Working Maggie, Juneau

Yesterday Mama and Maggie and I went out (with Cathryn) just to get Maggie walking around in order to get the contractions started. We mostly went to Wal-Mart and Fred Myers in order to stay out of the rain but it was still good to get out. Mama and I went later in the evening to the glacier to see if any wildlife was moving about. (As usual we got some great pictures.)

All we saw was an abundance of two legged creatures though we were hoping for more hairy four legged life forms; bears, beavers, etc. The visitor center was very crowded with visitors from the cruise ships that arrive and depart daily from Juneau. When we were here last year it was at the end of the season so there were not so many people about. In fact, the shop owners were packing as we shopped. This time the seasonal retail section of the town in in full swing. Mama and I cannot wait to go join the throng.

We enjoyed the shops last time we were here. We got into some interesting conversations with the owners and employees. If you remember, we found one gentleman who lives most of the year in Victoria, TX and another shop owner who has a year round jewelry store in Dallas, TX. It is interesting to get a sense of the dynamic that brings them to Juneau for the running of the tourists that floods the town daily for the cruise season with people ready to spend a lot of money.

If I remember correctly there can be as many as four cruise ships in the harbor at one time – changing out daily. Each ship will deliver between two and three thousand passengers per vessel. There is a daily schedule maintained for the local merchants that announces the ships coming to dock and the number of passengers per ship so everyone knows the people load the town will be hosting through each day. It is very interesting but it is nothing I wish to participate in on a routing basis.

On the good side, most of the people who come on the cruises are pleasant enough. But they also tend to feel very entitled – as though everywhere they go is part of the cruise which is set up for them because they paid for the experience. We met only a few people shoving their way to the front but we differed in most cases because we did not know what schedule they were on or how hurried their visit was. Mostly it was fun just to watch and get into conversations with the travelers when a good opportunity arose. They are from all over the USA and many foreign countries.

Mama and Maggie are going to a dinner with the church ladies this evening. Aaron and I will have Cathryn for the evening but I do not anticipate the evening to be long since Maggie is almost always uncomfortable. But she has Mama with her so it should last longer than if she were going by herself. Mama enjoys the company of the ladies of this church.

I have to admit that the conversations before and after church here are far different than in any other fellowship I have been in. There is talk almost exclusively of hunting and fishing – more fishing right now since the salmon are running in the streams and rivers just south of us. We, unfortunately, may not see and salmon here in Juneau during this visit. It will happen soon after we get back home.

O, well. We will watch expectantly while we are here.