Day 6 - Maritime Festival and Perseverance Trail

I got to sleep in on my first weekend day, although I am still having trouble adjusting to the constant brightness. Of the 6 days I have been in Juneau I think I have seen dark sky for maybe a combined 17 minutes. The first thing I did this morning was turn on the Cardinals game. Nothing like a bowl of cereal, eggs, and some Saturday baseball.

I decided to go to the Maritime Festival in Downtown Juneau with Sarah and Sam Bornstein today. It was nice meeting them yesterday as they are both around my age. It wasgreat to be able to be a kid again, that is, not always having to be around adults in the office setting. We drove downtown and arrived just in time to see the mock U.S. Coast Guard rescue on Juneau Harbor. There were lots of booths set up in the downtown Marine Plaza for a lot of local excursions. I got some good ideas for dog sledding, hiking on a glacier, and other helicopter tours. We took a ride to Douglas Island on an old-fashioned steamboat. There was nothing fake about it - from the oil cannister to the original piston, to the actual fire that had to be tended to during our trip around the harbor. Even Captain John looked like he was stuck in 1842.

After the steamboat tour I went to lunch in a place that, according to the Bornsteins, "no tourist would ever find". It was a little deli called Silverbow and was pretty good. The bagel I had was excellent and I'm disappointed it is out of my way in the mornings.

Following lunch we went back to the harbor to tour some boats. We had the chance to explore a U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Boat, a 70 ft. yacht, and a Tugboat. The 70 ft. yacht was pretty impressive. There were three cabins (each with it's own bathroom and plasma T.V.), a kitchen, a washer and dryer, and that was just on the lower level. The main level had a giant bar and T.V. room that was filled with a giant T.V. and nice leather couches. The top deck had lots of scuba equipment and some great places to sit and enjoy the sun. All of that can be yours for just $31,000 per week! The Tugboat and Rescue Boat were a bit more modest but interesting nonetheless. The tugboat captain bragged on the fact that his tiny tugboat could drag around some of the giant cruise ships docked right across the harbor.

The festival wound down and I met Dr. Bornstein at the trailhead of Perseverance Trail. We ran 3 miles until we reached snow on the trail and then we ran the 3 miles back. Running hiking trails is a different experience than running on the streets of Nashville or St. Louis - lots more hills and you have to constantly look down to make sure you aren't running over rocks.

I just got back to my apartment to get ready for dinner tonight. It is somebody's birthday in the office and we are going to the Island Pub on Douglas Island. It will be nice to be with everyone while they aren't wearing scrubs and surgical masks...