Life on the Ferry

For more than five years I had been planning this trip.  Always wanting to see AND experience Alaska's Inside Passage, I knew I also did not want to do the trip on a large cruise ship with hundreds or (gasp!) thousands of people.  That is just not my way to vacationing or enjoying local culture and communities.

We finally pulled the trigger to make this happen more than a year ago, when I scheduled my three week vacation from work.  It was months before the AK Marine Ferry schedule for the summer of 2019 would be published however.  Very frustrating, as it is typically finalized and ready for bookings in October or early November.  Due to budget cuts, the schedule wasn't "final" until December.

I immediately fine-tuned our itinerary, as there were some changes in the "for public comment" version I had seen in November.  Once the bookings were made, I didn't expect for there to be more changes . . . there were!

We ended up having to stay an extra day in Juneau during our mid-trip schedule, shortening our time in Skagway by a day.  That worked out just fine.

The other change, however, was a pain in the ass and resulted in our having to get a refund for the segment and booking a flight back to Juneau from Sitka on our last night/day in Alaska.  A ferry schedule change getting us to Juneau a day late and more than 8 hours after our scheduled flight home was no good.

I have filed with our travel insurance company for the added expense, and expect to be reimbursed soon.  All of that said, we made it work out to our advantage, providing us with an extra full day of touring in Sitka, rather than catching a morning ferry out.

UPDATE 8/21/19  I just received word from the travel insurance company that such a "change" or "cancellation" is not a covered event.  I'm not happy about it, but since it was only $44, I'm not losing any sleep over it either!

But the hassle of it, makes the point that when you travel by the AK Marine Ferry, you should expect some changes or inconveniences along the way. Having heard the horror stories of maintenance issues, delayed sailings, and crew issues . . . we were pleasantly surprised at just how smoothly things did go.  That said, immediately after our return (within a week) there was a strike, that shut down the ferry for a few days . . . maybe a week.  So moral of the story is be flexible and don't sweat out the details.

For our trip, we had a sleeper/berth for three of our trips (Juneau to Petersburg, round trip plus the one-way from Skagway to Sitka) because they were all long, overnight trips.  The others were short enough and during daylight hours, that the added expense for a sleeper was not necessary.  Speaking of the cost for the sleepers, they were $88 for each segment of the Juneau/Petersburg trip and $130 for the even longer Skagway to Sitka sailing.

The berths did have a private ensuite toilet (marine head) and shower. In the sleeping area, there was also a wash sink.  It was very spacious. Some of my cruise friends said it looked to be larger than some of the ship cabins they had been in.  It was definitely nicer than an Amtrak sleeper or bedroom.


Our total ferry cost, after the refund for the cancelled Sitka to Juneau segment was $1,148.  Here is our full itinerary via the ferry:
Juneau to Petersburg
Petersburg to Juneau
Juneau to Gustavus (Glacier Bay NP)
Gustavus to Juneau
Juneau to Skagway
Skagway to Sitka

As for the views, for the most part the weather was pretty good. Some days there was some fog and we did have rain a couple of days in/out of Skagway.  But all in all, the ferry was very enjoyable.  The photo to the left is sunrise as we were passing through Sitka on our way to Petersburg.

The photo below was as we neared Petersburg, coming from Juneau, from the bow's observation lounge.

As I mentioned in the "food" blog post, the meals we had on the ferries were very good.  The breakfasts were fresh, cooked to order and featured eggs, pancakes, bacon/sausage, etc.  (Photo to the right)  David said the coffee was also very good.  Prices were not any higher than what we are accustomed to paying at our favorite Milwaukee area diners.

Most of the ships had cafeteria type dining.  One (the Tazalina) only had cantina type food, which could be microwaved.  The Columbia had both a cafeteria and a seated restaurant with servers.  None of the food outlets aboard the ferries permitted tipping as the service staff are employees of the state and state law prohibits them from accepting tips.


I wouldn't hesitate recommending the ferry to anyone.  The staff was personable and helpful, the ships spacious and comfortable.  And while we never took part, the larger ships also have onboard theaters showing movies throughout the day and evening.  We even took advantage of the laundry facilities on the M/V Columbia on our long trip from Skagway to Sitka.  That was especially nice!

Food From Around SE Alaska

We enjoyed the Skagway Brewing Company for a midday lunch, after doing some touring around the downtown area.  The upstairs restaurant had an hour wait (at 1pm) so we opted to dine in the bar area.  It was comfortable and also very busy.  I enjoyed my bloody mary while David had a local dark stout.  We snacked on a large German style pretzel until we decided about lunch.  Still waiting for a call to go upstairs, we opted for bar food which for me was a bowl of chili and for David was fish & chips. 

Olivia's Bistro's version of a reuben sandwich

Rather than tell a bunch of stories about food, I think I'll let the photos tell the stories (with captions).  I will say the food was mostly excellent, especially the seafood. I'm generally not very adventurous, but I did get out of my comfort zone on a couple of meals.  David, on the other hand, no worries.  I sorta cringed at the thought of the reindeer meat reuben, but he loved it!

Halibut Fish & Chips - The Sand Bar in Juneau ($20)

I was also surprised at how relatively reasonable prices were.  Before the trip, I budgeted $100/day for food.  The time on the ferry and food there was very reasonable, no more than what we typically pay at our favorite local family diner for breakfast or burgers.  We did have a couple of expensive dinners out, as a splurge and I will say Glacier Bay Lodge was on the pricey side, but not offensively high.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was what was seemingly "the memo price" on "fish & chips" just about anywhere we went.  Admittedly spoiled by Wisconsin's outstanding Friday fish frys at around $12-$14 . . . the Alaskan version was running $19 to $25.  OK to be fair, it was mostly fresh halibut or rock fish, versus (probably) frozen cod.  So all in all, we were alright with paying a premium price for a premium meal.

Anyway . . . onto the food porn!

So many ways to eat seafood . . .

Olivia's Halibut Pastry Puff (Skagway)

Longliner's Seafood Pappardelle (Sitka)

Longliner's Ceviche (Sitka)

Sitka Hotel & Restaurant Calamari

Sitka Westmark Hotel & Restaurant Crab Cakes

Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.  Arriving into Petersburg around 4pm on Fourth of July, there wasn't much open.  So we opted for pizza delivery.  We were surprised at just how good this pizza from Papa Bear's was!  And not any more expensive than our favorite pizza place here in Milwaukee.  The leftovers the next day were excellent as well.

The Historic Skagway Inn was a lovely B&B.  They offered a hot entree each morning.

And when in the wilds of Alaska, berries are always an option too!  These are yummy salmon berries.

Final Port of Call - Sitka (July 16th - 19th)

We took the AK Marine Ferry from Skagway down to Sitka on the longest  trip by ferry for this entire vacation.  Leaving Skagway at 6:30p Monday, we didn't arrive into Sitka until approximately 1:30p on Tuesday.  We had a berth for this final leg aboard the M/V Columbia.  It was the nicest of the ships we sailed on. Our outside cabin was a bit larger and had a nice window, allowing me to watch as the world went by.  The bathroom and shower area was also much larger.

Other differences on this ship versus the M/V Malaspina where we had sleeping berths . . . the outstanding dining facilities.  We were surprised to find white linen table cloths and a full service wait staff for breakfast.  The evening before, we had a later lunch not expecting to have dinner aboard the ferry.  We did, however enjoy a hamburger and piece of pie to share, just to knock off some hunger pangs around 7:30pm.

I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed the ferry . . . and David tolerated it as best he could given his short term attention span and creature comforts of home.  All kidding aside, he thought the ferry was 100 times better than Amtrak, and he "tolerates" that just fine too.

In Sikta, we had a car reserved for our 4 days/3 nights there.  Staying a little out of the main tourist area, I wasn't sure how close things were going to be, particularly restaurants.  I also wanted to be able to venture out of town into the forest in hopes of seeing bears.  Having followed the "Sitka Bears" Facebook group before our trip, and have followed since (a little).  We saw NO BEARS in spite of being in all of the right places, just not the right times.

This trip and the limited number of bear sightings and photos we got, was a good reminder for me to never take for granted the gift when you do see wildlife, especially bears!

That said, it was amazing just how many eagles we saw throughout our three weeks.  They were seemingly everywhere, and majestic in whatever they were doing at the time.  This one was out along the shoreline near the ferry terminal.  We stopped to observe it for awhile, hoping it would be fishing or something.  But it was really more about just watching the world go by from its perch.

Locals told us that the warm weather had the salmon run coming late, but as much as probably a week or two, so that also played into our poor timing.

Having the car for the entire time in Sitka, I did enjoy getting up early and going to either end of the island to see what might be out or about.  Again, nothing of note, but it was amazing to see how many salmon berries were ripe and ready for the bears.  But as David said, the forest was so full of them everywhere, the bears didn't have to come down to civilization to nosh on the popular berries.

About the forest, this photo shows the berries that grow wild as well as how large the trees are too.

Whale Park was an area known for bear activity.  It was a nice and convenient location, heading out the Sawmill Creek Road, towards the Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center.  For anyone looking to try to see bears around Sitka, this area is probably the most reliable location that isn't on a spawning stream.

We took a pass on both the Raptor Center and the Fortress of the Bear.  Both are heavily marketed to the cruisers and not very interesting to me.  They both seemed to be little more than captive animals kept for the benefit of tourists. I'm probably wrong, as both tout their rehabilitation and conservation efforts. I'm just a little more jaded, and perhaps spoiled, to not want or need to see bears in captivity.  For that, I could just go to a zoo.

The Russian influence of this area is still very present and available to tourists . . . for the most part.  This is the new St. Michael's Cathedral, built after the original structure was destroyed by fire in the 1960's.  We were expecting to be able to go into the actual cathedral beyond the entry vestibule.   I'll admit I was pretty disappointed.

Earlier in the day, it appeared there were a lot of people entering and spending a bit of time inside, so I assume they were able to see more than what we got to later in the afternoon.

The other bit of Russian history we were able to view up close and personally was the Russian Bishop's House, part of the Sitka National Historical Park.  We enjoyed the self tour of the first floor as well as the guided tour of the upper level.   Guests can only access the restored area, which includes the living quarters area of the resident bishop from an era when the Russian Orthodox Church  play a significant role in the development of Sitka and the natives who have resided here for centuries.

There hadn't been a Russian Bishop to reside here since 1969, with the building at risk of collapse just a few years later. The National Park Service purchased and spent years restoring one of the last examples of Russian architecture in North America.

When we were there, the outside of the building was undergoing work, with ugly scaffolding around so no exterior photos.  The interior, however, really makes up for that as the furnishings and fixtures are beautiful and ornate.

We also enjoyed our time at the other part of the Sitka National Historical Park known at "Totem Park" where much of the local Tlingit native culture is on display, including some guides and artists to share their heritage and culture.  We enjoyed spending time with Marie, who was born & raised in Sitka, with family ties going back for centuries.

Our last museum visit in Sitka was at the Sheldon Jackson Museum which is very close to the Totem Park.  Jackson was a collector of native artifacts from areas throughout Alaska.  His collection represents most of the Alaskan tribes & cultures and is well worth the small admission fee ($5/person) and 60-90 minutes to tour.

The building was built in 1895 and was the first concrete structure built in Alaska.  It was placed on the National Historical Register in 1972.

Heading Further North to the Yukon (July 14th)

While in Skagway, we rented a car to take the road trip up into Canada's Yukon Territory, with Whitehorse being our end goal.  It was a leisurely and beautiful drive, in relatively decent weather, although visibility was not great for much of our day.  We had some rain showers throughout the afternoon, but nothing terrible.

Before leaving Skagway however, we did some exploring around to include the abandoned mining camp at Dyea in hopes of seeing bears.  But alas, not much to see.  The heat wave throughout Alaska during our first two weeks there, really played havoc on the wildlife (and humans) activity levels.

It was funny to hear the locals complain of how hot it was when temps were in the mid to high 70's.  David & I thought it was perfect, although at night, our motel rooms were often pretty warm. Nothing was air conditioned so it was open windows and maybe an oscillating fan.

After about an hour of looking around town, we headed north.  Skagway is one of the two SE Alaska towns with road access up into Canada.  Many people drive into one of these two port communities to pick up the AK Marine Ferry to then venture further along the Inside Passage to ports like Juneau and Ketchikan.

The landscape was very different than what we had seen in Alaska.  The forest gave way to high tundra like scrappy bushes and small kettle-like ponds and lakes.  We really expected to see bears on the drive, but alas NOTHING.  Some of the tourists we ran into later in the day said they had seen both black and brown bears.

Carcross is a point along the way were many of the cruise operators out of Skagway take folks.  Often their tours will include riding the White Pass Railroad train up and then busing back or vice versa.  They've even developed a little tourist stop area with local artist exhibits, shops and public restrooms.  Again, I was pretty happy we were driving it at our own pace with time to do what we wanted and where.  A yummy ice cream cone at the local general store in Carcross was delightful.

Heading north out of Carcross we passed by the Carcross Desert!  Who knew?  Considered the smallest desert in the world, it is just about one square mile in size.  It sure seemed out of place there.

When we made it up to Whitehorse, we first checked to see if they had any bowling centers in town.  (I know, big surprise!)  Being the size it was, it looked to be big enough to support one and sure enough there is one, but it wasn't open on Sundays.  Oh well.

Moving on, we made a stop at the SS Klondike National Historic Site, located right along the Yukon River.   Used to run freight the Yukon River, the sternwheelers were active from 1929 to 1950. This particular ship was the second bearing the name SS Klondike.

Because it was pretty late in the afternoon, just before closing time, we didn't take the self guided tour, but rather, used the time to get out and stretch out legs and take in the short video at the visitor center.  It was weird to watch it with french subtitles!

After our time in Whitehorse, we headed back down to Alaska.  There was a pretty decent storm come through, that really cooled things down.  It was nice to have the dusty roads dampened to keep the road dirt down.

Other than taking a rock to the windshield early in the day, we had a really nice time.  We've still have not heard back from Avis to find out if they will be repairing or replacing the windshield, or how much it will cost.  It's been a few weeks since we got home, so maybe we won't hear anything more about it.

The views throughout our day's drive were really very pretty.  When we first drove by this turnout heading north, it was crowded with two motor coaches and their passengers.  On the way back, we had the place to ourselves!

Skagway - The Rush is On! (July 13th - 15th)

We were originally supposed to be in Skagway for 4 days/3 nights, but a change in the ferry schedule back in January shorted our time there by a day.  While at the time, I was disappointed, I now know it was the BEST THING that happened to my original travel itinerary plans.  By having one extra day/night in Juneau, we were able to make Hoonah possible and still keep the whale watching tour in the plans too.  And having now been to and done Skagway (and the Yukon) over these three days, I think that was really the perfect amount of time and adventure there.

Our ferry from Juneau left shortly after 7am on Saturday; with a short stop in Haines on our way into Skagway.  Along the way, we got a bit closer to the Sentinel Island Lighthouse we had seen the day before, so I was able to get a few nicer photos.   Bonus was the beautiful Elred Rock Lighthouse, with the glacier backdrop.  The ferry really was an amazing experience and opportunity to see a lot of beautiful sights along the way.  It definitely did not disappoint.

Once in Skagway around 3pm, our host from the Historic Skagway Inn met us. Karl was an interesting guy, originally from the East Coast.  He and his wife have owned the inn for several years, capturing the old world charm of this old gold rush town of the 1890's.

As a B&B, it was on the pricier side,over $200 for a room with ensuite bathroom (shower, toilet & sink) plus a hot breakfast entree served with home bakery items, juice, coffee and other continental breakfast type items.  I didn't mind the price considering they offered 2:1 through the AK Tour Saver discount book.

The Inn is one of the original buildings in Skagway, with a history as a bordello.  Each of the rooms were named after actually working ladies of the time.  We were in The Dottie Room which was very comfortable for David & me as we opted for two twin beds than a single double/queen or a pricier king bed suite.  They did have rooms that shared a central hall bathroom for around $159/night too.

Another nice feature of The Historic Skagway Inn was Olivia's Bistro, with their fresh locally sourced food to table menu that was eclectic and truly Alaskan.  We had dinner there our first night, and dessert the second.  Our hot breakfast entrees, while delicious were a bit on the scrimpy side however.  David and I shared the pair of desserts you see to the right here.  Both were moist and quite yummy.  A night ending to a full day after our Yukon adventure on Sunday.  (More about your day up in Canada on the next installment of this blog!)

On Saturday night we enjoyed the "Legends & Lies" show, which is also staged at The Historic Skagway Inn in one of their side bar areas.  Having read about this interactive show, based loosely on the life & times of this old gold rush town, we were happy to drop $69 +tax on this engaging show. Oh, and yes, they too were featured in the 2:1 AK Tour Saver discount booklet.

The show featured "Big Ed" the saloon owner and "Klondike Kate" the barmaid and showgirl.  She could sing, dance and play the piano.  We learned about the adult beverages of the day, made (and drank) a few, plus enjoyed yummy appetizers from Olivia's.  One of the best values of the things we did while in Alaska!  OH, I almost forget, we also got a nice Alaska Brewery pint glass as a souvenir.

After the show, we did stop in at Olivia's for dinner.  I had the halibut puff pastry, sorta like a pot pie with fish inside the flaky pastry shell and a side cup of halibut chowder.  DELISH!

David had the evening special . . . reindeer reuben & fries.  He said the red cabbage really added to the marriage of flavors and that it tasted DELISH too.

On Sunday we rented a car to venture north of the border into the Yukon Territory which I'll write about next.

That evening we had dinner in town down by the car rental station.  The Bonanza Bar & Grill was just that . . . a main street bar and grill that had very good tavern style food.  We both enjoyed fish & chips and a tall cold one (Alaskan Amber Ale . . . yes again!).

Monday in Skagway was all about enjoying the touristy area of town, since we had to check out of our B&B by 11am and the ferry didn't depart until 6:30pm.  We enjoyed time spent at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park buildings and visitor center.  It was a pretty nice day out, so the town was bustling with cruise ship people.  It was funny to watch them on their walking tours of Skagway, led by period costumed "ladies of the evening" . . . parading around town doing silly, goofy things.  Seriously, I am just not cut out for the cruise ship experience and all that comes with it.  I guess so long as they were having fun, I was certainly being entertained by how dumb they looked!

Skagway also has several tour options that include small bus trips around town and up into the forest and along inlet waterways; the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad and the "The Days of '98 Show with Soapy Smith" are all excursion offerings for visitors.  We did do the 2:30pm "Soapy Smith" show.  It was a fun way to spend an hour hearing more of the Skagway folklore of what it was like to live and pass through here during the gold rush era.


The song & dance skits were well done; but at times a little bawdy for middle of the day family entertainment.  Perhaps kids don't follow closely enough to understand the double entendre?  That would be a good thing for parents.  Since these tours and show really do cater to the cruise folks in town for a few hours, they have to charge a pretty high price ($25pp) given the low turnout in the middle of the day.  Our show only had about 18 people; the earlier 10:30am show looked to be about the same when it let out.

All in all, we were very happy to have included Skagway in our travel itinerary!

Whale Watching Tour - Juneau Friday (July 12th)

We didn't book a lot in the way of actual tours for this trip, mostly because we wanted to do some things on our own with a rental car. But when you want to go whale watching, unless you are a seasoned boat captain, the best thing to do is go with a well respected tour company.

Alaska Galore was featured in the AK Tour Saver discount coupon book with a 2:1 offer, providing a $159 value on their three hour whale tour.  The whale watching tour offered by Marv & Harv's is probably the best known operators out of Juneau, so we weren't sure how good our experience would be with Alaska Galore.  That said, we also felt if the whales were so plentiful and viewable in this region, how good or bad could it be.

We were very pleased when it was the Harv & Marv shuttle bus picking us up for our tour.  The driver picked us up at 7:15am for the 8am tour, with a whistle stop throughout the downtown area hotels and a trip out to the cruise dock on the outskirts of town.  With 12 passengers on the bus, I felt "OK this won't be bad, just 12 of us on the tour."  Imagine my surprise AND pleasure, when we arrived at the Auke Bay Marina being greeted by two captains/tour guides.  Our group was divided into two sets of six, which was wonderful.

The boats used only held a capacity of eight guests, so with six, we had full range of the boat, both inside the heated area, and on the outside back deck and bow viewing areas.  It really was a wonderful set up, and our captain/guide Mickey outstanding!

It wasn't long before we were on a single whale.  We viewed it huffing and puffing, and only doing one or two deep dives, showing off it's lovely fluke.  After a few minutes of viewing and photographing this singleton, Mickey got a call that there was a large pod of bubble-net feeders about 10 minutes out.  So off we went to see what we might see.

To be so close to the whales as to hear them blow, the loudness of the puffs was amazing.  Law requires boats to not get closer than 100 yards to marine wildlife.  So Mickey was very careful to not get too close.  But once you're in place with engine off, if they come closer to you, you can stay put.  A couple of times the pod came closer to us while at other times they went further away, sometimes a very far distance requiring us to move to find them again. And what about the view!  To have the Point Retreat Lighthouse in the background just added to the already beautiful sight.

There is also a requirement that tours not spend more than about an hour at a single or group of animals, so after our time with this pod, we moved on to another area known as the Lynn Canal where we were treated to an island rookery of sea lions . . . plus a view of the Sentinel Island Lighthouse.

I cannot say enough about this experience.  Timing with wildlife is always where luck comes in and for sure, we were very lucky to witness humpback whales bubble-net feeding for more than a hour.

For more information on bubble-net feeding, here's what Wikipedia offers:
"Bubble-net feeding is a cooperative feeding method used by groups of humpback whales. This behavior is not instinctual, it is learned.Not every population of humpbacks know how to bubble net feed, according to some studies. After observing different populations it is apparent which whales know how to create a bubble net and which do not. To be successful, they must learn the method. Humpback whales use vocalizations to communicate to one another and effectively and efficiently execute the bubble net so they all can feed. As the group circles a school of small fish such as salmon, krill, or herring they use a team effort to disorient and corral the fish into a net of bubbles. One whale will typically begin to exhale out of their blowhole beneath the surface at the school of fish to begin the process. More whales will also start to blow bubbles while continuing to circle their prey. They corral the fish into a tight circle while creating a net of bubbles to surround the fish and keep them from escaping. The size of the net created can range from three to thirty meters in diameter. One whale will sound a feeding call, at which point all whales simultaneously swim upwards with mouths open to feed on the trapped fish. As the whales swim up to the surface to feed they can hold up to 15,000 gallons of sea water as they use their baleen plates to strain the water to get the maximum amount of fish they need"

Day Trip to Hoonah (July 11th)

Once back to Juneau, it was really our base to head out on Thursday to the small village of Hoonah on the Chichagof Island.  A short 30 minute flight by Alaska Seaplanes, we arrived bright and early . . . and stayed late into the evening.  Check out our pilot giving us our safety briefing before takeoff!

The day was filled with a lot of local culture, and a touch of why I don't care much for the cliche Alaskan cruise as a way to "see" SE Alaska.

Prior to our departure from Wisconsin, I had lined up two activities for the day.  Our first would be a two hour cultural tour, provided by Howard & Jack Diamond of Rivers Alaska.  Howard (the dad) met us at the airport, seemingly as excited about our visit, as we were. With an early start before 8am, he suggested, we do a little more, to include venturing to one of his family's favorite spots to enjoy a campfire and perhaps drop a line to fish.  He said that bears are sometimes seen out that way, so maybe we'd be lucky.

Lucky we were!  There was a smaller brown coastal bear walking along the shoreline.  It wasn't immediately visible, but as the road took a bend, the subadult was in our line of sight.  Photographing was a bit of a challenge because we were moving and so was the bear.  But this visual is too pretty (even if it is a tad blurred), to not share!

Unfortunately, in an area known for the densest bear population in the world, this would be our only actual sighting of the entire day.  We felt fortunate for this experience that Howard provided us!

After our ride out of town to the area known as long island, we headed back into town.  Because Howard had extra time until the cruise ship guests arrived later in the morning, the time spent with him, and later his son Jack, was full of personalized experiences.

The first would be a stop in at the streetside workshop of Gordon Greenwald, the artist and master carver who had done the Huna Tribal House we had visited just the day before in Glacier Bay National Park.  Gordon and another Tlingit carver were working on a large totem, which told a special story from Tlingit heritage.

He was so very nice, explaining how stories of their culture and history are passed down from generation to generation, and that this one was a favorite legend in his clan. I couldn't help but to be in total awe hearing the story and seeing this work in progress firsthand.

After spending time with Gordon, Howard drove along the short village road that hugged closely along the shoreline.  Near the ferry terminal, we saw a large eagle diving to fish in the bay.  We couldn't see what it caught, but it was large enough, the eagle couldn't fly with it.  What we witnessed next was nothing short of amazing.  The eagle began swimming the 40 or 50 yards to the shoreline, doing what was similar to a breaststroke.  It took more than five minutes for the bird to labor to the shoreline, where it was met by its mate.  They feasted on whatever the sea's bounty provided them.  Unfortunately I didn't get photos, but David was able to capture this experience on video.

Our next stop was at Howard's home, where we would meet up with his son Jack.  A Yupik Eskimo and Native Youth Olympian, he shared stories of growing up living off the land, hunting and fishing for subsistence.  The photo of him here is with the rack from the first moose he hunted for his family.

About this photo . . . how about that view?  Their land is waterfront!  Jack said they often see whales and bears are often seen grazing through to include snatching apples and cherries from the trees in their yard.  I cannot imagine!

We spent another 30 or 45 minutes back in the van, driving out by the airport where Jack gave us a demonstration of his Olympic athletic events that also tie back to his native culture.  It was interesting how this young man could jump and kick more than six feet high, way above his head.

After our morning with the Diamonds was over, Howard drove us out to Icy Strait Point (ISP) which is a native community created by the cruise ship industry, much like the private beach properties you might experience on a Caribbean cruise.  With the Disney Wonder in port on the day of our visit, ISP was open.  It was a chilly day, with intermittent rain showers, so it appeared many folks might have simply stayed on the ship rather than experience the touristy area of shops, restaurants and a few activities.

The biggest attraction here is the mile-long zip line.  Six people zip down at speeds exceeding 65 MPH for a list price of more than $100.  The entire experience lasts under two minutes.  We took a pass largely due to the price.  (I was wondering if the cruise ship guests get a deal or if they too pay over $100 for the experience.)

We did go to the Heritage Center Native Theater to take in the noontime show.  Billed as "Discover the tales and rhythms of the Huna Tlingit people" I couldn't help but to feel this was a Disney-ification of what should have been an educational and entertaining experience.  It was more cheesy with its audience participation, than what I had hoped for.  That said, I also know that the entire ISP complex is as much about providing employment and economic benefits to the village, as it is about entertaining the cruise guests.  And fortunately for the village of Hoonah, it is located and isolated at the far end of the island, and not along the main port area in town.  So if the two can co-exist and allow Hoonah to protect its native history and culture, who am I to say ISP is a bad thing?

For us, we enjoyed touring The Cannery, a museum dedicated to the fish canning industry that can be found throughout the villages of Alaska's Inside Passage.  We also had lunch at at ISP, before catching up with our scheduled afternoon "Wilderness Tour and Brown Bear Search" utilizing our AK Tour Saver 2:1 offer.  The four hour tour was enlightening and fun, but we found NO BEARS.  We did see evidence of "bear activity" . . . a huge pile of very fresh bear scat . . . but no bears.

Perhaps the best part of the tour was that it was just us along with the guide.  The other couple who had booked no-showed, so it allowed us to ask more questions and do a little more than had we been with a throng of others.  (Another reason I don't care much for the cruise line approach to experiencing Alaska.)  I did wonder if this "Wilderness and Bear" tour saw bears on their time out.

I cannot say strongly enough to folks, if you want to check off a bunch of things you did or saw in Alaska, the cruise experience with excursions through your ship, may be your cup of tea.  For us, however, I really wanted a more personalized and intimate experience.  How we planned and scheduled our three weeks in Alaska could not have been better or more satisfying in terms of really learning about the people and culture of people native to this region of Alaska.

We asked our tour guide to drop us off in town, rather than back out at ISP.  Our plan was to find something light to eat for supper and call Howard for a ride back out to the airport for our 8:30p flight back to Juneau.

Dinner at The Office was interesting.  A Packers' Bar!  Who would have thunk it.  We enjoyed an Alaskan Pale Ale along with our chicken tenders & fries before leaving Hoonah.  Our flight "home" was uneventful, providing another flight-seeing experience, over some of the most beautiful forested mountains in Alaska.

Admittedly, this was our most expensive "day" of our vacation.  With the small plane flights, tours, meals and tips we spent just about $800.  But the experiences and personal time with locals were "priceless" as the Master Card advertising touts.

Eagle nest with a juvie on the edge of the "bowl"