Juneau, Alaska and en route to Juneau

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On the way to Juneau, there was some beautiful views, several photo opportunities, and wild life viewings. We did see humpback whales, however, I did not have my camera on me at the time. Besides, we were inside eating lunch when the ship went past some humpbacks. They "waved" to us. On the other side of the boat, there was one that completely breach. I wish I had seen that. The captain's crew announced it over the intercom. Sea otters were in abundance, but since they only stick their heads out of the water, the pictures I have aren't the greatest. We also some some jumping out of the water and swimming along side the boat.

Once in Juneau, we walked around. First stop, the state capitol building. The first question Dean asked on the tour, "Where's the dome?" Come to find out, it's 1 of 11 state capitol buildings that is a federal building, so there is no dome. Another thing I learned was that the only way to get to Juneau is by boat or plane. There are no roads to Juneau. It is the ONLY state capital that you cannot get to by driving. In the capitol building, they had a small flag with only 49 stars, as Hawaii didn't become a state until about 1 year later. It's a small flag in a picture frame and I took a picture of the US flag that has only 49 stars. There was clock in one of the rooms used by the legislators that is so unusual. I asked about the clock and the tour guide told us that "it was a gift from another state, but it made so much noise, that the politicians had it shut off." Outside the capitol building, there was a duplicate of the Liberty Bell. However, on the back, Pennsylvania was spelled Pensylvania (instead of 2 Ns, it only had 1 N).

After the capitol, we walked around. The sidewalks, going up steep hills, had stairs. I have never seen this before. Here in Massachusetts, sidewalks do not have stairs. It was unusual. I would hate to shovel those stairs. The views were spectacular. I can't imagine living in a place like this. You look out your window and there's several snow-capped mountains. Breathtakingly beautiful! We went into this bar on the wharf. Dean ordered an Alaskan beer. He liked it.

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Photos

Capitol Clock
Clock that was given to state of Alaska by another state. It was too noisy, the politicians had it shut off.

city view with mountain in back
I would love to live here with that view.