Chapter 5-Juneau

The excursions began on Tuesday, the first being in Juneau. I woke up to terrible news, slid under the door, dog sledding had been canceled because the ship was arriving late. This was the excursion we were most excited for and to have it taken away was really upsetting. We slept in till 8:30 and I ran 4 miles, or the closest I could get to it in kilometers. Thankfully the World Marketplace is right downstairs from the fitness center and on the same floor as my room. It's kind of like the big buffet. I went straight to the market place around 10:30. One plate of breakfast food seemed good, but then out came the carving stations for lunch. Chipotle pork, Chicago round, poached salmon, Peking duck, I mean, come on. Two more plates and I was good. We tried to play Skip Bo, but all the games were suddenly gone. All four, vanished. The library had plenty of checkers... chess.. . Clue... backgammon... bridge... pictionary. No Skip Bo.

We got off the boat around 2 pm and started exploring downtown Juneau. It felt like the old west met New England, combining a lot of small stores that had a classic feeling with the sea and seafood. Lots of jewelry, loads of native American and nature artifacts. I brought a curved chopping knife and board, called an Ulu, they were available in a lot of stores, but I think I can use this for herbs, garlic, shallots, etc. 

The smell of crab was pungent in the air and we went to Tracy's for crab legs, right near the dock. The crab was just amazing, so light and fresh, but they had the most amazing crab bisque. Pieces of crab, perfect spice. Just amazing. But along with the crab, they had the most amazing crab bisque. Good sized pieces of crab, perfect spice level. Just an amazing. The rolls reminded me of brioche, super rich and buttery. The coconut crab cakes were also a nice addition, crispy on the outside, not too much filler inside.

We got back to the pier at 4:15, only to find out our glacier rafting trip has been delayed an hour. So we started at 5:30. The dressing up was rather interesting. Baggy rubber orange pants, purple raincoat, red life vest, oversized rain boots, I looked like a reject from an 80s theme party. There were not too many crazy rapids, but we saw five bald eagles. We were told it rains extensively on Mendenhall Lake, but for us it only rained about five minutes. In our raft, we were paid with a family of five, including two teen siblings, Dan and Callie from Charlotte. They were sitting right behind mom and I so we chatted with them a lot, I'd see them a few more times during the trip. We didn't get back to the boat till 9pm, but at least we grabbed a little food in the market place before bed. 

Mom wasn't feeling well, so she went back to the room. I went down to hear some music and Tony was on guitar in the Crown Lounge, this would become a frequent night spot for me. A few glasses of red wine and I was good for the night.