Ah, Juneau. What a nice change day five was for us. I have shared several things on FB already but this was my favorite stop so far, by far, because of the people.
We arrived to a sort of Juneau red carpet, it seemed. Since our Sled Dogs excursion didn't start until a little before 9, and the ship had docked around 7, we were in no rush to get off the ship before breakfast. Once we completed that, we headed out. Arriving on the pier we were immediately greeted by someone with, as he called it, the Assembly. That's what his nametag said as well. I guess it's a kind of welcoming committee, and it was so friendly, and he was so happy to see us...what a great start to the day!
And there was more! We had people handing out stickers and welcoming us, thanking us for coming. THANKING US. That was one of the neatest parts, along with the TV crew taking video of us, up close, as we were being greeted. Yes, we have stopped in a few ports prior and done some neat things, but nowhere were they as excited to see us as in Juneau. I realize tourism plays a big role in this little city and helps drive the local economy, but the joy in seeing us was very genuine. It made us feel like we were very welcomed, not a nuisance, not just these tourists that drop in on their lives.
Where else can you get a greeting from a salmon???
As I said before, our initial plans were to see the Sled Dogs and THAT was a lot of fun! I'd love to attach some really fun video here to show what it's like to be pulled by these extremely excited dogs, but no way could I get it to upload here on the ship, given the size. I will be sure to post that for everyone either in FB or on my YouTube page upon our return next week. Here are some pics to share, though, starting with a view of SOME of the dogs in the camp.
The dogs are divided into three sections, from different packs/kennels. Red, blue and, if I'm remembering, green. If I'm not mistaken, you put together dogs that know each other to pull the sleds. Getting pulled was awesome because the excitement of the dogs alone really gets you enthusiastic about it. Now, they would be really noisy neighbors, :), but so playful and fun. These "carts", if you will, are how they train the dogs and are used in the warmer weather.
These are Alaskan Huskies, and they are specifically bred for running. Some more long distance and some shorter distance (there are different lengths of racing in the Dog Sledding world). Siberian Huskies are not used. They just aren't made for it, and I know I'm missing details here, but I do recall size of the dogs matters. These particular ones are usually about 50 pounds. They can go faster than Siberian Huskies and they burn fewer calories given their smaller size. They also don't get tired as quickly. Also, fun fact, their preferred temperature to run is...-20 degrees. Yes, they are happiest when it is FREAKING cold. We asked one of the mushers what racing temps are like in December and he said he did one a few years ago where it was -38 on day one and later dipped to -60, I believe. They wear a LOT of layers!
As we were leaving the restaurant, Gary and Nell (Katy's parents) came in. We had already heard from Nell that they had stopped at a jewelry store (one of many) and bought a few new rings. Apparently, and this is no shocker, Nell had made very quick friends with the jeweler, who was eager to provide them a great discount. Not only did Nell have a picture of him on her phone, but we popped into the same store a bit later and found out he had one of her as well! This is par for the course for us, but it's always funny to see who she has made friends with. When we walked in and told him who we were, he showed us the pic on his phone and then asked if we wanted to see the rings he had finished re-sizing for her...and then let Katy try them on. I thought this was hilarious, but also really cool. Very nice guy. Also...very good at his job, because we walked out of there a lot lighter in the wallet than we had planned (heck, we hadn't planned it at all), but I'm happy because Katy found a beautiful Tanzanite and Diamond ring, which she then wore out to dinner and the comedy show later last night.
I'll get to the show in just a second, but one of the things Zac had been hoping we could find on this trip was a new knife. He found one at about the fourth store we looked at, one where we felt it matched the quality he wanted and wasn't ridiculously expensive. Oh, it wasn't cheap, to be sure. It is a dagger made with Damascus steel and the handle is carved out of Caribou antler, but it sure is cool! Now, I know what you're wondering...can they bring a knife onto the ship? Well, you can, but they take it and you go pick it up when you disembark. We had no interest in that, so we had the store ship it via USPS, for less than $8. What a bargain! Zac is thrilled at this.
Last item of the night after dinner was a comedy show with Phil Tag. Phil was a writer on SNL and has performed on The Tonight Show, Comedy Central, Showtime...he's well-seasoned and VERY funny. Half of his show was complete improv, and I laughed so hard through almost all of it. If you have seen him, great! If you haven't, and you don't mind a little bit of language (he was surprisingly not that bad), go see him if you get the chance if he comes near you. Well worth the time. OK, that's it for Juneau. Ketchikan is next up on the list. We were slated to take a salmon fishing excursion, but our last whale watching tour was on a smaller boat than we had been on before and Zac was nauseous the first 30 minutes. The salmon excursion would be even smaller, so we canceled that last night and are seeing a Lumberjack show instead and doing some poking around the town before we get back on the boat. More to come!
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