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Port Call: Juneau!
 verandah and took a few pictures. I caught a seagull flying past, low to the water. He seemed to be enjoying the day too.
Looking forward, the Sun Princess was tied up right  ahead of us. A couple of guys were fishing off her starboard side, down at water level.
Before long it was time for dinner! We had worked up an appetite with all of that walking around, in spite of the fact that we had a great Mexican lunch! Off we went to the Vista Lounge Restaurant. When we got there, we had a bit of a surprise. With the name Holland-America,  it is no shock to hear that our cruise line has a Dutch connection. When we arrived at our table, there were Dutch style hats waiting for us. We got to be Dutch boys and girls for the meal. I thought it was really nice, especially for Dotti, who really is of Dutch ancestry. Doesn't she look cute in her Dutch girl's hat?
Tammy looks great in her hat as well, and Jim is  ready to eat, pouring over the menu already, while wearing his Dutch cap. Behind them you can see some white caps sprinkled around the room, even though there are fewer diners this time because some are still ashore.
Speaking of dinner, this was our menu for this meal. For myself, I chose to have a turkey dinner that fortunately turned out to be a lot like a Thanksgiving meal. By the end of the day, I had eaten a lot of calories. But they all tasted excellent!
Can you tell we are having fun? Dotti always jumps  into new situations with both feet and I love that about her. Dotti assumes that something new is something that usually will be fun. And she is right most of the time.
The tables behind Dotti and me were mostly empty, because the gangway was still open for late stragglers, but we would be pulling out to sea within the hour.
Our serving staff was the same each evening, and they were really great people! The Waiter was friendly and attentive, and more than merely competent. He adjusted our available silverware to match what we ordered each night, and he made sure that all our culinary needs were met.
The Busboy was always there when we needed his assistance. Our plates were removed when we finished, not before (that is so aggravating when you are savoring that last little tasty bit), and not unnecessarily long after. Our drinks were kept fresh and the eating experience was always as good as, or better than, we would have been satisfied with during a great meal. The Head Steward made his presence felt from time to time, as here dropping by the table. But mostly, we knew he was hard at work because of the way everything worked perfectly for our meals. He was a real pro, there was no doubt about that! Beyond that, my dinners were simply awesome because of the wonderful company that I was privileged to share at my table. Jim, and his great sense of humor not only cheered me up, and of course the others at our table, but he even drew in some of those at adjoining tables, helping us to make new friends. I have treasured his friendship for decades, and it is always a joy to be able to spend time with him. Tammy is not as vocal, or as outgoing as Jim (she's more like me in that area), but her sense of humor is no slacker either, and she is happy to join in and have a good time. She is well matched with Jim. If that were not enough, it certainly does the appetite good to have a beautiful woman sitting across the table from one! She is bright as well; Tammy gave me a lot of assistance with the menus that we were given throughout the cruise. I am not a gourmet at all, and I didn’t even recognize many of the menu items listed. Tammy was an encyclopedia of culinary terms, and helped me make good, food choices many times. (Thank you Tammy!) And of course my Dotti, sitting right next to me, who is the perfect dinner companion, as well as my soul mate and far more than merely being the better half of a relationship that seems like heaven to be a part of for me. Fun, exciting, and unpredictable, this girl makes my world go around. At least for me, our dinners just couldn't have been any better than they were. Alaska; that is where we were! So, it only made sense to me  that dessert should be Baked Alaska. Over and over again it made sense to me. I didn't have it every night of the cruise, but I definitely had it more nights than I didn't. This night was no exception—and my Baked Alaska was delicious, as usual.
The beautiful hand holding this spoon 
belongs to my lovely wife. She too chose Baked Alaska for dessert on this night. But she didn't have it as often as I did. You can see that she was enjoying an "adult beverage" as well. Jim is getting ready to enjoy his meringue pie. Seeing his tea  reminds that the first night we had to order our drinks, like water or tea and coffee, etc. But the second night, they had taken notes, because they supplied all our favorites without having to ask again. We all thought that was a very nice touch.
Tammy had a delightful looking strawberry  dessert that I am sure was as good as it looked. Notice how patiently she is waiting for me to get finished taking pictures. I have this unfortunate predilection for catching people in mid bite with my camera. (I have a great one of Tammy from Bloomsday a couple of years ago, but alas, I can't use it here. (Or anywhere else for that matter.) After dinner, Jim and Tammy headed back to their stateroom for a bit; and we had agreed to meet up with them later at the Vista Lounge for the 8:15 p.m. show. Dotti and I walked around  the ship. We wandered out on the Promenade Deck just as the ms Westerdam was pulling out. We saw the Sun Princess doing her impression of a Christmas Tree, while still tied to the pier. Our visit to Juneau was over, and I hope it is not the last time I see it. The clouds and rain were just like home, and I didn't mind them at all. The mountains were beautiful, and the tremendous number of things we did not have time to do are there still waiting for us, and next time.
The one thing that I will absolutely do differently next time we visit Juneau is to rent a car and do some driving away from the downtown area. I hope then that we will get to see the Mendenhall Glacier, Auk Bay, and many other things that we missed on our first visit. As 8:15 p.m. approached we made our way towards the Vista Lounge. We came in on the starboard entrance on deck 3, high above the stage. It was amazing that this theater was on ship. It seemed like it could be in a building on Main Street of any town you can think of. The seats were very comfortable and the view was excellent from all seats. The sharp angle of descent of the rows meant that the guy in front of you wouldn't block your view, even if he were tall. We moved down a ways, but remained on the starboard side of the house, and settled in for a treat. The show started with the usual announcement that no photography would be allowed, due to copyright issues. And then the performer was introduced as John D. Smitherman, an American tenor. He came out and gave a great performance. He was personable, and funny. He didn't take himself too seriously in the songs he had chosen for his show, nor in the way that he presented them. He has a very good tenor voice, trained in the operatic style of singing. When he hit a note and held it, it sounded just like an opera singer's voice should sound. It was strong, clear, and resonated. However, he didn't sing much opera. He did Granada, as had the ship's lead singer for their troupe on the first night. (I think both guys did a great job on the song.) He also did the Tom Jones song Delilah, but he made it a bit of a farce, as he had Tom Jones like motions he did on the stage and had the ladies in the audience respond with mock rapture-like sounds. A good time was had by all I believe. The highlight of the show was his rendition of "The Music of the Night," from the Phantom of the Opera. He did a great job with that piece, and since Dotti and I are so fond of that musical generally and that song from the musical specifically, we both were very happy that he put that one into his routine. After the show, he was out in the passageway and made himself available for autographs and brief casual visits with the passengers. We bought a CD because we liked the show, and we had him sign it. We next all headed back to the staterooms. However, the day was not complete just yet. Naturally we had to check out our towel animals, and then Dotti and Tammy had something more in mind. Back at the room we found that the animal  of the day was a RABBIT!  The guys doing the folding were pretty talented. I imagine by the end of a day of doing one of those rabbits, it wouldn’t take much thought to whip one out. But the first time you did it, it would be really tough.
In addition to the rabbit and the evening mints,  we found our Daily Program for Thursday, September 21, 2006 lying on our bed. It told us that we were going to arrive at Sitka at 8:00 AM and the last tender was going to be at 3:30 PM. That would constitute our total available time for our visit to the largest city in the United States of America (by area). What was it going to be like? Would it be like Juneau, or would it be completely different? We were already getting excited.
There were a few more things to do on Wednesday yet. I had some pictures to transfer to my laptop so my camera would be empty and ready to go for the next day. While I did that,  Tammy and Dotti headed down to the casino for a few pulls on the one-armed bandit's handle before turning in for the night. They got back just as I was putting my laptop away. It was time for bed and I was ready for a good night's sleep.
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