When the opportunity arose last fall to travel to SE Alaska with the family, I had a few reservations. Now that we are home, I am very happy I went. Our home away from home was Cloud Nine (first picture). This boat belongs to my in-laws. Some of you may remember the article that was posted last fall about their remarkable trip through the Canadian Arctic. My in-laws left the boat in Alaska last October and then went back in May. They proceeded to sail to Juneau from Kodiak. This is where we meet them. We left Juneau on Monday, August 4. On our way to Glacier Bay National Park, we saw some amazing sights. The first was just the surrounding scenery. The next was when we happened upon a pod of whales using a bubble net to feed. We spoke to a local fisherman and he said that it wasn’t something that is seen very often. We were lucky enough to see it 6 or 7 times. 
Once the whales were finished, we moved on to an area where we could see sea lions. Although Amanda wasn’t thrilled with the smell, the animals were very fun to watch. After a very long day of sailing we arrived at Bartlett Cover which is the entrance to Glacier Bay National Park. We were inside the park for 4 days. During that time we visited 3 separate glaciers. The first was Reid Glacier. We took the dingy to shore where we found waterfalls and flowers. Then we spent time exploring the glacier itself. Once we had our fill, we moved on to Marjorie Glacier. My father-in-law was able to maneuver us to within 400 yards of this massive glacier. As if on cue, the glacier started to calve. The noise this huge chuck of ice made when it broke off was impressive but the wave it created was even more impressive. Tyler had gone below just before the glacier calved. When the wave hit the boat he stuck his head up top and asked if there was something wrong with the boat. This glacier proceeded to calve at least 6 more times. 
We also visited the John Hopkins Glacier. We then proceeded to make the long sail back to the entrance of the park. After a night in Bartlett Cover, we started the long sail back to Juneau. Once again, whales made an appearance. Along with 2 other boats, we watched these whales breech. We were amazed at how close one breeched to a whale watching boat. We all agreed that that group definitely got their money’s worth. 
Even through the countless games of go fish, the close quarters and lack of daily showers it was a trip that none of us will soon forget.
