I am AWARE

Silverbow Inn

We awoke fresh from quality sleep and headed over to The Rookery for a breakfast burrito. There was a small child running in circles and screaming at the top of his lungs. His feet pounded on the hard wooden floors. Jaz and I took bets on how many laps he could make. She said three (it was a large area), and I said five. The kid was still running at seven when I realized I had a headache. I considered pushing my chair out as he passed, then I considered punching his mother. I kept thinking, “Chill out, you are on vacation. Relax.” But, I could feel myself getting twisted over the disrespect. By lap 11, I reached a peaceful place by imagining all sorts of nasty things happening to the child. I felt guilty for a short bit and then swallowed some Advil.

I fantasized about killing this kid

Jaz realized she had forgotten her camera battery charger. Since the mission was to shoot the totem poles in Sitka, we needed to track down one in Juneau or have her housemate overnight airmail it to Sitka. We wandered around looking at shops and it appeared that everything was closed. Eventually we figured out the town was running on cruise ship hours, which meant we killed a few hours waiting for things to open up. We found a charger and headed back to the hotel to grab the motorbikes and rush out to the Mendenhall Glacier. Once we learned that four effing cruise ships would be docking in town in the next little bit, we realized we wanted to stay ahead of the buses. Since the glacier would probably be a popular stop for them, we rushed out to beat the crowd.

Peaceful streets of Juneau – no cruise ships but nothing is open.

Mendenhall Glacier

Mendenhall was amazing, and the hike to the waterfall was beautiful. The water flow was impressive. I stood for a short period in front and the spray coming off the falls was so thick it was like being in a shower. There was a small pond where the waterfall was reflecting on the surface and no one saw it but Jaz. I commented to her that she is so observant. She notices everything in her environment, unlike me, who can stumble into all kinds of situations because I am not aware. I’m trying to be more aware. It is easier when you are on holiday. The sun was shining and the sky was beautiful. Just as we got back to the parking lot, the cruise ship passengers were arriving by the bus loads.

The valley below the glacier, notice the water line where the glacier water mixes with non-glacier water.

The ferries have landed

We then drove to the end of the northern road, Echo Cove, and someday probably the road to Skagway. The drive was amazing. We got hung up with road construction and another pilot car, but the wait was worth the view on the beach. There was a tree swing hanging on the beach that we both looked at but neither of us wanted to try. Our girlhood ambitions have been swapped with the fear of a hurt back.

Echo Cove – The forest is so lush here

Best legs in town.

We stopped off at the hotel and read a bit before heading over to catch the ferry to Sitka. They lined us up in little rows (we were told to go to row 7), to pack you in the boat in a manner that allows easy departure based on destination.

Row “7” to Sitka

And I thought I was heavy in the ass end

We were excited because we thought we were going to board soon. We ended up being the absolute last on the boat. We got the last room, and apparently the last towel (our room had only one). I was so tired by the end of an extremely long and busy day. I sat staring at my shoes. I noticed how busy they were and then I realized I was AWARE of my shoes!