Alaska Journal - Day 6 | auroraborealis's Blog

Yesterday we saw all kinds of amazing wildlife!    Harbor seals, sea lions, sea otters, puffins, hump back whales, but last night was the best!   I couldn't sleep so I went up on deck to walk around and watched a pod of seven or eight orca's near by.   They hung by the side of the boat for about half an hour diving and playing.    The captain said that even for them, that's a rarity!

Today my ankle is still hurting and I had to cancel my long hike.    I just got back from my trip to Skagway and it was absolutely wonderful!!!   I love botanical gardens and I toured Jewell Gardens.   It was really gorgeous and they did this really cool thing where the garden was laid out in the design of a flower that could be seen by airplanes going in and out of the airport!    They also have a co-op and the locals pay a fee at the beginning of the season and get a crate of fresh fruit and vegetables every week through the summer.   They have a restaurant there that serves dishes made from the fresh produce from the garden, but we didn't go into the restaurant.   Instead they took us to this absolutely charming teahouse!   There were wrought iron chairs, lacy tablecloths, fine china, beautiful art on the walls.   It was absolutely lovely and a great place to warm up after being out in the gardens for an hour!    They served little treats that were incredible!    Little cucumber sandwiches, cheese and herb scones, fruit bars, carrot cake and salmon quiche that I didn't eat.    I opted to have wine instead of tea and it was delicious!

After our meal (it was supposed to be a snack, but it really was a meal!) we went to a glass blowing workshop on the grounds for a demonstration.    It was a husband and wife team and they started from scratch and created this amazing blue and green bowl.   It was so fascinating to watch.   The guy focused on making it and his wife assisted and described the process as they went.    What a talent!   I wish I could do that!

******* {that was the morning the following was that afternoon}

I signed up for this float trip down a river in Haines.   It's a rafting trip that goes through the bald eagle preserve.   Wow!! What an amazing trip!    It rained the whole time, but I didn't mind--again, good gear, I was totally comfortable.    We saw 32 bald eagles!!!    What majestic birds!