We woke to an overcast sky with low hanging clouds, but thankful it wasn’t raining. After all we had our 8.5 mile bike ride planned this afternoon. I was hoping to go up on the tram and get a good view of the town and surrounding mountains. That just wasn’t going to happen today – all you’d get is smothered with clouds (and later, rain).

But first it was time for our Mendenhall Glacier tour. Some tour it was. It was a friggin’ bus ride to the glacier. After that you were on your own. We had an hour and a half to explore before the bus came back. A $3 fee to enter the Visitors Center was included. Woohoo!! One of the trails got our attention since it got us closer to a small waterfall on the sidelines. Unfortunately we didn’t have quite enough time to follow it all the way to the end but I managed to get a few more shots during this short hike. Bob and I both wished we had more time to spend exploring the trails and getting closer to the glacier. Next time.

One thing we are guilty of when planning vacations is trying to cram too much into our limited hours. Each time we do this we think we’ve learned our lesson but apparently we don’t. It’s hard, because we enjoy going new and different places so we want to see and do everything we can while we’re there – especially when the new place is so far away. We didn’t spend 17 hours traveling to Alaska to sit on the ship and read in their library, ya know? What I’m leading up to is that we had just enough time to go back to the ship and grab some lunch before being back out on the pier to met for our “Bike and Brew” tour (and I use that word loosely).

Tyler met us on the pier. Dave and Diane (from Chicago) were the only other people who had booked this tour. Oh and I think I forgot to mention … it was raining by now. I think Bob and I both were hoping the “tour” would be canceled. Nope. No way. “We’re going.” What fun! The ride in the van to pick up the bikes was short. We picked up our other guide, Suzanna, then drove to our drop-off spot to suit up and mount our bikes. I left my camera in the van because it was raining hard enough I wasn’t comfortable having it in our backpack. (In retrospect that was a brilliant decision. We didn’t see anything to warrant me snapping anyway.)

Suzanna informed us that she would be guide on the bikes and Tyler would follow us in the van. She didn’t go very fast and that first hill we had to climb was not something I need to do again anytime soon. Did I mention it was raining? We’re suited up in our rain jackets and borrowed rain pants but still. At least we were exerting enough energy so we weren’t cold. That, at least, was something. We took several breaks and Suzanna tried to “entertain” us with tidbits and trivia about different things in the area. Mostly I think she was trying to kill time. This “ride” was supposed to last a certain amount of time. By now, all of us were just ready to get on with it and get out of the rain. She may do this every day but we don’t.

After taking us down this gravel path (I refuse to call it a road), littered with pot holes the last mile of the “tour,” we finally made it to the parking lot of the Mendenhall Glacier – exactly where we were earlier in the day. Oh, and it was raining – have I already said that? I grabbed my camera and we started off towards the Visitor’s Center because someone else had said they saw a bear. They were right – he certainly was! I snapped a couple of shots but didn’t get anything. It was just too dark and the rain was really coming down at this point so I really didn’t want to get my camera wet. I knew there was no way I’d get anything close to what I took in Katmai. So Bob and I just went back to the van and waited for Dave and Diane.

OK, so now for the favorite part of this “tour” … the brew! Would you believe Tyler dropped Suzanna and the trailer of bikes off at the office and took us to the mall where the brewery was. He walked us in and introduced us to Alex and left! And guess what? We got to walk back to our ship … yup, you got it – in the rain! We couldn’t believe he wasn’t staying with us and taking us back to the pier. Now it wasn’t an extremely long way back to the ship but it was probably ½ a mile – in the rain. (I know, I need to get over it don’t I?)

We really had a good time sitting at the bar, tasting different beers, shooting the breeze with Dave and Diane, Alex (bartender), and another customer (forgot his name) who was tired of being alone. He’s actually an architect who had been kayaking and camping for 11 days with two of his buddies and was headed back home. Eventually we got hungry enough to walk back to the ship and get ready for dinner.

This was our first night in the Metropolitan dining with strangers. We really didn’t know what to expect. We ended up being seated with another couple, Pat and Joan (from Raleigh, NC) and had a delightful evening conversating (as Ian would say) with them. (I guess that’s an Australian word.) Before we knew it, it was almost time for the show to start so we parted ways and walked to the other end of the ship to the theater. (That’s easier said than done wearing heels with no knee-highs.)

Tonight’s show was Jason Bishop, Illusionist. I figured it would be good, I had no idea how good. This guy was amazing! He performed illusion after illusion in various mediums (plasma TV, card tricks, disappearing model, etc.) with high energy and wit. He is an excellent performer who connects extremely well with his audience. That may have been the quickest hour we’d experienced so far.

Skagay tomorrow!