Cinderelley
07-23-2009, 07:41 PM
Juneau
I woke up this morning, looked past my balcony (I was sleeping with the curtains open - not the door ;)), and there were eagles fishing for food!!!! I was so excited!!! I love eagles!!!!
DH wasn't around, so I hopped on the phone and woke the kids up screaming about the eagles. For once they were out of bed like greased lightning and right beside me on the balcony. It was one of the most wonderful sights I have ever seen. DH eventually appeared and started recording them with the camcorder. I took a few pictures, but quit after a while since I didn't want to be distracted from watching them. DS got some footage of one of them fighting with another bird.
Our original plan was to go to Glacier Gardens, be back at the ship at 11 for lunch and then head out to our whale watching tour at 12. The eagle ate up our Glacier Gardens time, but it was well worth it. Instead we headed into town to look around. While we were eating breakfast, DH had brought up the fact that he had watched the Mt. Roberts Tram ascend the mountain while the ship was docking. For those of you who don't know, the Mt. Roberts Tram is a cable car that takes visitors up the mountain 1800 feet over a total of 3100 feet of cable. Remember my fear of heights??? I freak out doing the ski lift at WDW's water park. I told him that people were insane to take that thing up the mountain. Fast forward to walking around town - DH is once again watching the tram go up the mountain.
So, once again, I agree to go to my certain death. At least the tickets for the tram are cheaper than the tickets for the matchbox plan. We all get packed into the tram where I opt to sit down with my back to the window while the rest of my family stands and looks out. This must be how sardines feel. The thought crossed my mind that since we were near the middle, if the cable broke and we survived the drop to the ground, the people in front of us would cushion our landing as we slid down the mountain and stopped. As I was comforting myself with this thought, DH announced that he wanted to be right up front on the way down in order to get good video footage. :( Also, my plan to not look down didn't work. I had this morbid need to watch and our ship was getting smaller and smaller and smaller. Miraculously we made it alive once again.
At the top of the mountain, I was rewarded with seeing an eagle up close. It was held in captivity, because it had been shot through the beak and wing and fell to the ground. The impact detached the retina in one of her eyes, so she could no longer survive in the wild. Then we started hiking the trails. I was having a wonderful time experiencing the sights, smells and sounds. We ran across a fly with a blue behind, some bear poop, and a sign which pointed to the trail that took you down the mountain. I voted for hiking all the way down. DD, who was freaking out about all the bugs around, voted against it. In the end, DD won, because we didn't have the time to hike down and still catch our whale watching tour. Back to my can of certain death I went.
We waited for the next tram, so that DH could have his front row seat. Lucky me, I got to sit on the bench at the very front - all the way thinking down that I would cushion everyone else's fall when the cable broke. DH commented on how much it would swing if it was windy, and I thanked the good Lord that it was not a windy day. The lady in who was standing behind my seat freaked out & closed her eyes. I told her that was why I was sitting down facing away from the window. There was another lady who couldn't see over DS, so I invited her over between me and the lady with her eyes closed. She hesitated at first, but I told her that obviously she wouldn't be obstructed over view since we wouldn't be looking. DH decided to comment on how much damage the impact would do at certain intervals. At one point, we were equal with the 13th floor of our ship, and he said we would survive if we fell from that height. I told him I disagreed with him. We placed a bet on it. I still need to ask one of the doctors in my ER for the definitive answer, but I'm sure that a 13 story fall would kill someone even if I was cushioning their impact. ;)
We ate a quick lunch and headed out to our whale watching tour with Harv and Marv's Outback Alaska. This was an independent tour that I booked, and everyone had high expectations for it. I was a little nervous that no one would like it. My worrying was all for naught. Harv and Marv are really Jay and Pete who called each other Harv and Marv in high school because of some movie. We had Pete. He was great. The ship only holds 6 people, so we had the whole thing to ourselves. I had booked the boat for 5 hours, and told Pete that we were open for all sorts of sightseeing, not just whale watching.
The first thing I saw as we started out in the open water was a fishing jumping across the water. It started on one side of the boat, crossed our wake and continued jumping on the other side of the boat. Pete told us that it was called a Flying Salmon. It was the weirdest thing I had seen. Although we had seen a couple of dolphins, seals and sea lions off our our ship, this was so much better.
Our first whale sighting was a mother and baby humpback. We had it all to ourselves for a while. Pete called Jay and let him know where the whales were (Jay had a different set of passengers). My mom, Alaric and I sat at the front of the boat. Jeff and Tom were at the back of the boat, and Danielle remained firmly in the copilot seat. When we decided to move on, I helped my mom back inside the ship then headed out to the back. It was great riding in the back while we were speeding along. I told my kids it almost made up for not going to WDW for vacation. We could see Mendenhall glacier in the distance as we sped off to "skull island". This brought about a discussion on pirates and Peter Pan. At skull island, we saw some sea lions playing in the water. There so cute that I wanted to bring them home. Jay called Pete and told him that he had found another pair of whales. While we were travelling across Auke Bay to the new pair, I saw a bear on the beach. I never realized bears were so big. Pete slowed down so I could see it better, but it got scared and ran off. Soon we were watching another mother-baby pair of humpback whales.
We saw some of the other whale-watching tour ships. They were two story ships and people were packed all around. I don't know how most people would get a good view of the wildlife. It made me feel even better about booking with Harv and Marv. Pete would turn the boat so that everyone could get a good view no matter which way the whales were going. He was even telling us if the whales were going for a little dip or making a big dive just by watching their movements. He also had a cheat sheat of the flukes to be able to tell which whale was which. Jeff loved talking to him about living in Alaska, the town and his job while we waited for the whales to come back up.
I woke up this morning, looked past my balcony (I was sleeping with the curtains open - not the door ;)), and there were eagles fishing for food!!!! I was so excited!!! I love eagles!!!!
DH wasn't around, so I hopped on the phone and woke the kids up screaming about the eagles. For once they were out of bed like greased lightning and right beside me on the balcony. It was one of the most wonderful sights I have ever seen. DH eventually appeared and started recording them with the camcorder. I took a few pictures, but quit after a while since I didn't want to be distracted from watching them. DS got some footage of one of them fighting with another bird.
Our original plan was to go to Glacier Gardens, be back at the ship at 11 for lunch and then head out to our whale watching tour at 12. The eagle ate up our Glacier Gardens time, but it was well worth it. Instead we headed into town to look around. While we were eating breakfast, DH had brought up the fact that he had watched the Mt. Roberts Tram ascend the mountain while the ship was docking. For those of you who don't know, the Mt. Roberts Tram is a cable car that takes visitors up the mountain 1800 feet over a total of 3100 feet of cable. Remember my fear of heights??? I freak out doing the ski lift at WDW's water park. I told him that people were insane to take that thing up the mountain. Fast forward to walking around town - DH is once again watching the tram go up the mountain.
So, once again, I agree to go to my certain death. At least the tickets for the tram are cheaper than the tickets for the matchbox plan. We all get packed into the tram where I opt to sit down with my back to the window while the rest of my family stands and looks out. This must be how sardines feel. The thought crossed my mind that since we were near the middle, if the cable broke and we survived the drop to the ground, the people in front of us would cushion our landing as we slid down the mountain and stopped. As I was comforting myself with this thought, DH announced that he wanted to be right up front on the way down in order to get good video footage. :( Also, my plan to not look down didn't work. I had this morbid need to watch and our ship was getting smaller and smaller and smaller. Miraculously we made it alive once again.
At the top of the mountain, I was rewarded with seeing an eagle up close. It was held in captivity, because it had been shot through the beak and wing and fell to the ground. The impact detached the retina in one of her eyes, so she could no longer survive in the wild. Then we started hiking the trails. I was having a wonderful time experiencing the sights, smells and sounds. We ran across a fly with a blue behind, some bear poop, and a sign which pointed to the trail that took you down the mountain. I voted for hiking all the way down. DD, who was freaking out about all the bugs around, voted against it. In the end, DD won, because we didn't have the time to hike down and still catch our whale watching tour. Back to my can of certain death I went.
We waited for the next tram, so that DH could have his front row seat. Lucky me, I got to sit on the bench at the very front - all the way thinking down that I would cushion everyone else's fall when the cable broke. DH commented on how much it would swing if it was windy, and I thanked the good Lord that it was not a windy day. The lady in who was standing behind my seat freaked out & closed her eyes. I told her that was why I was sitting down facing away from the window. There was another lady who couldn't see over DS, so I invited her over between me and the lady with her eyes closed. She hesitated at first, but I told her that obviously she wouldn't be obstructed over view since we wouldn't be looking. DH decided to comment on how much damage the impact would do at certain intervals. At one point, we were equal with the 13th floor of our ship, and he said we would survive if we fell from that height. I told him I disagreed with him. We placed a bet on it. I still need to ask one of the doctors in my ER for the definitive answer, but I'm sure that a 13 story fall would kill someone even if I was cushioning their impact. ;)
We ate a quick lunch and headed out to our whale watching tour with Harv and Marv's Outback Alaska. This was an independent tour that I booked, and everyone had high expectations for it. I was a little nervous that no one would like it. My worrying was all for naught. Harv and Marv are really Jay and Pete who called each other Harv and Marv in high school because of some movie. We had Pete. He was great. The ship only holds 6 people, so we had the whole thing to ourselves. I had booked the boat for 5 hours, and told Pete that we were open for all sorts of sightseeing, not just whale watching.
The first thing I saw as we started out in the open water was a fishing jumping across the water. It started on one side of the boat, crossed our wake and continued jumping on the other side of the boat. Pete told us that it was called a Flying Salmon. It was the weirdest thing I had seen. Although we had seen a couple of dolphins, seals and sea lions off our our ship, this was so much better.
Our first whale sighting was a mother and baby humpback. We had it all to ourselves for a while. Pete called Jay and let him know where the whales were (Jay had a different set of passengers). My mom, Alaric and I sat at the front of the boat. Jeff and Tom were at the back of the boat, and Danielle remained firmly in the copilot seat. When we decided to move on, I helped my mom back inside the ship then headed out to the back. It was great riding in the back while we were speeding along. I told my kids it almost made up for not going to WDW for vacation. We could see Mendenhall glacier in the distance as we sped off to "skull island". This brought about a discussion on pirates and Peter Pan. At skull island, we saw some sea lions playing in the water. There so cute that I wanted to bring them home. Jay called Pete and told him that he had found another pair of whales. While we were travelling across Auke Bay to the new pair, I saw a bear on the beach. I never realized bears were so big. Pete slowed down so I could see it better, but it got scared and ran off. Soon we were watching another mother-baby pair of humpback whales.
We saw some of the other whale-watching tour ships. They were two story ships and people were packed all around. I don't know how most people would get a good view of the wildlife. It made me feel even better about booking with Harv and Marv. Pete would turn the boat so that everyone could get a good view no matter which way the whales were going. He was even telling us if the whales were going for a little dip or making a big dive just by watching their movements. He also had a cheat sheat of the flukes to be able to tell which whale was which. Jeff loved talking to him about living in Alaska, the town and his job while we waited for the whales to come back up.