Juneau

CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR CLOSE-UP

We arrived in Juneau for a full day of activities. First we were off to a Salmon Brunch. We were treated to fresh, hot off the grill Silver Coho Salmon - it was sooooo good! The highlight of my trip was yet to come. I am an animal lover and I could spend days at a time at Sea World watching the whales. Although it was not Orca season, it was still humpback season. We had pre-arranged a whale watching trip with Orca Enterprises. We were lucky enough to have the internationally renowned Captain Larry Dupler, Sean and naturalist, Dirk as our crew. Their knowledge of the environment and wildlife was amazing. Before we knew it, Dirk tapped me on the shoulder and said get that camera ready there are 2 bald eagles coming up.

Next were Stellar Sea Lions and then on to the main event, the humpback whales. They are able to identify the whales by the coloring on their bellies.

It was wonderful to see that our crew has great respect and admiration for these amazing creatures even though they do this trip everyday in the season. Captain Larry also has been vice-president of the Marine Education and Research of South East Alaska, a non-profit whale support group based in Juneau. He has been recognized for his work dealing with rescue and rehab, naturalist and whale watching operator training and has been a guest speaker in the Humpbacks' winter home of Maui. I have been to Maui many times but have never seen the amazing show put on for us by the humpbacks on this trip. My finger could not press the shutter fast enough-maybe I should have taken those photography lessons I never got around to this past winter. I just prayed that I got a few good shots out it--I had to watch this beatiful ballet in front of me and not worry about the pictures. I didn't want to miss this as it unfolded--it was the most amazing, entertaining spectacle I could have hoped for. There were three whales just frolicking in front of us. They were playing and breaching and splashing. It was the most wonderful experience - to be able to witness these amazing creatures in their natural habitat, enjoying themselves. I wonder if they have any idea at how amazing a show they put on. It was as if they knew there was a boat full of travel agents there and they were going to give us a show for us to bring back to our clients--it certainly was the best memory I brought home with me.

Captain Larry and Dirk advised us that we were seeing a once in a lifetime show - we were watching and since I have been to Maui many times and had never seen anything close-I knew that this was a very true statement--I will never forget this amazing afternoon-it is a memory I will have forever-the reason that I travel every chance I can.