With Kent as driver, we headed a short distance from town to the Shrine of St. Therese...a retreat center with various lodging options and a quaint, stone church built on a point surrounded by water. From our research we knew that this was a good place to spot whales. And not only did we immediately see a whale, we also saw another seal dining on a fish...the second one that day!
The few other people that were there left shortly after we arrived and the four of us were left to enjoy the quiet solitude.
From her detailed notes, Laurel knew there was a gravel road that lead to a spot where you could view the Herbert Glacier. Using the mile markers, we were pretty sure we had located the road, but the entrance was blocked along with a "No Trespassing" sign. We parked the car alongside the road and took off on foot. The road followed a milky-colored, fast-moving stream. After walking quite a distance there was no sign of any glaciers so we turned around and backtracked to the car.
It was starting to get late and knowing that we had to allow extra time to return the car, we started back to Juneau. A few miles down the road, there were a couple of cars pulled over...a good sign that they had spotted some wildlife. Sure enough...a mother bear and two cinnamon colored cubs were munching on dandelions on the side of the road.
Laurel and I grabbed our cameras and when we tried to roll down the window to get a photo, there was no button...no knob...no way to lower the window!! The car was an older model with over 150,000 miles but still...don't all cars have windows that can be opened! (I recently heard that PT Cruisers have the window controls on the dashboard. What?!)
There was no way that I was going to miss such a great photo opportunity so I did exactly what I knew I shouldn't. I got out of the car and walked towards the bears...a mother with cubs! How stupid! The cubs wandered out into the road and momma was so busy trying to keep track of the twins that luckily she didn't notice me. Little Teddy, totally oblivious to us watching, stopped and did his business right in the middle of the highway. Momma finally took charge and the three of them meandered off the road and into the woods.
Stopping briefly at the Red Dog Saloon, we stuck our heads in the door just long enough to look around and get a photo.
The guys dropped Laurel and I off at the ship and then went to return the rental car. Bob’s description of the Juneau Rental Carbusiness was it “looked like a parking lot with a tiny garden shed for the office. “ Regardless…we had a car for the day at a pretty good price. Split two ways, it was cheaper for us than if we had taken the shuttle busses to the glacier…and gave us the flexibility to explore the areas around Juneau. The guy working at the car rental place gave Bob and Kent a ride back to the ship.
After a long day, the buffet sounded like a quicker…and better option for dinner. Bob was particularly excited over this choice when he realized that the theme was Mongolian BBQ…his absolute favorite! You were able to fill a bowl with the raw ingredients and then hand it over to the crew who would stir fry it all while you waited. Bob had THREE platefuls!
We watched as the Coral Princess sailed away from Juneau. Rather than attend any of the shows on the ship, we went back to our cabins and enjoyed spending what little was left of the evening sitting on the balcony. Honestly...there wasn't any other entertainment that could compare with what we saw anyway!
Thanks to the naturalist’s recommendation, we knew that there was the possibility that we would see whales as we sailed out of Juneau…and we did.
The long hours of daylight were deceiving...at 11 pm it didn't "feel" late, but our tired bodies told us it was time to go to bed. Bob had to step out on the balcony to get one last view.
Laurel came out about the same time and I just had to capture this photo of the two of them!
One last photo before falling into bed...
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