Juneau

I think that this is a photo of Juneau, but I'm not sure. The memories are already beginning to fade. We didn't get a good parking space. Our ship was far from town, but it all worked out. We had arranged for a bicycle tour and the van picked us up at the ship.

It was raining and cold, but why should that day be any different? It was advertised as a 9 mile, mostly level ride, around a lake. The downhill parts were fun, but getting back up the "mostly level" hills were tough. We had to suffer the indignity of walking the bikes at times.

It was nice to see the town without a panes of glass around me. I could smell wood burning in the fireplaces, listen to birds sing and squawk and get a feel for the area.

This church was a bathroom stop. It is also a popular spot for weddings. The alter is in front of a huge window facing a glacier. It was one of the plainest and most beautiful churches I have ever been in. Who needs stained glass and ornate architecture when you have a simple log cabin with a view?

This is the view from the church's windows. Tiny icebergs float around in the lake like ice sculptures. The glacier looks different from the last time I saw it almost 20 years ago. It is melting rapidly.

After the ride, the tour continued at the Alaska Brewing Company. The tour guides were smart to take us biking before they took us boozing. We were given a tour of the tiny facility while we being given free samples. Some of the samples were for new flavors they are testing and others were for some of the more popular brews. I was a little disappointed that they weren't testing their jalapeno beer the day we were there. The only weird beer we got was the smoky porter, which although an award winner, tasted to me like it had been in a brush fire. That smell doesn't have pleasant associations for me.

The samples were generous and we got tipsy. I don't remember the ride back, but we ended up in town. We walked around a bit. With all of the stores, you would think that we would have found plenty of stuff to buy, but it was all over-priced stuff we didn't need.

We came across a bus driving toward our ship. They let us on, saving us a mile walk in the cold rain while still impaired. The beer was good. Now I need to find some so that I can help relive the trip. I'll only change the memory by drinking it in the warm California sunshine.