July 10, 2009

July 10, 2009

I am currently sitting with Brian on our veranda suite deck. We have docked in Juneau, Alaska. The temperature is about 70 degrees. It's all ocean, houses, trees and mountains from what I can see. Brian and I woke up this morning at around 5:00 a.m. We meant to get up at about 6:00 a.m. this morning, but forgot about the Alaska time change. The captain had made an announcement earlier yesterday that at around 6:00-6:30 in the morning we would be by a popular whale sighting area. Brian and I woke up to an amazing sun that had risen shortly before us. The nights are very short here. The sun sets a little after 9:00 p.m. Then it rises at about 4:30 a.m. We kept our eyes out for whales as much as we could. And even the ship was playing some kind of noise that Brian and I think would attract the whales. For over an hour we kept watch. Eventually we heard people making noises of excitement... And we were a little too late. The only picture we could get is of a whale tail just above the surface of the water. Still not used to the time change, Brian and I actually headed back to bed. We awoke shortly before 10:00 a.m. and made it to a lounge like area (close to the size of an auditorium) for a presentation on Alaskan wildlife. It was quite interesting learning about bears. We learned that if we get attacked by a black bear, that we should try to punch it right in the face. And if we get attacked by a grizzly bear that we should play dead. The woman giving the presentation was telling us about a woman that had gotten attacked last year by a grizzly bear. She had played dead and when the bear no longer seemed interested in her, she got up to run, only to have the bear attack her again. The woman then went on to another animal. Curiously I voiced out, “Did she die?” Which made Brian laugh. I would like to assume that the woman didn't die, but... we'll never know, I reckon.

After the presentation we went out to lunch on the Lido deck. The food is good everywhere here, no matter what deck you're on. And the dessert... Outstanding as well.

After our lunch, Brian and I came back to our room. My phone beeped. I had a voicemail from my Dad. (He was telling us to watch out for polar bears – which in the areas of Alaska we'll be traveling will NOT have any polar bears...) Apparently he had left me the voicemail almost 24 hours prior. Since we were at sea the whole day yesterday, I couldn't make a call or send a text message, even though I had a good amount of bars to do so. So, I made a call home and talked with my Mom... Then my Dad... then my brother, Robert...

After our calls, the ship was docked, so we ventured some tourist hot spots in Juneau. It is gorgeous. There are mountains all over. I bought a necklace with silver flakes in it for myself. And then I bought these two tubes with real 24k Alaskan gold in it for my brothers as gifts. I'm sure they will like them.

We went to dinner at the Rotterdam Dining Hall. Everything is elegant there. I had a seafood platter and then ribs for dinner. It was fabulous. Brian had another form of salmon. He's been eating it as often as he can. Brian and I went back to our room after dinner to find towels in the shape a dog (?) on our bed.