Tuesday 25 June
We disembarked at Juneau at 8.45am to be met by Ruth-Ann and Jim Bowman, a couple we met in a campground just out of Talkeetna when we were cycling, who were holidaying from Juneau. Abby their daughter came to NZ and stayed with us for awhile and then Jim and Ruth-Ann came to NZ in 2017 to visit. They drove us around showing us the Governor’s house and the houses where Ruth-Ann grew up and then went back to their home and enjoyed some home baked cinnamon rolls and coffee. We then headed to Mendenhall Glacier which had noticeably receded since we were here last. We went for a walk to the head of it and to the waterfall, joined by hundreds of tourists. We visited St Therese’s Shrine which was gorgeous and then called in and chose 3 Dungeness Crabs and some yummy milkshakes (snickers, cookie dough, banana, and choc mint) and headed back home for lunch – fresh crabs and a beautiful spread of food and enjoyed sitting out the back with Nano and Emma, their two dogs and Abby who was around for lunch. Jim who makes amazing pottery, also got us to select a coffee mug each and we also bought a bowl off him. We then went for an afternoon walk to Perseverance Trail – the oldest road in Alaska with gorgeous views and waterfalls. It was awesome to walk the roads that held so much history. We headed back into town to visit the Alaska Fudge Company to get Danika’s favourite fudge that Abby bought to NZ and that Ruth-Ann and Jim brought out too. We had a brief look in the shops and saw the display of Jim’s pottery which is just gorgeous. We headed back home to a gorgeous meal of halibut and salads and brownie and ice cream and enjoyed sitting out on the deck savouring the time we had left with our long-time friends. They dropped us at the ship and we had an early night.
