Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Alaska Day one

 We arrived in Juneau  about 11pm Alaska time which was 3am our body time.  The layover in Seattle was longer than expected because our flight was delayed.   During the waiting time in the airport, we chatted with a lady who was returning to Juneau with her three boys.  That was a wonderful distraction which led to a longer interaction later on another day. (More on that later)

We made it to our Airbnb and slept a few hours.  Then our real Alaska adventure began.

Our first day was spent mostly getting to know downtown Juneau.  Coffee shop for breakfast was the first stop.  The Rookery.  Eleanor gave it a five star rating.


We wandered around a bit before all the cruise ship passengers disembarked. It was a foggy grey day.








Our first activity was a visit to the history museum.  The advantage of visiting there first is that we learned much of the history of the area which helped us to orient ourselves to the city and region.



The native peoples have a strong history here and are proud of their heritage.



Alaska became the forty-ninth state in 1959!



After our visit to the museum, we did more exploring.  Other than the shore of the Gastineau Channel which leads out into the Pacific Ocean and the downtown area, Juneau is built in to the sides of the mountains surrounding it.  Nothing is level.  We definitely got our exercise workout.



We climbed the hill back to our rooms and dropped into bed. There was lots planned for Day Two...

6 comments:

Pamela M. Steiner said...

Oh, I am so happy to see you are sharing your journey to Alaska with us! I've seen you pictures on Facebook, and hoped there would be more! I'm so happy for you to have this experience! I've often thought I would love to visit Alaska someday, and you are doing it the right way...not a cruise! I don't think they give you enough time to really explore, and that is what I would want to do too! Yay! I'm glad Eleanor is having such a great time!

Tom said...

...thanks Linda for taking mer along to see the sights. I sure didn't need my sunglasses. Have a great time.

Ginny Hartzler said...

I remember when Alaska became a state! Wonderful photos, I especially like the native exhibit! I look forward to day #2.

🌺 Debby/From My Shasta Home said...

I don't care to "cruise" to Alaska either. If I'm going to go, I want to be in Alaska not half the time on a ship.

ellen b. said...

Glad you could re-plan this delayed trip and enjoy it together. Flying in seems a good way to go. Looking forward to more days ahead.

Wendy said...

So glad you finally got to make this trip.