I can't lie. My first day on the water with a double crew was amazing. Shari was the main Naturalist which took a lot of pressure off me and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her narrative. She loves what she’s doing and you can hear it in her voice. I met couples from Chicago, Brunei, LA. The wife of the LA couple even asked me when I was getting married. There were two men from New York which thick NY accents who told me about a new Tappen Zee Bridge being built. This was their second time to Alaska in two years and they think Orca Point Lodge has the best salmon.

The orcas were the best I’ve ever seen. I saw a baby orca breach, which was amazing as I've never seen any whale breach. They swam all around the boat and gave the passengers a show. There was a moment when I was standing on the third deck just watching the whales along with everyone else and actively thinking that what I was doing was fun. The humpback was great as well and showed its fluke three times. Shari had me do I the talk that leads into the visit to Orca Point Lodge, which went fine. It was one of those classically beautiful southeast Alaska days. The sun was shining, the waters were calm, and I think everyone (all 24 passengers) had a great time.

Approaching Orca Point Lodge, where the tourists eat a salmon meal, walk on the beach, and watch the hummingbirds swarm the feeders.

The stop at Orca Point Lodge is a nice break from the boat, especially with these sunny days, but the more interesting thing there is Pam's touch tank. In the tank, she features plants, shells, sponges, anemones, and other critters that live in the inter-tidal zone. It's beautifil. Pam's husband, Dale, built it. Together, they are the caretakers of the Lodge throughout the year, although they lived in Colt Island long before the Lodge was ever there. 

View from the Lodge.

A sister ship joining us during an orca pod sighting.

As Miguel and I drove closer to town, across the bridge to Douglas and towards downtown Douglas to Miguel’s house, I could see the massive cruise ship in Gastineau Channel all lit up. My first instinct was to wonder what it was – what is now a new sight will very quickly become every day. Of course there’s a huge lit up cruise ship in front of Juneau. It contains the people we had on our boat.