We awoke at 5 AM on Wednesday to see Endicott Arm from our balcony. Endicott Arm is a fjord that ends with Sawyer Glacier along the inside passage. We were  deeply impressed by elements of nature that we had never seen before: glaciers, fjords, and icebergs.

Later in the morning, we learned that Bunny now had a cold, too. Between us, Dawn and I had brought along many meds, but neither of us brought cough medicine. Dawn was told that it would cost $125 to see the doctor. She explained that all she needed was cough medicine. The cost for that was $25.

We had selected different excursions that day. Dawn and Bunny wanted to do a whale watch. When we signed up for excursions, I didn’t know if I would be experiencing motion sickness on a smaller boat. Instead of choosing to do that, Nick and I signed up for the Juneau City and Mendenhall Glacier Tour.

Our bus driver told us he was not a good excursion director. He dropped us off at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center with no explanation and said he would be back in ninety minutes. We decided to hike the Nugget Trail. A gentle rain was falling, for which we were well equipped with rain ponchos and waterproof boots. We learned that the glacier had once covered the entirety of what is now the Nugget Trail but had receded over the years! We were impressed with seeing so many beautiful elements of nature.

We agreed with our excursion director that he could have been better at his job. When we met up with Dawn and Bunny, we learned that they had seen eight whale tails. The tails were the only parts of the whales that arose from the water.

Dawn wanted to eat dinner at a place that was recommended to her called Terry’s Crab Shack.  Nick and I arrived there first because it was just steps away from where our  bus left us. Terry’s did not take reservations. Rather than tables, the seating was at picnic benches. Nick  and I shared a meal that had several courses, including crab bisque, crab cakes, cole slaw, and snow crab legs. Then Dawn and Bunny arrived and ordered Alaskan king crab legs.

We decided to walk back to the ship and  meet for dessert. Bunny enjoyed carrot cake, Dawn selected tiramisu, and Nick and I shared an incredibly delicious blueberry concoction that had yogurt sauce. One of the reasons this was incredible is that Nick and I do not typically enjoy blueberries!

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