The trek group met at the small boat docks in the Haines harbor at 7:45 AM.  Karen and I hate fixed time events, waiting lines, and crowds.  Today had an abundance of all three.

Departed on a diesel powered catamaran, headed south to Juneau, 3 hours away, at 30 MPH.  Whales (Humpbacks) were the star attraction of the day for most folks- gawking, pointing, oooh and ahhhing.  

We said ho hum, it is just a whale.  They are a daily sight anywhere around Depoe Bay in the summer.  I see them when salmon fishing all the time.  The Steller’s sea lions were second on the card.  The bald eagles were third on today’s wildlife bingo card.  

Overcast, a 1000 foot ceiling.  Soft ride on the catamaran, but three points of contact were often needed.  A small vessel, by most ferry comparisons.  No vehicles, no bicycles, seats for 50-60 people.  Down and back, 6 hours on the water cost $200 per adult.  The fare was included in our trip cost.

Disembarked north of town and got on a bus for a 15 minute trip to town, with several unnecessary stops before arriving in downtown Juneau.  ¹

We walked around town then settled for a restaurant not far from a giant Princess Cruise Lines vessel. There were 6 cruise lines docked in town today.

Had a lunch of halibut and chips, a Caesar salad and IPAs.  As we sat down, the cruise ship started disembarking passengers for an afternoon in town.  For the 45 minutes we were seated/eating, there was a continuous departing of passengers from the Princess vessel, 4 or 5 people wide on the gangplank.  Several thousand people disembarked.  The vessel had 4000 passengers and a crew of 2000.

Went to the Juneau Tourist office, watched a 25 minute film on Juneau’s history then went to the SOB, The State Office Building.  Up to the eighth floor for a view of the city/harbor.  Lots of shops catering to tourists with kitsch but still found a native store with quality items, especially nice carvings of walrus ivory.

The short bus ride from the boat to town and back was almost unbearable for us – and for others.  The narrating driver never stopped talking – with a stream of consciousness banter and imitating children’s voices (“Tell me the answer, Mr. bus driver”) to the inane questions he would constantly ask himself.  The only enjoyable part of both the to/from ride, was the 30 seconds he shut up on the return ride.  

His stream of consciousness narrations, included “There is our McDonalds (followed by a short singing of old MacDonald had a Farm and an imitation of the Hamburgler) followed by “Yes folks, MacDonald’s is here in Juneau, but I suggest you not eat too much of their special sauce.   Ha, ha, ha!”  Or “On our immediate right is the building that WAS our WalMart, which is now closed”.  And the lamest jokes, one after the other.  All I could think of saying to him was ”Don’t quit your day job to be a stand up comedian”, which I dear would have done if the ride had been just 5 minutes longer.  I would have insisted, vociferously, for his sake.

A pleasant boat ride home, slowing to see whales again and a lighthouse.  Soft water, 31 MPH, clouds lifted, allowing clear vistas of the mountains to the west.

Many nice totem pole carvings around town, but most I saw were carved in the last 40 years.

More pics of today will be uploaded, tomorrow, once photos from my phone are synched in the cloud.