Compared to Ketchikan, our port time in Juneau was quite long (8 am to 9 pm). Juneau is the capital of Alaska but interestingly enough can only be reached by plane or boat...there are no roads leading into the city. Size-wise, the city is the second largest in the United States with an area close to the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. With a population of a little over 32,000, it just barely beats out Fairbanks for the title of second largest city in Alaska.
Because of the extended port times, we had a busy and quite full day planned. Part I of our day was a whale watching cruise that I had booked online with a highly rated company called Harv and Marv's…Part II took us to Mendenhall Glacier and Part III had us exploring the area around Juneau via rental car.
After the ship docked at 8 am, we had instructions to meet up with the representative from Harv and Marv’s on the dock at 8:20. We found him right away and were told they were looking for the rest of the group so we should wait on a nearby bench. Luckily the bench was under a covered area because it was drizzling rain.
At 8:40 we were still waiting when Kent and Laurel got off the ship to meet their morning tour…a helicopter flight over a glacier. Eventually everyone showed up and we were divided up into vans for the ride to the marina where we would begin our tour.
The ride took about 20 minutes or so and gave us a chance to see a little bit of Juneau. Our driver pointed out some of the sights including an area where eagles congregate, a glimpse of Mendenhall Glacier…and oh yeah…the Walmart.
Once at the marina, Captain Liz quickly found the six who were in our group and we headed to the small boat. Right away, Bob and I pulled on our rain pants as the boat sailed into the rainy and foggy Auke Bay. Having our rain gear and waterproof binoculars was a blessing and allowed us to spend time outside the boat watching for whales.
