Alaska, The Last Frontier!

Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau

I signed up for the Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Tour.  We went out in a small boat and saw lots of whales.  First we saw humpbacks, and while watching them spout off and dive, I noticed some dark triangular fins coming toward us from quite a distance.  Our guide told us that only about ten percent of the tours they take out get to see the "killer" orca whales.  We saw fifteen of them.
After the whale watching, we were dropped off at Mendenhall Glacier.  Our coach driver told us to synchronize our watches with his, and he would be back at 4:15 to pick us up.  He would take us back to our ship at 4:20.  First sign of a problem for me, I didn't have a watch! So, the shortest trail I saw was the trail to Nugget Falls, which the sign said was a 45 minute walk.  Figuring that if the average tourist could do the hike in 45 minutes, I could do it in less, I hiked out to the falls.  It was beautiful. In fact, it was so big and pretty I took lots of pictures.  As I hiked back, I wondered how long I had been out there taking pictures.  When I got back to the place the bus was supposed to pick us up, there was no bus.  It was 4:28.  Eight minutes....late! I missed the ride and figured I'd have to walk back to the ship, hoping I would find my way. But, another bus came and I hitched a ride back with them.  What a relief!

These guys played a lot of the old rock and roll from the 50's and 60's.  They did a lot of the early Beatles hits, and I thought they sounded great.
There were quite a number of musicians on the ship and all of them were outstanding.  

Still light at 10:45PM

I tried to stay up until it got dark, but gave up at 11:20PM and went to bed.  It was still light enough to see.  I was on the top deck again by 4AM, and even at that hour, I'd already missed the sunrise!  

11:15PM and still not dark!

4:00 AM

View of Decks 9 and 10 from the Viking Crown lounge.

 The crew decorated the ship in red, white and blue.  They had a nice 4th of July celebration (without fireworks).  One of the ship's crew sang the national anthem and it looked like the entire crowd was singing along with him.  There was thunderous applause at the end, and many folks were wearing their patriotic outfits.  We saw lots of red, white and blue everywhere!

Uncle Sam (one of the crew) was greeting everyone as they came into the Windjammer for lunch.  Mom got a big hug from him.




















 Our last look at Seattle as we headed back to Minneapolis.



The flight back was pleasant for the most part.  We did have some turbulence, and the landing was really rough!  I'm sure Jane wasn't really worried, but when she saw me snapping pictures, she put on the "nail biting worrier" face.

It was a great trip!  My first cruise, first commercial flight, first visit to Alaska, first time in Seattle, first time to Minneapolis, first time to see the Mall of America, first time through airport security check! 

I have more pictures on my Facebook page if you care to look.