Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Day 5

In the wee hours of the morning, the Diamond Princess sailed through Stevens Passage and into Gastineau Channel arriving in Juneau at 6 AM. Big surprise, it is raining in our State Capitol. We had planned to hike Mt. Roberts and take the tram down. Instead, we leave the hiking poles on ship and put our rain gear on, leaving the gangway at about 9 AM. After walking around Juneau, we decide to go to the Capitol and take a self-guided tour. We are still amazed that our State Legislature is so inaccessible to the majority of the residents. From there, we walk to the Alaska State Museum. We were impressed with displays on Alaska Native Cultures, each distinct depending on their subsistence lifestyle. I particularly enjoyed the Tlingit exhibits and the Aleut grass baskets. The Natural History exhibits were well done and realistic. We found that the Alaska History section was interesting, especially since this year is the 50th anniversary of our statehood. From the museum, we made our way in the rain to the Pizzeria Roma on the Wharf (Jeremy and Lalanya’s favorite pizza place when Lalanya used to work in Juneau). It was interesting watching the mix of Cruise ships and float planes coming and going in the same channel. Only in Alaska.After a little shopping we headed back to the ship. That evening we went to see a comedy/music show by Steve Moris, who performed with the Beach Boys for 20 years. He was hilarious and talented. Tomorrow we will be in Ketchikan.