I keep saying this, but everyone agrees that Cruise West does an incredible job of taking care of their people. Our bags miraculously appear in our rooms. Once again, we were met at the airport (which is very small, with handwritten signs on cardboard) and gave us a little city tour. Our guide told us that they suggested to locally owned businesses that they put a sign in their windows saying so, as Cruise West passengers have indicated that they prefer to buy local. She assured us that some of the gemstones, etc, found for sale there are not native to Alaska! I was surprised--- but yet not totally so-- to hear that the big cruise lines actually own a number of the tourist businesses in the ports they frequent. Being armed with this information is very important to me. I have no need to make Mr. Princess Lines more wealthy by purchasing trinkets manufactured in China and sold in Alaska. When I shopped, I looked for the locally owned signs.
The guide pointed out places that are fun to visit, like the Red Dog Saloon and others where the food is the the feature such as the Twisted Fish or The Hangar. We followed the advice and made a reservation at the Hangar and then wandered around and shopped until time to eat. Since I knew Tom and I would have an extra day in Juneau upon our return, I didn't purchase anything today but instead did comparison shopping and priced items I liked, in case I found them in other ports.
Downtown is very tourist-y. I'm sure that's because the floating cities (giant cruise ships) dock there. You do need to shop carefully; locally owned doesn't always mean locally made. I found lovely scarves... made in China. And the scrumptious looking chocolates in the ice cream shop? Imported from Belgium.
They're getting some of the 114 inches of precipitation today. We could see the glacier on the way in, and high, steep hillsides. There were bald eagles perched on stumps and sticks near the road, and on one side of the road was saltwater, the other side, freshwater. They also get a high tide, but not as extreme as in Anchorage. Still, it affects the timing of your boat traffic if you don't want to struggle against it.
Dinner at The Hangar was delicious. Prior to this trip, I would not claim to be a fish eater. It has much to do with growing up and having to pick through bones in my fish and I've never gotten past that. Friday night fish fries held no magic for me. I had a halibut basket with fries and brown malt vinegar and it made a fish lover of me.
We stopped for an ice cream after dinner. As is our habit, we struck up a conversation with the gal behind the counter and as it turns out, she is from Maple Grove, Mn! She's working here for the summer and living with an uncle. Real Estate is crazy expensive here. We picked up one of those local magazines and saw a lot with a driveway for $180,000. Such a deal! Our waitress suggested that people here don't need so much "stuff". I had my raincoat and hat, so the rain didn't bother me, but I don't think I would want to live here. As we travel, I am weighing which areas I would find attractive or interesting to live.
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