All day in Skagway I had heard people talking about where they were going to be to view the glaciers.  Most mentioned the Observation Lounge.  I even heard some saying they were going to sleep there.  I don’t think that’s allowed.  There are, however, an amazing amount of people who treat the observation lounge like their living room…  taking their shoes off, bringing up pillows and blankets and napping for the afternoon, but I digress.

I had read that Glacier Bay day was generally the coldest, often rainy… but as I stepped out on our balcony I was overcome with the almost total silence.  The air was fresh and crisp but not too cold as we were gliding along the water, smooth as glass, on a clear and gorgeous day.  The seagulls were at eye level as the ice was beginning to appear.

We were informed by a park ranger via intercom that we would be stopping close to a few glaciers throughout the morning, and she narrated the  things we MIGHT see.  And she narrated what she WAS SEEING as she spoke from the front of the Observation Lounge. Bear to the port side, llama to starboard, moose to starboard, otters everywhere, there’s another bald eagle…

We heard all of these announcements from the comfort of the balcony in our room (port side–I saw the bear swimming). We didn’t want to be part of the masses in the observation lounge, so we decided to go to breakfast… (Taste?  Savor?  who knows…they’re basically the same) and wander around.  We had a window seat at breakfast and it was spectacular. (The view, I mean.  Breakfast wasn’t half bad either!)

We decided to take a stroll out around the deck.  It was cold, but it felt good and clean.

I started to see some of that outrageously beautiful blue topaz color that I had been expecting.  One of the ship’s photographers was walking on deck, and I asked him to get a picture.  He definitely captured the beauty of the glacier.  That’s not a green screen or a backdrop.  That’s real.  That’s what we saw while we were standing on deck.  (He wasn’t quite as good at catching OUR beauty, but the glacier looks great…)

You could see pieces of glacier breaking off, and then hear them seconds later.  It was like seeing the lightning, then hearing the thunder.  It was sad to learn how much the glaciers have regressed in just the last ten years.  I was glad to see them, now.

Since Richard had some emails he needed to answer for work (he had bought 100 minutes of wifi), we decided to watch the tail end of our glacier cruise from the balcony in our room.  Because we also had to make sure to get the most of our beverage package (ha), I asked my brother-in-law, Brian, where the nearest bar was.  He said to go up to deck 17 and straight back to Spice H20… The adults only bar.  Whoa….  had I been up there earlier in the cruise, that’s definitely where I would have dragged the bear through glacier bay.  Heck, we could have watched while sitting in a hot tub (although they were pretty well jam packed with people who had the same idea–and who had been drinking for, well, awhile.)  This ship is so massive I had no idea this huge bar was even there!

The emails complete, we went to listen to a lecture from the park ranger, which turned to be more about how we need to appreciate ALL of our “wild spaces” than it was about Glacier Bay.  She spent most of her time talking about the Everglades.  Still, it was interesting.  She was certainly passionate about her love for the job.  She said that this day in Glacier Bay had been the best she had seen all year.  I tend to believe her.  The weather was perfect.

We spent the rest of the afternoon doing some further exploration of the ship.  So many little touches make so many things interesting–the 3 dimensional artwork at Food Republic, the paintings and flowers everywhere.  Ultimately, we settled down at the craft beer bar with a rotating 22 beers on tap.  I found that I greatly enjoyed the Alaskan Amber.  I know you can get that most anywhere, but I’d never tried it before.  I will again now!

We had relatively early plans (7:30) to see Jersey Boys with all the adult members of the family, so we went for dinner at Savor or Taste before going back up to the piano lounge with Paul and a pre- show drink.

Jersey Boys was VERY good.  I knew it was about Frankie Valli, but that was all I knew.  Andrea had read that the language and some of the content matter may be a little rough for a nine year old, so she dropped Caleb off at the kids’ club, and all the adults met at the theater.  I agree, the language was rough, but it seemed appropriate for a play about a group of young guys with mob ties from New Jersey.  The play was just as good as any of the Broadway tour type of plays I’ve seen at the big concert halls in Houston or Austin…and the seats at the theater were just as uncomfortable.  :-)!
The boys had an early day fishing in Ketchikan the next day, so Andrea and I decided to check out the Beatles tribute band, Britain’s Finest, at the Cavern Club.  I got there early while Andrea went to go get Caleb, and it was already getting packed.

Since it was getting to be later in the week “The Beatles” had moved on to some of their Abbey Road and later music, so we got to sing along with “Birthday,”  “Back in the USSR,”  “Come Together,” and, of course, “Hey, Jude” among many others.  Some of the people in the Cavern Room were VERY serious about their “Beatles” and shushed us for standing all the way back by the bar and occasionally chatting.

After the “Beatles” had us shake it up baby… and twist and shout, I was excited for our last Alaskan port which was coming up bright and early…and only for a short stay…the next morning in Ketchikan, so it was time to call it a night.