Roaming Jumeau - Capital of Alaska

Relaxing At Sea

We spent the day in Juneau Alaska, exploring the town. Being the state capital it had plenty to see. We had decided before we left that it would be a day of getting to know the town. Our first stop was the state museum which featured a look at the various cultural groups that were native to Alaska. We happened upon a guided tour of the exhibits which make the whole experience a lot more enjoyable. The exhibit also included the Russian and finally the American ownership of the area. We spent a bit of time there.
We wanted to find Governor Pallin's house and by asking a local person we found that we could take an elevator up 8 stories to get to the higher level of town. We did that by taking the elevator in the state building. It saved plenty of steps in a city that has plenty of up slope. We did find the mansion (complete with children's toys in the back yard) and took the required photos. Then we wandered further up the hill so we could tour the old Russian Orthodox church which was at the far end of town. By then it was local beer time. The bartender, an ex-marine answered some of the things we wanted to know while we tried the local beer . Then it was wander back time, mixing with the passengers of the other ships. In all there were 5 ships were in. The Golden Princess was alongside when we arrived in the morning and by afternoon the Carnival ship had sailed and the Star Princess took its place. Obviously the town was packed with people wanting to buy the "Made in China" or "Real Alaska" things.
We are really enjoying the Alaska portion of the trip. The stops are much like the Caribbean with the push on shopping with the key difference being that the mountains and scenery substitute for the warmth. Here you have a greater variety of things to see or do.