Whale Tales. And what would a trip to Alaska be without some whale tails? The humpback whales were all around, although I did spy one gray whale. We learned that the whales "breach" (jump completely out of the water) when they are young, and usually in Hawaii where their breeding grounds are, not in Alaskan waters. So we saw a lot of whale tails during the trip. On the sea otter watching cruise we were treated to the rare event of a humpback whale completely breaching the water, sailing in the air in an arch, and sitting in the front seat, one eye seemed to look at us quite directly. On the way out of Tracy Arm, we also neared migrating whales on their usual path, 15-20 of them giving quite the 'tail' show.

The cute sea otters were the object of the tour in Sitka that we took, and we were delighted with a whole 'village' of them preening and playing in a bed of kelp.

My 87 year old Dad posed in front of a tourist shop as he noted the beautiful fur. Tomorrow I'll fill you in on Juneau.

Local News: My how things change! I came back to find that Saylor's Landing has closed (been evicted), and Fabrizio is either renovating, or has closed as well. Piatti's is STILL closed for renovation, and I wonder if they are ever going to lease the old Samurai Restaurant building in Sausalito?