Alaska Journal - Day 13

We docked in Juneau, the capital of Alaska, this morning.  While having breakfast the crew got everything ready for disembarkment.  This was the end of the line for our trip.

There are no roads connecting Juneau to the rest of Alaska or to the rest of North America.  It is reachable only by boat or seaplane

We had a couple of hours before our shuttle to the airport.  It was too early in the morning for most places to be open but we walked around looking at the sights.

We walked past the State Capitol building, which was modest as state capitols go. Since it was Saturday we didn't expect for it to be open, but we would have liked to look inside. 

The local Ravens were pretty friendly. They were probably used to getting handouts. 

After walking around for a while we found ourselves in the area where the big cruise ships dock.  There were many, very large, souvenir shops in this area and I did find a place to pick up a few souvenirs.  We bought a few t-shirts and other things.  I had already bought a magnet at the start of our trip in Seattle and one in Ketchikan but I couldn’t resist picking up a couple more.  

It was time for our shuttle to the airport.  The cruise folks had already taken our luggage so we hopped on a luxury bus with only our carry-on bags.

We splurged on first class seating for the flight back to Seattle. Pretty nice!

Mark got some great pictures of glaciers as we flew out of Juneau. The idea of glaciers being "rivers of ice" is well illustrated here. You can see several smaller glaciers flowing in to the main glacier, which finally melts into the river.

The flight was uneventful.  With first class seating we got a hot lunch and cookies.  We landed in Seattle on time and got back home about 8 p.m.

Please leave a comment or send an e-mail if you have enjoyed our first trip to Alaska.

The end.