First Port Stop – Juneau
Today, I’m going to see a glacier. For an Aussie girl who has avoided the snow, ice and any cold wind, this combination of words sounded foreign bouncing around in my head. But as the ship slowly made her way into port, the concept became real.
There were three activities I wanted to cross off my list in this town: Red Dog Saloon, Tracey’s King Crab Shack and of course Mendenhall Glacier. First, explore the town.
Jewels and diamonds and gems, Oh my!
The beauty of a non-tendered port is the ease and speed of disembarking. Within minutes of scanning our cards we had stepped foot in Alaska! I’d missed out on booking the glacier tour, but I was assured that I’d be able to book at the pier – so don’t fret if you miss out, you can buy tickets for pretty much any tour that is advertised on the ship. Check out my livestream here to see the location of the tour operators. Lickety-split we bought our Glacier tour tix (around $40 US) and had a bit of time to explore before our bus transfer.
With several ships in port, Juneau was buzzing – and raining! But, the wet didn’t dampen our spirits and my first steps on American soil was super fun. I expected the souvenir shops, but not the eleventy-hundred jewellery stores! Tanzanite, diamonds, and every other precious gem were on display in brightly-lid store windows. I ‘ohh-ed ad ahh-ed’ at some pretty rings but hurriedly moved. I wasn’t here to shop.
 |
| Yes, this is a REAL bear |
Among the jewellery stores, there are also lots of shops to purchase amazing Indigenous art and handicrafts. I was enthralled with the vast array, just incredible. I also saw my first bear, however this one was unfortunately frozen in time for eternity. Sad.
I spy a glacier
The bus drive was very entertaining as was the bus driver/tour. He was a super and pointed out bald eagles and shared interesting facts about his home town. Before long, we arrived and after a short walk we
It’s hard to explain in words, I was in awe. The beauty, the size – I’d never seen anything like this before and it was hard to comprehend. After taking hundreds of pics, we made our way to the next stop – Nugget Falls at the base of Mendenhall Glacier.
The hike was picturesque and we kept stopping to absorb our surroundings.
The sound of the falls grew louder until it became a roar.
I didn’t know this was a bucket list destination until I had arrived. I even climbed on a rock to get even closer!
My only wish was that my kids were with us in this magical moment - so I made a mental promise to bring them to this very spot soon.
Red Dog Saloon and Crabs
It was hard to leave Mendenhall Glacier (there’s a great information centre to visit as well) but I promised quite a few people I’d visit the famous Red Dog Saloon. As mentioned earlier, Juneau was busy, but it was late afternoon and we decided it might be a good time to try to get in. Well, we tried. And then got kicked out after the swinging doors took a BIG swing at me.
Midnight Margaritas
I fell asleep soon after getting back on board the beautiful Koningdam. When I woke hours later I had a weird feeling…. was that, dare I say, hunger? There are so many delicious meals to be had onboard, I almost never feel hungry – I mean I’m constantly eating so hunger is non-existent. So, we headed to the Lido deck to try some of the pizza and boy, was it delicious! And, trust me when I say that a sweet and salty margarita was the perfect match to the fresh pizza.
With a slight sway and a belly full of pizza, we made our way back slowly to our stateroom to relive the incredible day, one mental highlight reel after another.
Can this cruise get any better? I’m betting it does!
0 comments