It’s been a pretty low-key first three days, but a lot of fun just spending time with grandson #1, who has made us proud every day of what a polite, personable young man he can be when he’s not in a position to torment – or be tormented by – his brothers.
He certainly reminded us of teenage boys’ most evident characteristic: hollow legs. Man, that boy can eat! I can only dream about putting away that many calories and having them turn into muscle, height, and amazing hair.
DAY ONE: EMBARKATION
We boarded just in time for lunch and #1’s first “premium” dessert: a huge gelato sundae concoction.
We unpacked, got ourselves oriented, and headed for the pool. The weather leaving Vancouver was gorgeous and sunny.
Before long it was time for our first dining room dinner, which meant just slightly dressier clothes than what we’d worn to board. #1 looked quite handsome.
After dinner we headed to the theatre for the comedy magic show by Zak Michel. It had its moments. Next we were part of the audience for the “Yes, No” game show, where contestants try to make it through a three minute conversation with Cruise Director Neil or Assistant Cruise Director Manny without saying any form of “yes” or “no”. It’s harder than you’d think, and pretty hilarious to watch.
DAY TWO: SEA DAY
Breakfast, pool, hot tub, mid-morning snack, pool, lunch, shuffleboard with gramps, afternoon snack… and, shockingly, no desire for dinner with us on the one designated “formal night” of the cruise – although there was a trip to the buffet on his own for a bit of something to stave off starvation.
In the evening we attended the “Born to Dance” production show in the theatre, which Ted and I enjoyed but wasn’t really grandson #1’s thing. Much more to his taste was standup comedian Robert G Lee, and the excellent reggae set by Monzter Jam Duo in the Wheelhouse Bar until 11:00 p.m. All the bars offer non-alcoholic mocktails and frozen drinks, which makes events there even more fun.
DAY THREE: JUNEAU
While #1 and I were still having breakfast, Ted had gone for a wander around the promenade deck and found the stairs leading to the open bow on Deck 8. Once we heard that, grandson #1 and I grabbed our jackets and headed out to see the view. While attempting a selfie, another passenger offered to take our photo, so we ended up with more than just our faces in the shot.
Clearly the fresh air made someone hungry, so a pre-lunch 4-scoop chocolate milkshake was called for. Plus lunch of course (#1 having his third kind of pasta in cheese sauce in three days).
We docked shortly after lunch and were off the ship in short order to go on our first excursion: a gold mine tour at A J Mines.
It was a short drive to the mine. The A J Mine Gastineau Mill was once the world’s largest gold producer. “AJ” stands for Alaska-Juneau. It only operated from 1913 to 1921, but during its heyday its mills were reportedly the largest and most modern gold-crushing plant in the world.
We donned hard hats to walk down into one of the networks of over 2 miles (3.2km) of tunnels that snake through the mountain on three levels.
Our guide worked underground in one of Alaska’s newer mines for over 25 years, so was very knowledgeable about mining and milling operations, and also had lots of stories to tell.
At one of the tunnel ends we saw the kinds of holes that used to be filled with dynamite to break down the rock walls. Our guide demonstrated using a chisel and sledgehammer to create one of those holes, and then we all put in earplugs when he demonstrated the hydraulic rock drill that replaced the manual process.
After the underground tour, we got a short history of the milling operations. The huge multi-storey mill is long gone, but the photograph below gives it some scale against the mountain. The moss-covered foundation (bottom) is all that’s left. I found an interesting news story about the buildings here: https://www.juneauempire.com/news/going-goinggone-the-last-aj-mine-building-disappears/
On site is a Peterson stamping machine, an example of a machine using a piston system to crush rocks that had already been broken down by larger crushers.
The A J Mine’s mill used much larger stamping machines.
The tour guide told us that at the busiest mining period in Juneau there were hundreds of heavy stamping machines operating around the clock, creating a backdrop of thumping noise and vibration throughout the town. Apparently on Christmas Day and July 4th, the only 2 days the mills did not operate, parents resorted to banging pots and pans to create the familiar ambient noise their children needed in order to fall asleep!
After learning about the incredibly hard job early gold miners had – a job that can now be done largely remotely using computer-operated machinery, we travelled another step further back in time and tried our hands at panning for gold.
Both before and after our mine tour, because I am a demanding and “problematic” gramma, I insisted that #1 have his photo taken beside almost every totem pole we passed.
He was very patient, but apparently asking for matching silly faces was a step too far…
We did walk to Juneau’s iconic humpback whale statue though – and got a picture to prove it.
We also engaged in a time-honoured Brooks tradition: arguing! #1 would absolutely not be convinced that there was water flowing down the mountain, because it didn’t seem to be “moving”.
#1 still not convinced.
After the stroll back to our ship we were back too late for our regular 5:00 p.m. dinner seating, so chose the “walk-in” dining room. It’s the same menu, just not our dedicated table.
Although it didn’t seem as if we’d walked all that much, my watch indicated almost 12,000 steps and #1 was complaining of sore knees, so instead of a show, it was a return to the hot tub, and a relatively early night. The next day’s excursion was scheduled to leave at 7:15 a.m., meaning a 5:30 a.m. alarm.
Ted took the opportunity to get a few photos just around sunset at 10:00 p.m.
Rose and Ted’s Excellent Adventure 