Friday June 13, 2014 - Juneau Alaska
Early morning pulling into Juneau
We arrived in Juneau early this morning. All Ashore time was 6:15 am and All aboard time was 4:45 pm. Breakfast at Beach Blanket Buffet was 6:30 am. (Goofy's Galley opened at 6:00 am). We weren't meeting our excursion until 8:00 am so we had some time this morning.
Alice at Breakfast at Beach Blanket.
Today we were going Whale Watching on the MV Scania with Adventures in Alaska http://www.whale-watch.biz/ My instructions said the driver would have a sign that said SCANIA or MV SCANIA. We left the ship early not knowing how long it would take to disembark.
Alice being silly with her backwards binoculars again
At 8:00 am there was no sign of anyone with a sign that said MV SCANIA. So I called to make sure we didn't miss the bus somehow. Captain Alan told me he would call right back and he did. The drive it turns out was right behind Megan in the picture above but he never had a sign.
With that we were loaded (on a huge bus for the 6 of us) and on our way.
It was very, very low tide when we got there. I should have taken a before shot of the floating dock. The ramp was very steep for mom's wheel chair on the way to the boat. I also somehow never got a picture of the MV Scania. There were 2 other passengers on board along with Captain Alan and his assistant.
James the girls and I headed upstairs with Captain Alan. Dad was up and down. Mom and the other 2 passengers (who I did not get to know) stayed downstairs.
Captain Alan had a model Humpback Whale that Alice loved.
It was cloudier than I remember it being but again the weather was perfect. Not too cold and no rain.
It wasn't long before we spotted our first whale fluke - don't worry we got to see them much closer.
Three she is - What a beauty
Captain Alan - There she Blows
Love this picture with the whale blow and the Eagle in the same picture.
Megan caught this picture of our 2nd whale on her binocular camera. Perfect timing.
These 2 were on the move. The were moving fast between each surface.
Two Eagles - so beautiful
After the 2nd whale we sped off in search of some other whales and what is now a common occurrence, Alice was asleep. :)
The Lighthouse
We stopped at the Buoy to watch the sea lions for a bit. There was one sea lion who was determined to get on top and the rest were just as determined he would not get up.
Mom and Dad enjoying their Christmas Present (aka our whale watch adventure)
Per Captain Alan - the best way to spot a whale is to look for the tell tale blow of water vapor.
The 2nd best way to find the whales - look around for the whale watch boats. :) Here are some of the boats we saw out on the water.
We got word that there was a mom, calf and an escort so we went to check them out.
There's the baby and the mom (baby has the white fluke which makes it distinctive - Megan caught this picture with her binoculars)
They kept moving in closer to shore which is unusual so we hung back to give mom some room
There's the mom and baby together. Captain Alan was very excited. He said it was the first calf sighting of the season. He wasn't sure if they were going to have a calf this season. They had a bunch of calves over the past few seasons and they go 3-5 seasons between babies.
Look who woke up
We almost got a family photo out of the deal.
But she wasn't about to give a 2nd opportunity
But she had "her" humpback to hold.
So we left the mom and baby and found a few more whales.
This one appeared so close to our boat it startled us when it surfaced. But it too was on the move in search of food. There was a seal diving in behind him in search of food.
Just barely caught a glimpse of this fluke
Unfortunately it was time to head back and leave the whales behind. :( We sped off and the girls got cold, so they moved down below.
I think this is Hubbard Glacier - You can see the black lines. That is a sign of where 2 glaciers joined together. When they move they pick up dirt and grim etc and then when they get together those dirt lines join.
Inside eating Reindeer Sausage. The girls new favorite snack. I am going to have to order them some from Alaska.
Back to the pier
Our driver picked us up in our massive bus and took us to Mendenhall Glacier.
When we got there, James and the girls and I headed to Nugget Falls to get up close to the glacier.
Awesome bird shaped iceberg
Its hard to describe the size of the glacier and the waterfall, but look how tiny the people are
The dolphin ice berg
Back at the visitor center
Meanwhile while we were up by the glacier. Mom and Dad were at the visitor center and observation point.
It's amazing how different those same icebergs look a little further away
From the observation point, who do they see - a momma bear and her 2 cubs
We got back in time to see her right up close to the fence.
The naturalist at Mendenhall gave us great information about the bear. She said it was a new bear to the area so they weren't sure what she would do. She said that each encounter with people teaches the bears things and what you want them to learn is that - people do not have food for them, people do not pose a threat to them, people respect them, people should be left alone.
As we were waiting for the bus the bear tried to climb out the fence.
I had prepared myself that it was too early in the season to see bears so I was thrilled we got to see these 3. They were so cute.
On the bus on the way back to the ship it started to rain a little. I had to snap this picture from the boat. The snow/ice on the mountain looked like a bear and the part that made the bears leg looked like the profile of an animal of some sort. Loved it.
Back on the ship, we got some food to eat and showered and got ready for Pixar night.
First up Pixar Pals Party. I didn't really get great pictures of the Pixar Pals Party. I think the girls had fun. It was a bit chaotic.
I have no idea what we did between the Pixar Party and Dinner.
Tonight's dinner was The Toy Story Menu. The girls had fun with their 3D glasses
After dinner the girls had to go to Ratatouille Cooking School. This time Alice joined in on the cooking fun.
While they were at the Lab making cookies I was walking around the ship. I walked by the stores and peaked in and this is what I saw.
Hmm, it doesn't look like they are sold out and won't get any more Alaska Mickey's this cruise. I do not really like being mislead or flat out lied to. It really left a bad taste in my mouth, especially since I never did get a call that they had more Mickey's.
I picked up the girls from the lab after Ratatouille's cooking school was over so we could go to Toy Story. Alice had a bit of a melt down before the show. I thought about bringing her back to the room, but realized I would be punishing me and not her. She was calmed down so I made her come to the show. She was asleep before the first song.
Toy Story was cute, but not my favorite of the shows. It's definitely worth seeing. The time zone was making it hard on the girls. They could stay up if they were active but the shows made them both fall asleep almost immediately.
Our Monkey
Alice didn't even change clothes tonight before bed. She didn't wake up when we got back from the show. She was one tired little girl.
Juneau was wonderful. I would love to go back and spend some time in Juneau. I would definitely recommend Adventures in Alaska if you are looking for a great whale watching experience.
Next up - Character Breakfast and Ketchikan
