Our last day, boo hoo, but we were in the town of Haines which was quite a treat since it is rarely on their itinerary. And we got to ride bicycles! Yippee! Today one of the options was taking out rental bikes, set up by the ship, so there was no way Mike was going to skip that, and Tami was more than happy to do a little riding as well.

It turned out to be emphasis on ‘little’ but that was just fine because Haines was quite a nice town. We did not go far at all, but the bikes were a fun way to get around and sightsee. We started out at Fort Seward, which was established in 1902 and closed in 1945. It was very reminiscent of Fort Lawton in Seattle, and now some of the buildings are galleries and tourist housing. We spent a while in the shop of a very entertaining artist. He especially enjoyed showing up his native american puppets, doing voices for them, etc. We bought our favorite puppet to bring home.

The main part of town was only about a half mile away and includes the world famous Hammer Museum. Drats! It was closed! Actually, we have read that it is quite interesting. Oh well, just another reason to come back to Haines.

Before we knew it we had to head back to the ship and fuel up for the afternoon adventure, a float on the Chilkat River. The morning float group was late returning so we had free reign at the lunch buffet. At lunch, we heard that they were delayed because of the winds on the river, the cold winds, that slowed the rafts. So we bundled up in many, many layers for our turn in the rafts. Well, Tami did.

We gathered at the dock to board our bus and the guides mentioned that it was the last pit stop before we would be getting in the rafts. The women were sitting on the bus, amused to watch the line of guys headed to the restroom in this sixty-something group.

They drove us up to the put-in point and we started out down the Chilkat, which is known for the huge population of bald eagles that convene there every year and feast on the returning salmon. The wind was blowing quite strongly and it was cold. Very cold. Tami had seven layers on but Mike only had four. He was cold. Very cold. Not happy. So Tami enjoyed the trip far more than Mike did (sorry, Mike) but it was very beautiful and we saw a lot of eagles.

Halfway into the float, the sun did come out and the wind lessened considerately, so it did become more comfortable. The heat on the bus back to the ship did feel mighty fine, though. Feeling returned to our toes.

We had our farewell dinner and Tami once again went for half and half, a popular meal option on the ship. The choices are all so good that one just can’t decide so you get a plate with a half (or full!) portion of two choices. It has also been known for some to have a bit of all three choices. Tami’s choice was bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin and the portobello mushroom Wellington. Wow, that was a mighty fine combo. Mike had the sesame-encrusted halibut with wasabi, also delicious.

Dinner was followed by the slide show put together by the crew. They have been taking pictures during our entire trip and it was so fun to see all of us out having fun and adventuring, accompanied by a great soundtrack.

But wait, there’s more! After retiring to our room, while Mike was snoring and Tami was reading, the bridge came on the intercom and announced that the northern lights were going on outside. Alaska saved it for the last night and what a grand finale to the trip!

The next morning we arrived in Juneau, from whence we would fly home. We had a couple of hours so we walked around town a bit with Mary and Sid. We even found a bike shop to peruse (surprise, surprise)! Then it was off to the airport and the flight home.