After a quick shower and breakfast (bagels and smoked salmon, herring, and a small amount of scrambled eggs for me) at the Garden Café. Steve returned to the cabin and I left to attend Jenna’s “Juneau and Diamonds” Seminar. She gave out certificates for free umbrellas to redeem in Juneau. The seminar was very interesting, with useful information about what to look for when purchasing diamonds.
The sky was clear and it was sunny as we cruised on our way to Juneau. Beautiful scenery just waiting for me to take pictures so we went outside. It was windy, but not too cold. We stopped by the Garden Café for a mid-morning snack of fresh fruit. Stopped by the Atrium for the end of the “Art Seminar – 30K Years of Art History.” When we stopped back at the room, there were messages from David and Alison, so we stopped by the Blue Lagoon (where they were planning to have lunch) to see them. We had our lunch at the Garden Café (salad and some Indian food for me) and then back to the cabin to organize for our shore time.
The ship arrived early (1:00PM) at Juneau but we remained out in the water, waiting until the NCL Star departed so we could dock where they had been. No one minded since it was so nice out and great for taking pictures.
When we docked, most people left their cabins for going ashore. It didn’t take too long (room card had to be passed through security computer). We boarded a free shuttle bus for the 1-mile trip to downtown shopping area. The rep from the “Blue Glacier Express” tour company was there and gave us our “tickets” we had reserved. After we boarded the 2:30PM bus, I called Evan (from my cell phone), while we waited to leave. Arrived at the Mendenhall Glacier area at 3PM. Paid $3 per person for the Visitor Center, watched the film and looked at displays in the Center.
We walked down to the pathway for the exceptional view of the glacier. Stunning! It was interesting (and a bit upsetting) to hear how quickly the glacier has been receding. We spoke with one of the park rangers before going back to the Visitor Center to read more of the info displayed. As we were walking to the bus area, we briefly saw Alison, Ben, and Ed, as they were on their way up. We caught the 5PM bus back to town. Our first stop there was to pick up the free 1ct Sapphire at Venetian Jewelers. We went to Diamonds International so I could get my free charm bracelet, $5 Juneau collectible charm, and free umbrella. The salesman asked us if were interested in anything special. Steve mentioned gold charms but they didn’t have anything that I could add to my necklace. Steve asked about seeing Crown of Light diamond jewelry (90 facets instead of the usual 57-58 of most diamonds). I wanted to get diamond stud earrings so we looked at some of those. One pair stood out from the rest as I tried them on. The salesman gave us a “ballpark” price and we then spoke with the manager. (Jenna had given me a $150 discount form and a VIP card.) The manager gave us a good price so we decided to make the purchase. He asked me if I’d like to see “something just for fun.” The ring he showed me was amazing. Steve’s words: “Some rings shout; this one sings.” After discussion about price, we decided to buy it for my birthday. (Ring instead of a trip – OKAY with me!) He showed me a bracelet but we decided to pass on that. They gave me an extra charm bracelet after Steve pointed out that the charm had “DI” on it just like my name. Both the earrings and ring are beautiful.
We went into Del Sol, a store where everything they sell changes color after being exposed to ultra violet light (sunlight). I spent $10 (2 mini husky keychains) so received a free tote bag.
Back to the ship, via the shuttle bus. Dinner at the Garden Café and then to the 9:15PM show “Sea Legs, A Showgirl Revue.” After the show we saw and spoke to Alison and Edward. (Ben had fallen asleep so was with David.)
David called and stopped by our cabin with batteries for charging. Shared our day’s experiences and then settled in for the night.
Tomorrow we’ll be in Skagway. We have no tours planned so will stroll around the town. Temperature is supposed to be in the 60s again.
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