We continue our day at sea as we will not dock in Juneau till 2:30PM. So we use the morning to watch for whales and just enjoy the restful morning. We are fortunate to see numerous whales, orcas and sea lions, such a wonderful sight.

We are finally able to disembark the ship at 3:15PM and I walk the 1-mile into downtown Juneau. Quickly I walk through the crowded tourist shopping area as there are 4 other cruise ships docked today and the streets are packed with people.

Wow it is amazing, I go 2 blocks past the main tourist area there is no one and you can enjoy what the city has to offer.

 

 

 

I walk inland and uphill to the Federal Building which is under remodeling of the exterior and continue on to view the octagon shaped St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, built in 1894, it was refurbished in the 1970’s and is now a National Historical Landmark.

Continuing uphill I head to the highest point I will be at and visit the Wickersham House. This Alaskan pioneer Judge purchased this home in 1928 and has made numerous additions over his years. It has now been turned into a free museum with artifacts, history and furniture of his life. I am the only one visiting and the volunteer at the house gave me a private tour and we ended up talking for about 45 minutes. I say this is a must see even though it is quite a hike up hill.

After my enjoyable talk with the volunteer I continue on heading to Evergreen Cemetery, which is the resting ground of the founders of Juneau. Well I get to 8^th Street were I have to turn left and it is a pedestrian stairway heading downhill. At the bottom of the stairs I view the Governor’s House, then turning away from town again I cross Gold Creek and walk through the Cemetery.

Heading back toward the docks I again turn and head up a stairway (street) and follow the vehicle streets back to the ship.

It is 6:30PM when I finally make it back to the ship. Dropping my camera gear at the room I head up to the buffet for my dinner tonight. Walking 9.11 miles, 26,000 steps and 50 floors of elevation my feet are sore and I am very tired. I will be sitting on the outside alone as everyone else are still out on their excursions. On the aft deck I enjoy the evening and watch as the ship embarks for our next stop, Skagway.

 

Here are some addition photos from my walk through the residential areas of this capitol city.