Days 43-44 July 9-10, 2022 Harris Harbor to Auke Bay 37 miles- 2682 total miles
Saturday: The weather didn’t look great for going anywhere over the weekend, so we decided to move the boat from Harris Harbor, downtown Juneau, back to Auke Bay. Auke Bay will be closer to where we want to go next weekend and it’s closer to our house. We were hoping to get bus tokens on the way to the bus stop. We could get tokens at the library, but unfortunately the library was closed. The bus doesn’t make change, so our family ride of $6.00 would now cost us $10.00 since the smallest bill we had was a ten.
Going on a short boat ride would be perfect. We would get the boat where we needed to go, and we would also get to try it out after doing maintenance. The ride wasn’t exciting, but Chris and I got to talk. Ellen took a short nap, and the kids were able to play on their tablets. The boat also worked great, so it ended up being perfect. Once we were off the boat we went for some food at Forbidden Peak Brewery, then got ice cream at Auke Bay Cafe. We got change and made it back to the bus. We made it home for bedtime, kids went to bed, and Chris and I could watch a show. It was a nice day and a slower paced day was just what we all needed, especially Chris after the busy week he had.
Sunday: The weather was even rainier today. We started walking to the boat because we really wanted to go fishing. On the walk to the bus Chris double checked the wind and realized it was probably going to be too windy for all of us to have fun while fishing. We turned around and headed back to the house. We didn’t really want to sit around all day, so we made a new plan.
We decided to ride the bus downtown and we’d go to The Alaska State Museum. We would eat downtown, get bus tokens, maybe bus over to the boat and get our rain gear, and then bus home. We checked the bus times, and headed out again.
At the bus stop I was trying to find a place to eat on my phone and Chris yells, “There’s a bear!” and he picks up Ellen. I have made it very clear that yelling “bear”, when there is no bear, is not allowed. Luckily for Chris he wasn’t joking. There was a little black bear running in the trees. This is our first bear on land! It carried on its way, and we got a few pictures. We kept an eye out for a mama bear, but none showed up. Right after we saw the bear, the bus came.
Ellen loves the bus and this was no exception. She kept saying/signing bus and commenting on everyone’s hats. We got off the bus and tried to find food. There was either a very long wait, or the places were closed. We finally settled on Nano’s Grill. The food was soso, but they were nice to the kids and gave them popsicles. This was right when Ellen takes a nap usually, and she was starting to act tired and grouchy. She wouldn’t eat, she just wanted to sleep. So Chris held her and she fell asleep on him. Ryan didn’t want anything at Nano’s, and there was a Domino’s Pizza next store so after we ate at Nano’s we got Ryan a pizza. After lunch Chris put Ellen in her stroller and she fussed quite a bit. She would kind of sleep on and off and fuss on and off.
We went to IGA for bus tokens, they had tables there so Ryan ate his pizza there, then we headed off to the museum. At the museum Ellen was fussing, so Chris took her out of the stroller and was holding her while I paid. We walked around a bit at just a few exhibits, then we went to the kids room. The kids found a video game one of the youtubers they like to watch played, so they were thrilled. I read a story to Ellen while Chris held her. We tried to take Ellen to play in a boat play structure, but she just cried. Chris picked her up again and held her. This whole time I tried to get Chris to give me Ellen, but he kept holding her. Finally I convinced him to give her to me and right after he handed her over, she threw up all over me and her. It just kept coming. I took her outside, Chris cleans up the puke and gets the kids, and we go into a family bathroom. Chris cleans us up and we try to figure out how to get home. Ellen is fussy and just wants to be held and cuddled. We figure the bus is the quickest way home.
We make it to the bus stop with no more puke. We make it on the bus with no more puke. We make it off the bus with no more puke. (A lot of interesting smells on the bus, marijuana, tobacco smoke, body odor, puke, etc.) We make it home with no puke. Ellen and I take a bath together and she just cuddles me. Chris gathers up all the clothes, gets Ellen out of the bath and cuddles her. I start a load of laundry. Ellen started the day off feeling good and acting like her normal self. Somewhere along the way she gets sick. She slept on and off all evening, has a fever of 101.8 and isn’t doing great. Poor girl. I’m really glad we weren’t on the boat when all of this happened.
The rest of the day we all just take it easy. I’m hoping she’s better in the morning, and that no one else gets what she has.
Ryan’s Thoughts: We saw a bear outside at the bus stop!!!
Lillian’s Thoughts: We moved the boat this weekend then we ate out. Then we were waiting for the bus to go downtown and we saw a bear cub so close OMG! Then when me and Ryan were playing a game at the museum Ellen threw up for the first time ever! Bye!
Bear Count: Today: 1 Total: 31
