More Juneau

Monday morning we visited the Alaskan Brewery. We were able to use the local bus system to get around a fair amount.

Monday afternoon and most of Tuesday Alaska's GWA drove us around, showing us some things outside the city like a cool old church, a labyrinth, and that the old Masonic Lodge is now used for State offices.

We also looked for bears. It only takes a little more than an hour to drive from the end of road north of Juneau to one on the south. The only ways into Juneau are via air or sea. She also drove us around Douglas Island a bit, as the island is connected to the mainland via bridge.

On our last night we spent some time with members of the local Rainbow Assembly. We flew home yesterday. We loved our trips to Alaska and hope to go back some day. 

Whale Watching

On Sunday we did a day tour I booked through Viator. The tour company picked us up near the cruise docks and took us up to the Mendenhall Glacier, where we checked out the visitor center and hiked out to the glacier. While it's not a National Park Site, but rather part of the National Forest system, it did have a Junior Ranger program, which Jennifer completed.

Next the tour bus took us Auke Bay Harbor, where we boarded a boat so we could see whales.

We saw several, as well as eagles. We also enjoyed seeing all the mountains surrounding the Juneau area. After our tour we met up with the GWA of Alaska again and had dinner nearby.

Juneau

On Friday, we returned to Alaska, this time flying up to Juneau to spend a few days checking out the city and the surrounding area. Our hotel was north of town by the airport. Saturday morning we took the public bus to downtown and walked around.

We then walked south of town to where the cruise ships docked and looked around the shops. We took the tram up to Mount Roberts to admire the view below. There's a visitor center on top with a small shop, cafe, and museum, as well as a nature trail. The island across from the harbor is Douglas Island.

In the afternoon Alaska's Grand Worthy Advisor drove us around, showing us some things outside the city like the fish hatchery and the university campus.

Paris

  

After we got back from Alaska, Bryan flew to Paris. He met a friend and they spent a few days seeing some of the sights of Paris.

 

In addition to seeing some of the city, they also went out to Versailles and Disneyland.

This weekend, Jennifer and a friend headed down to Disneyland to celebrate her birthday. They enjoyed meeting characters, their favorite attractions, and seeing the decorations for Disneyland’s 60th anniversary.

They also enjoyed the new fireworks show, Disneyland Forever, and the new parade, Paint the Night.

Alaska Part 3: Kenai Fjords

On Sunday, our last full day in Alaska, we drove out to Seward to visit Kenai Fjords National Park. On the way we stopped and hiked out to Exit Glacier.  

When we got to Seward we looked around, had some lunch, and stopped at the Kenai Fjords visitor center, where the kids earned their Junior Ranger badges.

We then headed back to Anchorage. It's about two and a half hours from Seward to Anchorage. We enjoyed seeing wildlife, including moose, on our drives around Alaska. That night we flew home.

Alaska Part 2: Denali

At around four hours one way, the drive to and from Denali was long but beautiful. We enjoyed seeing the Alaska countryside and the small towns along the way.

We weren't able to see McKinley when we arrived at the park, as it was too overcast, as it often is in the summer, but we enjoyed looking around the visitor's center and driving into the park.  

We had dinner at the cafe next to the visitor center.

We stayed the night outside the park, then headed back in Friday morning to see a presentation on the sled dogs, and so the kids could earn their Junior Ranger Badges. If I had it to do over, I would have spent two nights near Denali; one wasn't enough.

Alaska Part 1: Anchorage

On Tuesday we flew up to Anchorage, Alaska. We spent Wednesday looking around the city, driving up into the hills above the town and around the campus of the University. Alaska is the first new state we have visited since 2007, bringing our total to 45. 

We also checked out the Costco, the mall, and downtown, where we had dinner at Benihana's and celebrated Jennifer's birthday.

 

Thursday morning we headed up to Denali National Park, stopping at the Ulu Knife Factory on the way.

When we got back to Anchorage Friday evening, we had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe downtown.

Today we ate lunch at the Moose's Tooth Pub and Pizzeria, which was really good, and spent some time at the Alaska Zoo. We met members of the local Rainbow Assembly for dinner.