Today is a Juneau sightseeing day, well, a half day at least before we fly up to Gustavus, 60ish miles to the north. The morning is a slow start, then we repack so we don’t need to bring our biggest bags for just a two day trip. The Driftwood Hotel is happy to store any bags for us – brownie point. The towels are also very thick and fluffy and the showers and mattresses are good – more brownie points. It’s good to give some points out because there are some negatives: no air con, wifi is patchy, service ranges from friendly to curt and the shuttle service is pretty good. I’d recommend it from the hotel to the airport, but would take a cab from the airport to the hotel. It is a complimentary service and can often mean a wait.

After some fruit, yogurt and a muffin from the local convenience store, we walk to the downtown area. Starting with a climb up a steep set of steps to Main Street, near the Governor’s house, then proceeding down to Front Street where the shops begin. I notice, but don’t go in, to some nice gift shops and galleries. The Foggy Mountain shop lures us in though, with its excellent collection of gear for the outdoors. We notice many things here you can’t get in Australia even though the brands are the same. After a couple of purchases, we continue down to the main touristy area. There are three boats in town, big cruise ships that hold between two and three thousand people each and all of them are currently wandering this part of town. The tramway to the top of Mt Roberts leaves from right near the cruise ship terminal, the cars moving steadily up and down against the evergreens that cover the mountain. We briefly consider going up but feel we have already seen Juneau from above – I’m told there is a good restaurant up there. There are booths in a line, all offering variations of the same tours – whale watching, glacier hiking etc. it’s all geared to maximize the opportunities offered by so many tourists in one spot, at one time, right down to the crossing guards especially placed to ease the flow across the street to the many jewelry stores selling tanzanite, gold quartz and nautical themed, silver trinkets. I spy the Twisted Fish restaurant at the end of the dock; it has a good reputation, so we head in for a lunch of lox salad and fish and curly fries. After lunch we circle back towards the hotel, pausing to look at the seaplane jetty, gold miners’ memorial and to grab a coffee at the Heritage Coffee Co. It seems the ‘it’ place to be with students crammed along the benches all hooked into the free wifi.

The hotel shuttle is ready to go right on time for our flight. A different driver this time; he is a real character who delights in regaling us with tales of his ex-wives delivered in a wink wink nudge nudge style. A couple of times he breaks into bawdy songs, his confidence is refreshing. I can’t tell what’s the truth and what’s stretched for effect but it doesn’t matter – it’s fun. We check in to our flight quickly and Gordon waits patiently whilst I check out the one souvenir shop (the little nieces and nephews score here). We wander into security, a half hour before boarding time. I pass through but Gordon is stopped – his ID is not suitable – a driver’s license. No, says the TSA guy, only a passport will do. Oh dear, Gordon’s passport is back at the hotel along with our main bags. We only packed overnight bags for the two day trip to Glacier Bay – you get sick of hauling all your gear around, even if we are light packers. So, into a taxi goes Gordon, hoping that he can make the return trip in time. There is only one jet flight a day into Gustavus; it’s a tiny place with Glacier Bay National Park being the main attraction.

I’m sitting at the departure gate when Gordon goes skidding past, shoes and belt in hand, sprinting for the flight he is sure he has missed. I call out and he relaxes visibly. The flight has been delayed; he’s made it with plenty of time. After all the drama we finally board the plane – the wait was for 14 people coming in from Anchorage, as there are only 20 or so people on the plane altogether I see why they waited – it’s also a 24 hour wait if they miss the flight. You’d think we were on a long journey to somewhere remote after all the fuss, but exactly 15 minutes after take off, we are touching down in Gustavus, just 60ish miles to the north of Juneau. The Glacier Bay Lodge bus is there waiting to collect us, along with most of the people from the flight. A couple are headed to B&Bs but that’s about it for accommodation. From the airport it’s a twenty minute bus ride, through the town of Gustavus, population 300, one shop, one cafe, a school, garage (with original fuel pumps) and fire station and that’s about it. The forest closes in and we enter the National Park. The Lodge staff are clearly accustomed to checking in a bus load of people in bulk, a member of staff boards, gives us a run down and then hands us our room keys as we disembark. It’s easy and quick – a good first impression.

Our room is down towards the water, with glimpses through the trees, a very pretty and peaceful location. The room itself is a fairly standard motel fit out, nothing special but clean and comfortable. We walk up to the lodge for drinks and dinner (unless you have a car there is nowhere else to eat and meals are not included – though I believe there are packages available). We choose to sit out on the deck as it’s warmish and has a nice view of Bartlett Cove. Service is friendly and good and apart from some extra loud fellow guests, whose life story we learn without really wanting to, it’s an enjoyable evening.