We woke up early because we knew we would be cruising past the Dawes glacier. We were tired, but really wanted to see it. Our room had an obstructed view – so we bundled up and headed to a different deck. It was amazing to see the rugged landscape and the glacier in the distance.

It was also interesting to see the chunks of ice in the water. You couldn’t help but think about Titanic! Some of the chunks were rather big – you could actually hear them pinging off of the boat’s hull. You could also see the silt in the water – making everything cloudy. It was so surreal.

After we passed through the Endicott Arm – it was a few hours before we made it to the city of Juneau. I was excited to get to Juneau for a few reasons. First of all, on a previous trip to Alaska I had desperately wanted to go to Juneau to be able to visit Alaskan Brewing. It turns out there aren’t that many roads in Alaska – so we weren’t able to make it. Also, I had done a TON of research trying to figure out how to get to Glacier Bay National Park.

I had booked a flight seeing tour to Glacier Bay back in April – and was really looking forward to it. Prior to heading to the regional airport, we stopped at Alaskan Brewing to grab a beer with my dad. My mom stayed on the ship to relax – it turns out she didn’t want to take a small plane to see a national park. 😅

We called a taxi (Uber/Lyft don’t barely exist in Juneau!) and we were on our way! Our driver had just moved to Alaska the previous year. He was incredibly helpful – pointing out local landmarks and things to do. He even pointed out a bear! We could see that the weather was starting to turn and received a phone call when we were about 5 minutes away from the airport. It was the company that we chartered our flight seeing tour with.

They let us know that closer to the park the weather wasn’t safe to fly. I asked if there was anything closer to Juneau that they could bring us to, and she said no. I was feeling deflated. We have been working SO hard at our bucket list – to get to all of the US National Parks.

Honestly, I felt like crying. Who wouldn’t? I’ve mapped out the next 3 years so we can get to all of the national parks. Our taxi driver, with the kind heart, said, “Hey, I know you wanted to go to Glacier Bay… But, there’s another glacier!” Bless his heart. He brought us to a vista – we could have gone in to go to hiking, but we saw the storm clouds brewing. We hopped out with my dad and took a few pictures and then started to head back to the ship.

We hadn’t planned on being back in time for dinner, but we were able to eat with my mom. After that, we high tailed it to a MAGIC SHOW. Yes, you read that right. I’m sure many of you don’t know, but a few years ago I got to go on stage at a Las Vegas show to be part of an act. There was a levitating table – if you don’t know this story, feel free to ask. (It’s a fun one!)

There will never be a shortage of hand raising for volunteers if I’m in the crowd. Someone finally took mercy on me – and I was able to be part of the act. Honestly, didn’t feel THAT magical. Although, when he flipped over the card/number combo that I had picked… it was an AIRPLANE. Considering that we didn’t get to go on the small passenger plane to Glacier Bay – maybe it was magic? You can be the judge of that!

We came back to the room to find out that we had in fact won a speciality dining experience! We had booked a cruise while we were on this cruise, and we were able to pick a speciality restaurant/night to attend. It was super exciting for us – because we never win anything!

Up Next:
Skagway
White Pass Scenic Railway
Boy Band Project Show
Speciality dining at Tuscan Grille