to be indoors. Everyone got up at the same time I guess and the dining room was already closed so Lido buffet was packed. The people behind us waiting in the line were from Easley Lady Kay and knew Judy and Jim..small world. Also, the people sitting at the table behind us at dinner, one of them is Lindsay’s counselor at Blackwell. We went and checked out the parts of the ship we hadn’t seen, shopped and went to the naturalist speak on the wildlife we could see along the way. It is formal night so off we go.. Eddie and Tim (both from Indonesia) are bending over backwards for Lindsay and I think she is relaxing a bit about eating. After dinner we went to the production show in the lounge and came back to the cabin. Debbie brought a couple movies with ther that Lindsay could watch but we were all asleep in 15 minutes again. Again our captain having very profound messages said the oceans are constantly in motion and therefore so is the ship so we were gently rocked to sleep. I woke up and we are already in Stephens Passage where we will pick up our pilot at 7AM this morning .  It's 5 AM and daylight outside.   I am excited as there are breaks in the clouds and I can see blue sky and it is not raining but then we still have 6 hours further up this channel before we get to Juneau but I am keeping my fingers crossed. Also Debbie brought the little Travelocity Gnome and we have had fun taking picture of him in various places.

Sorry we are again having so much trouble uploading as I just found while posting this the others are on the main page of the blog..I will have to fix that when we get home...takes too much time here.