Alaska, Vancouver to Juneau

This summer we embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Alaska, the last Frontier. We opted for a cruise for maximum scenery, food, and relaxation. Although some people take a year or more to plan their Alaskan cruise, we did it in two months! 😅 

Adding to the stress, West Jet went on a strike for the Canada Day holiday weekend, just days before our departure. We were flying on the evening of July 2, Hadley's birthday, to get on the cruise ship in Vancouver the next morning, so we didn't have a whole lot of wiggle room if our flight got cancelled. Luckily, the strike ended the day before we left, and by some miracle, our flights were not affected, other than minor delays! 

We flew direct into Calgary, with a brief layover before our flight to Vancouver. Even Canada's airports are nice and clean.

Vancouver is one of my favorite cities. The mountains meet the sea, tall trees and beautiful, mild weather make it ideal for outdoor living. We got to the hotel in the wee hours of the morning, but we were able to sleep in a little and then walk around downtown a bit before boarding the ship. They have a boardwalk around the harbor, so we stretched our legs and took it all in, enjoying layers in July.

We had time to sit in a park, watching some kids play in a water feature, while bikers and hikers went by. And we took advantage of a public ping pong table on the patio of a skyscraper.

We even saw some wildlife before we got on the ship, like this harbor seal.

We timed it pretty well in the middle of the loading period, to avoid long lines, so boarding was pretty quick, other than J getting randomly selected to go through customs again. So glad we spent that time out in the city, rather than snaking through slow lines in the cruise terminal! (This pic of the front of the ship was not taken in Vancouver, but apparently I didn't get one there.)

Once aboard, we played some giant chess and took in the scenery as we sailed out of port. We splurged and got a balcony room, plus an interior room for the kids. This allowed us to have a little more space and the ability to separate as needed, which worked well for us. Binoculars are a must, and the balcony provided calming entertainment nearly 24/7.

We felt bad about Hadley having to spend her birthday in the airports and traveling, so we made sure to celebrate on July 3! One fun bonus was the interactive screens that recognized her when she got close and burst into fireworks and a birthday greeting! She also got a special dessert and song at dinner that night.

Our first day was at sea, which allowed us to explore the ship and unwind at our own pace.

Like cruise ships passing in the day...

We dressed up a little for formal nights. Kids clean up well! Of course, we enjoyed the AYCE buffet breakfast, multiple lunch and snack options, and three-course dinners on the ship. 

Finally, our first stop was in Ketchikan, officially making Alaska my 50th state! 

It's a pretty tiny town, so we just walked around a bit. Northwest sights: totem pole, check. Salmon ladder, check. Unfortunately, we were about two weeks too early for the salmon.

Creek street is a former Red Light district built out over the creek with meandering wooden walkways, which makes it quite picturesque. Once a place for fishermen and prospectors to seek out booze and companionship, now it's mostly souvenir shops and tourists.

To get away from the crowds, we headed up through town toward the mountains. At the main road, we came to their public library with an amazing view from its oversized deck. They were about to open in 10 minutes, and we needed a potty stop, so it worked out perfectly!

We've stopped at many libraries over our trips, and this one did not disappoint! For such a tiny town, they had study rooms, a teen hangout, kids' section with a book tree, and lots of cozy reading chairs, including some by a large fireplace, all under a soaring pitched roof with lots of large windows overlooking the surrounding mountains. We could have spent another hour or two there.

However, we wanted to get to our hike, Rainbird Trail before it got to be too late. Southeast Alaska is a temperate rainforest, so everything was lush and green, lots of ferns and trees. The trail was in good condition and had some overlook views of the town.

We didn't hike the full trail, but headed back to town and the ship (and lunch!) after a mile or so. Hadley and I appreciated the big flower bushes along the way.

One last stop before getting back on the ship, our first craft brewery, Baleen Brewing! Our phone map told us there was a good one right in town, but we walked up and down and couldn't find it. Turns out it was sharing space with a coffee/ice cream shop, which was why we couldn't see it! There was a lattice wall separating the two spaces, so the kids ate their ice cream on the other side, while we had a beer.

Ketchikan's famous rain gauge, noting it as one of the wettest cities in the US with about 150 in. of precipitation a year.

Parallel parking for cruise ships is interesting. They can pretty much turn their jets and move directly sideways into and out of spots at the dock.

The next day was Juneau! Compared to the warm sunshine in Ketchikan, Juneau was moody and overcast. You can only arrive to Juneau via boat or plane, and the bald eagles were plentiful, like pigeons in other cities.

We booked a whale-watching and glacier excursion to maximize our time.

The boat had to go about 20-30 minutes to a popular whale spot. There were lots of humpback whales, but they weren't really in a breaching kind of mood, apparently. Lots of fins, spouts, and some tails, but only one breach, which I missed. 😖 It was still pretty amazing and humbling to be in the same space as these magnificent animals.

After an hour or so on the water, we were bussed to Mendenhall Glacier. This glacier is just outside of Juneau and has drastically receded in recent years.

You can't really walk to the glacier anymore, but you can hike to Nugget Falls, so that's what we did. It doesn't look that tall, but it's a 377-ft waterfall with a roaring crash to Mendenhall lake.

The hike to and from the falls was easy and flat with some more pretty flowers, like this lupine grove, which reminded us of bluebonnets.

The kids found some glacial ice (bergies) under a shrub, but don't worry, they put it back in the water.

This was the only bear we saw on the trip, outside the T-shirt shop.

Another day, another brewery! This time we got some Juneau juice at Alaskan brewery, and King crab legs, because when in Alaska... They were delicious, by the way!

And another harbor, another harbor seal. Playing shuffleboard while we sailed away from moody Juneau as the sun set is one memory that I think I will remember for quite a while.